Locals in Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park told wildlife snapper Jens Cullman it is a bonding ritual that helps boost the little-uns’ immune system.What I’ve heard is that when the baby get dung on it, it helps boost the baby’s immune system and maybe it’s some kind of bonding with the mother as well.
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I got photos of the calf looking towards me and then it gets up and the mum turns around and the calf follows her and then she drops her dung on him.The photos were exciting for me, I have to admit. Friends and family I’ve shown them to think they’re hilarious. Everyone was just ‘wow wow wow’.
But in a heartbreaking revelation Jens said the mother elephant was ‘very skinny’ because of a bad dry season in the park in which a lot of elephants died and other animals suffered.He said the mother and baby would have had to spend the whole day in search of any food they could find.
In Mana Pools this year it was very dry and a lot of animals suffered. The mother was a very skinny elephant as well. A lot of elephants and baby elephants died because of the drought.I saw this little cute baby elephant and stopped the car and walked a little bit towards them and took the shot. They were eating. It was the end of the dry season and they really have to go the whole day through the park and look for what they can get.
I followed them because I like these two elephants. I got these cute shots of the calf next to the big foot of the mum.
