Visitors at the pool.
Have you ever been sitting quietly by a pool, enjoying some relaxation time? I’m not sure about you, but seeing these massive creatures approaching me would probably cause me to lose my cool.
Pretty sure I’d flee for the safety of my tent if I was in this position. Although I’m not sure exactly how much a tent would protect me from even one of these African Elephants, who weigh in at between 5,000-14,000 pounds each.
How large is this herd?
At first, these tent campers at The Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe seem excited when they see the elephants approaching. However, as the vacationers see just how many are coming to join them at their pool, you can quickly see the excitement turn to respect and probably fear.
The whole herd arrives.
It doesn’t take long for most of the elephant herd to arrive at the pool. This elephant herd is larger than most. An average herd consists of 9-11, although you can easily count about 20 in this herd.
The matriarch.
In this video, you can clearly see who the matriarch of the herd is. She makes eye contact with one of the vacationers and doesn’t take her eyes off of him the whole time. She is trying to assess if her herd is in danger and whether this group of people can be trusted. I think her deep stare would be frightening, but this vacationer doesn’t seem intimidated at all.
Girl power!
For elephant herds, girl power is key! Male elephants are pushed away during their adolescent years and the girl-powered herd will continue bonding for life. It is said that even though male elephants lead a more solitary life, they often never roam too far from their original herd.
Gentle giants.
As the matriarch continues watching the vacationers carefully, you can peer right into her eyes, as if you’re looking straight into a wisdom pool. Their gentle eyes have such stories to tell. Those elephant eyes make it easy for the tourists to trust these gentle giants, as you can see in the video since no one seems the least bit afraid the whole time they are drinking.
Posing for the cameras.
These elephants seem so thankful for the water they are being allowed to drink at this pool that it’s as if they line up and pose so that the vacationers can take pictures of them. The cameras don’t scare this majestic herd at all.
“Hey guys, wait for me!”
As the elephants finish up quenching their thirst, they start to leave. They know that water is scarce and that wisdom shines through, as they drink what they need, and then move on. Waste not, want not. We could learn a lesson from these elephants.
Just as they all appear to have finished, this little one comes running in from seemingly nowhere. We all know that one who is always a few steps behind. The herd waits patiently for her to take her drink before they all move on together.
Check out that water level!
Did you notice how far the water level in the pool went down after the elephants finished drinking? I was surprised by just how visible the difference. I shouldn’t have been surprised, considering an adult elephant can drink up to 50 gallons of water a day! No wonder the water level visibly goes down.
This amazing video is sure to make you smile. These elephants are absolutely majestic and breathtaking.
Check out the video below!
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