Does an elephant meditate?
This bull elephant was standing in a field of wild marigolds which were around 8 feet high, hiding all the smaller animals. I must have shot two rolls of film just on this magnificent elephant in the middle of the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.
Elephant amongst wild marigolds
Visitors to the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania usually choose the dry season for their safari as game viewing is the best at this time. All my previous trips were during the dry season. When I was here the last time, it happened to be at the end of the rainy season. I had no idea how different the crater would look. Wild marigolds and other flowers by the acre hid the smaller animals but we could view elephants and zebras. Lions were usually fast asleep in dry patches of earth, so we could see them too. The sight was spectacular because the crater was full of colour you would not see in the dry season.
Elephant residents of the crater are civilized
While the elephants that permanently reside in the crater are well behaved, those that are more nomadic in the Serengeti sometimes enter the crater during their journey. These elephants may be aggressive and will charge you.
Charging elephant, Ngorongoro Crater. © D. Banerjee
This is because they have learned that cars and humans are dangerous to their health as they have been chased and shot at by poachers during their travels. Although the African elephant is not an endangered species, they could easily become so if the trade in ivory continues to encourage poaching.
