Several species of elephants are nearing extinction, most especially Asian and African elephants. Luckily, there are plenty of organizations working hard to avoid that extinction from happening. One of them is the Sabi Sabi Reserve in South Africa.
A safe abode for animals and a precious sight for the tourists.
Sabi Sabi reserve is home to many South African animal species. Not only that, but the reserve caters to the tourists who stop by at this place. Equipped with campsites and lodging houses, tourists are given an array of accomdation choices to choose from.
Aside from their selection of camp and lodges, Sabi Sabi offers its visitors a “safari experience of a lifetime.” You could see over 200 indigenous animal species as the trained rangers take you for a ride around the vast area.
A herd of elephants wallowed into the mud with an elephant calf with them.
There is a reason why elephants cover themselves with layers of dirt or mud.
Mud wallowing is what experts call it and this action is pretty common to bulls and pigs as well. According to Sabi Sabi, these animals go to a puddle or a mud-wallow to bath themselves with mud because they need the cooling effect of mud to regulate their body temperature. Moreover, it also serves as a layer of protection from the heat of the sun and insect bites.
Sabi Sabi caught a herd of elephants on camera as they stopped by a big puddle to bath themselves with mud. They found out that one of them was a newborn elephant. The curious, little elephant was observing the adults stretching their trunks into the puddle and bringing it back up with a trunkful of mud. The adults then swung their trunks around to throw the mud onto their bodies.
This baby elephant just started learning how to use his trunk.
An elephant’s trunk has multiple uses – drinking, breathing, eating, and communicating. Furthermore, it almost has the same function as our hands as elephants use it to carry or lift things. Thus, the trunk is an elephant’s major body part and is essential for their survival.
For this baby elephant, feeling and experiencing his trunk firsthand was something new to him. After the newborn elephant saw what the adults were doing, he began to swing his trunk, imitating the adult’s movements, and he surprised himself in the process.
He wildly swung and flapped his adorable trunk into the puddle, splashing mud and water all over his face. His face was already covered by the mud due to his splashing, but the elephant calf never stopped until he was done playing with his trunk.
The elephant calf eventually learned how to scoop water using his trunk and drink it.
He repeatedly dipped his trunk and drank the puddle water happily. At some point, the elephant just sat down in the shallow water and extended his trunk underneath the mud. The baby elephant enjoyed his time wallowing in the mud with the adults.
Watch the whole adorable video clip by clicking on the link below!
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