Things are settling in here with our single-day listings, so I thought it would be fun to introduce a little mini-series of Wild Wednesdays, featuring a new animal every Wednesday morning. And this male African Elephant, captured on Safari at 300mm, 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 640, seemed like a worthy first subject.
Elephants are pretty amazing, after all. There are countless stories of their almost "human" (or better) behavior.
A man named Lawrence Anthony, known as "The Elephant Whisperer," developed such deep bonds with a troubled herd at his reserve in South Africa that when he unexpectedly passed away the entire herd, which hadn't been seen around his home for over a year at that point, somehow knew and arrived within hours, standing vigil for two days before returning to the bush.
They’ve been known to celebrate their herds’ newborns, remember one another after decades of separation, mourn (and even perhaps bury) their dead, especially when a mother loses a calf, and, as with Lawrence Anthony, pay vigil to their most trusted companions, both human and animal, after they pass.
I’m so glad I’m not alone in loving the animals on property—they’re some of my most favorite subjects when my camera is in my hand.