Elephants of Meru National Park, Kenya, Dec. 2012

Probably due to the threat of poaching and the super- abundance of food after the very heavy rains, the elephants of Meru had gathered together in quite large herds. At times we had between 40-50 elephants in and around camp which made life interesting particularly with the the very dense foliage and under growth that had shot up around camp. You were never quite sure whether you were going to bump into one by accident!! We were escorted to and from our tents even in daylight by askari (guards) to ensure our safety.
On an afternoon game drive, soon after leaving camp we noticed a group of elephants crossing the small Murera River. Instead of their usual leisurely pace, interrupted by bouts of feeding the seemed to be in a hurry lead by a huge matriarch.
I decided to try and video them with my little pocket camera so the quality is not very good but the result was rather interesting.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59281591@N07/8323215000/

There were probably at least 80+ elephants that hurried past the most I had ever seen in a single herd and they made an awesome sight!!

Safariman

That really is an incredible spectacle! I never knew that a herd could reach such epic proportions! for the share Safariman

That must have been incredible to see, so many Elephants all in one place. I wonder how many family units were in such a large herd. How long did you have to wait till they all went past, although they were moving at a fast pace as you say. Thats really not bad quality for a small pocket cam. Thanks for letting us share in your Safari Safariman
WS

Unbelievable Safariman and just when you think the last one has gone by, there goes another one what a spectacular sight that was and to have been there watching must have been something else, jaw dropping for sure and thanks for sharing it with us. Was that your highlight of your trip?

littlewid-x-

Yes Littlewid it was one of the highlights of my trip but I also have some other fantastic sightings to show you and stories to tell you, so you may have to be patient!!!
WS they only took just over a minute to pass by, the length of the video. I did try counting them but it is difficult to get an accurate figure, you are welcome to try!! Thanks for the tip about YouTube, I will try and set up an account with them.

Safariman

Wow! Amazing. I would love to see that. They were definitely in a hurry. Thank you so much for sharing the video with us.

Safariman I am not that good at being patient but I guess I will have to be If that was only one of your highlights I can't imagine what the others must have been!
I did have a go at counting them and it is soooooo hard as they tend to mingle together and then you see little legs by the side of a big body and legs but can't see where or who the little legs belong too. At first I counted 65 and then on my second attempt I counted 68 but I know both guesses are wrong but it was fun to try and count them all but the had me beat...... 1 littlewid 0

littlewid-x-
littlewid-x-

" what an incredible amount of "

Doogs, baring in mind a recently posted pic of yours, would it be reasonable that I interpret your comment as, " what an incredible amount of



Elephant 1 LW O is very

I counted 65 as well so we must be somewhere near LW
WS

Well whether we are right or wrong WS we must be pretty close as you say but those have the upper hand on us but it's fun trying to count them

littlewid-x-

Oh no, my original interpretation joke was meant to read as, "what an incredible amount of

That is wonderful that you have highlighted Safariman's epic video on the WAA homepage!

Safariman - what an amazing clip, and so many eles (okay I didn't count them but I trust Littlewid's eyesight)!

Thanks so much for sharing.

Lai