My sum total of elephant experience is two tuskless shot during a fairly comprehensive safari of 18 hunting days. One was shot in Chewore South in the Zambezi Valley. One shot in the Save Conservancy at Humani Ranch in the south eastern lowvelt. We tracked and ran into many elephants but still very limited experience. For what its worth, I found the elephants in the Zambezi Valley quite mild mannered compared to the elephants in the Save.

This was the belief of the PH as well and other PH's who we talked to in the Save. As I recall, their theory is that the Zambezi Valley elephants are afraid of man because of hunting and will generally leave the county when they scent or sense you, given an oportunity. Too close and you are discovered and their protective instincts kick in. The Save elephants are just plain agressive all of the time because of the memory of heavy poaching during the bush war. Apparently they haven't been hunted until fairly recently but have always been bad tempered.

They sure were bad tempered, with the tuskless the most most noisy and agressive by far, except for one tusked cow which had a reputation for charging at the sound of an engine or the sight of a vehicle. I think they put her down recently since she was eventually going to catch a vehicle and hurt someone but I'm not sure. She very nearly caught us.

On OLN I watched a Save bull charge the hunters from fifty yards or so, as the hunter and PH were working into position. The elephant was in the open and there was no impediment to flight in any direction. On the other hand, I read another fellow's post, here or elsewhere, can't recall, about his experience in the Save, but not at Humani, and his impression was that the elephants were calm and good natured. Perhaps the thick green bush of Humani along the Turgwe River is the difference.

I believe 500 Grains also found the humani elephants in the Save elephants very agressive.

JPK