Was watching a doco where they were attempting to keep crop raiding Eles of the farmers paddocks.

They aquired some surplus military seismic ground movement detectors( as used for detecting enemy soldier movement).
They placed these buried in the ground like a land mine,with only a thin almost unnoticeable wire aerial protruding.then covered over the patch with ele dung.
Somehow the eles managed to find these units,dug them up and destroyed them.

After that, they tried another method. They put a perimmeter around the paddocks,comprising of one strand of nylon fishing line(looked like 50-80lb dia.) set to trigger a series of sirens and flashing lights posotioned on posts at various points.
Watching some infrared film, it showed the eles approaching the nylon in the pitch dark of night.They seem to have slowed down as they came near, and stopped just before the nylon. They then used their trunk to locate it more precisely,and proceeeded to gently and extremely nimbly step over the trigger line. It was truelly an amazing thing to see.
Do you have anything interesting to share with us about what you have seen in ele behaviour...?

I really like Hunting and the outdoors, but Eles certainly have more upstairs than some of the flatfooted Elmers we see running around out there.

then outta no where the torch lights up and i touch off a 600 grain solid from my 505 stright into the culprits ear hole killing it instantly and sending a message to the rest of the heard ....stay the hell out.

And if they use wire, the natives will cut it and use it for snares.

I've seen lots of examples of Elephantine intelligence but the funniest was a bunch of bulls in SA that were trying to break through an electrified fence...... over the course of a few days they tried a variety of tricks that didn't work...... at the same time there was a much younger bull that kept trying to get involved with the "big boys" who just ignored him..... one day they all made it plain he was welcome to join then and they went over to the fence...... they waited till he was standing right beside it and parallel to it..... then one of the big guys charged him and turned away at the last minute so his ass hit the youngster and knocked him for a six into the fence..... the fence collapsed with the young bull on top of it, squealing like hell.... the big bulls just stepped over the fallen fence and went off and left him there........

another example were 3 or 4 Big bulls (again in SA) that were a regular gang. One day, the dominant bull went and stood on the railway track and a train came round the corner and knocked him flying in front of his buddies. Obviously the train won and the Elephant died...... but the others had seen it. The next day the train came round the same corner and had to hit the emergence brakes..... the remaining bulls had pushed half a dozen trees over across the track and as soon as the train stopped the Elephants began repeatedly mock charging it...... the train driver got on the radio and the landowner had to come chase the bulls off...... the same scenario repeated itself for the next three or four days.

I have a buddy who used to work as an elephant monitoring officer in KZN and he developed a relationship with the old bull that got hit by the train. He knew the bull so well he would sometimes go out to sleep beside it if the felt the animal was unwell.... One day, he was squatting in a bush taking notes on the (nearby)herd of cows and calves but they knew he was there and were getting concerned..... The bull came and stood directly over the bush with a leg on each corner to protect him in case the cows got arsy.

The same Elephant came over to him one day and went to great efforts to show him a large ulcerated sore he had on his flank..... this bull had been darted a few times before for collaring, he hated the sight of a dart gun and would usually run for the border if he as much as saw one.... yet he allowed my buddy to walk right up to him and dart him from a few paces..... After which the vet attended to the injury and then revived him.....

Those examples all involve elephant bulls - the cows are even more switched on........

Here is a pic of a bull I'm familiar with. (he's pretty habituated to vehicles but less familiar with people on foot) I took this on foot from less than 10 yards. They're intelligent enough to know when they're threatened and when they're not...... I made sure the Elephant knew I was there - and I kept talking to him the whole time... neither he nor his buddy were at all concerned.... had they shown a single sign of alarm, I'd have got my ass back to the vehicle ASAP........ I should say, there's no way on earth, I'd have tried that trick with a truly wild bull or any cow.- habituated or otherwise.........

Its for reasons like this I don't think I could ever pull the trigger on an elphant..Don't get me wrong, I am not agaisnt elephant hunting and realise that in some circumstances they must be culled, but they really are an amazing animal..

Pete,
I am with you on that. I have not yet gotten elephant fever, but may someday..

Yea me to, I've been bouncing around on this issue for a year now. I have ele on the list for next year but the slightest hint of behavior like the picture Shakari painted and they'll walk. I've talked to people that claim ele will tear a mountain down to get at you and then others that say they just slip up close and pop the head. The truth lies somewhere in the middle I'm sure, the problem is folks don't always see or agree to the same truth.

Shakari, that ele in the pic was used to people driving up and then departing without incident, you took it a step further and walked up close without incident tell me, would you have done the same with a Lion that was habituated vehicles?

It's really depends on individual times and circumstances. I did it on that particular day in that particular area with that particular animal...... and I've done the same sort of thing with particular Lions on particular days etc.... but so much depends on individual opportunities. So I can't say I'd always do it - just when the animals body language and behaviour patterns make me think I can get away with it.

