Chobe's Elephants

One thing is a given in Chobe: just a brief drive along any of its roads quickly reveals a torn branch, a trumpeting call, an enormous grey shape ghosting out of the bush ...all the unmistakable signs that this is elephant territory.

At Chobe you can get so close to elephants that you can hear the deep rumblings as they communicate with each other. With an estimated population of around 70 000, Loxodonta africana is both plentiful and, because of tight restrictions on hunting, remarkably tolerant of a traveller's attention.

Elephant country

Your opportunities to observe these giant creatures are endless and varied. Track them moving slowly through the bush looking for food. Sit at a waterhole as they drink and play. Watch mud-coated elephants scratching themselves against trees, noisy young bulls engaging in sparring matches, babies walking under their mothers' bellies trying to control their floppy trunks - and line yourself up for photo opportunities you'll find only in Chobe.

During the dry season huge concentrations of elephant are found along the Chobe River and in the Caprivi/Linyanti swamp area. Breeding herds (young and female elephants headed by a matriarch) are commonly seen in these regions. Midday to late afternoon is an especially rewarding time as the herds move to the rivers to drink.

Lone bulls and dusty trumpets

Savuti, with its artificial waterholes, is full of bachelor herds and lone bulls, most of whom are placid and photogenic. At sunset, the breeding herds often make a noisy appearance, trumpeting their way through the dust and flocks of birds, scattering all before them. The waterholes and remaining pans in the great eastern mopane woods at Nogatsa and Tchinga are also excellent areas for spotting elephant as they emerge from the forest in the afternoons to drink.

The rainy season changes everything. After putting severe pressure on food resources and Chobe River vegetation in particular, the elephants move away from their dry season areas with the onset of the rains. The interior of the park, dense, remote and consisting of pan-pocked mopane and teak woodlands, offers undisturbed feeding and plentiful water. Elephant sightings are still common in the park but not in quite the numbers as in the dry season.

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