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Bulldog,

We were out for an afternoon scout in the riverine bush near the intersection of the Turgwe and Save Rivers. The Llola palms were carrying ripe nuts and the elephants would lean their heads against the palm and wrap their trunks and shake like all get out. You could hear this from 400yds or more. We investigated every shaking palm or elephant trumpet. The elephants were spending their afternoons in the shade of the thick bush and feeding on the nuts and other still green vegetation. There were lots of elephants in the area but few tuskless. To add to the surereal environment, we could here the drums from the nearest settlement beating their cadence. It was right out of Jurassic Park.

Near where we'd had a quick glimpse of a tuskless the prior day we heard some elephants and went to take a look. We were hoping it would be the same group. We were looking at some elephants to our left from the corner of the clearing in the photos, about where the cow started her charge, when we saw some elephants making their way toward us from the right.

The elephants didn't know we were there and were probably heading to the Turgwe for water. We retreated twenty yards, about five yards in front of where we are standing in the photos. The first cow into the corner smelled where we had been and took a look for us. You could tell she was thinking of giving us a rush, and we retreated the remaining five yards to our rear to the end of the clearing. That cow passed and so did her half grown youngster. The next elephant into the clearing was the matriarch, we think, and she turned her head and, a couple of quick seconds later, just came on.

The rest is in the photos. There was no room or time for an orderly retreat. The Humani elephants are in a league of their own when it comes to agressiveness.

Richard had to shoot a warning shot over the head of a bull the day before, and we did some really fast retreating, but this was the only shoot to kill defense. Richard had to shoot a cow in Chewore this spring in self defense and I had my rifle up one another Chewore cow earlier in the trip as Richard was retreating from ten yards in front, but in my experience, the chewore cows don't compare in agressivness to the Humani elephants and the Chewore bulls are tame in comparison.

JPK

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