Here's a couple of pics I took of a Lion. There were two brothers that had been hand reared and then a couple of years before, released back into the area to live and hunt wild..... or as wild as you can get in SA. Certainly they were hunting for themselves etc. I saw the one coming up to us and knelt down to take some pictures. He came right up to me, sat down and then yawned - so I put my lens in his mouth and grabbed a shot..... as I took it, his brother came up behind me and licked the back of my neck..... hence the slight camera shake/blurring in the shot. - I'm not completely dumb though as I had the guy who had reared them originally, right beside me with a rifle..... having said that, he didn't see the brother sneak up behind me either!

I know that story is hard to believe, but nevertheless, it's completely true with absolutely no exaggeration....... If I remember correctly, the Lions at the time were about 5 years old.

It doesn't need saying, but I'll say it anyway, I don't recommend anyone try this kind of thing without a great deal of experience of the particular species they want to get close to!. - and never, ever, try anything like it with any animal in a True Wilderness Area......

Shakari,

You've done some serious living!

I've always believed there's no point in having a life if you don't live to the full..... and have always believed that one should live every day as though it might be your last..... 'cos it just might be...... I've been very lucky though!

I can imagine watching the lion move toward me going "what's that guy so scared for" and then in the next second my heart jumping completely out of my chest flopping around on the ground........ The lion behind me with an expression on his face like "Jeez I only licked him on the neck".

I must admit it scared the life out of me at the time - but when I look back, it was bloody funny........

The tongue of a Lion is incredibly rough and my neck was sore for 2 or 3 days afterwards.......

Steve,
From your posts I always thought of you as a sane, normal person with a hint of desire to see a few more years. Yipes!!! A lion licking my neck would cause a flutter of the heart and a quick prayer as I suspect he was tasting me to see if I needed a little A1 Steak Sauce to go with his dinner.

Next time you offer a photo safari, I may join up just to see you may do....

I've gotta say, I love - but love to get close to animals - whether hunting or with a camera. My problem when I'm using a camera is that I tend to get "lost in the lens". I take one good shot and then think, I'll just wait a moment longer and then get a better one and a better one and so on........ and the risk factor tends to get pushed to the back of my mind.

It's different when I'm hunting. I still like and try to get as close as possible before the shot - and reasonably often manage to get the client to around 10 - 20 yards from Buff before the shot...... but as I'm responsible for someone else and not just myself I have to be more cautious...... it also depends on the individual client and whether I & he think he's up to it...... As I said, each individual case is different...... but there's nothing quite like getting right up to animal......... One thing I have noticed with Lions, is that they all have the most God awful bad breath problem.....

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
I don't recommend anyone try this kind of thing without a great deal of experience of the particular species they want to get close to!. - and never, ever, try anything like it with any animal in a True Wilderness Area......

I don't think anyone who trys this, very often, will ever get a lot of experience with lions! You can bet everything you own, you will never see me this close to an African lion, unless he has a very large hole in his brain, or he's eating me.
I stood face to face with a young male lion,we stumbled onto in Zambia, at about 30 yds. He decided to leave, and I was damn glad, because the FN 375 H&H in my hands felt like a Daisey BB gun, and he was only half grown! The African lion is the only animal in the world that scares hell right out of me. I guess that is one reason, amoung others, why I don't have one in my trophy room!

Mac,

If Lions scare you witless.... then thats the species you NEED to hunt at least once in you lifetime.........

Just think what a downer it would be to be lying on your deathbed and thinking - damn, I never did get to hunt a Lion.....

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
Mac,

Just think what a downer it would be to be lying on your deathbed and thinking - damn, I never did get to hunt a Lion.....

Steve, you don't know how close that last line hits on the target! I'm 69 yrs old, and undergoing treatment for cancer as we speak! I doubt I'll hunt anything else in Africa again.
The high cost of lions scares me more than the lion it's self, but in a different way for sure!

Jeez Mac, sorry to hear that - I wish you all the best luck in the world and hope you can beat it! I had a similar scare a couple of years ago - but fortunately it was a false alarm....... it's a shit feeling though eh?

I know what you mean about the price of Lions..... they sure don't come cheap.........

Put me with Mac on this one; Lions scare me witless! I think its the idea that they are not only going to kill you, but they're probably going to eat you afterwards! Somehow being stomped by an ele doesn't seem half as bad!

I remember a few years back on a night drive in the Kruger...A lioness walked past the Landcruiser so close I swear I could have touched her with my foot...Everybody else was taking pictures, and I was just frozen! Knowing that most of the lions in the Kruger are considered maneaters, and that the Ranger did not have a rifle, I felt that reaction was perfectly sane!

Just been going through my old photos on my PC and here's a few more for you........

The killing and eating me does't scare me.
What scares me is if they do a half ass job of
the killing and start eating early!

I'm with JD on this one!

JPK