Do you know when an elephant is about to storm?

Are you sure you know all the warning signs of an elephant that’s about to charge you? If you hesitated even a moment before you answered, read on.

BETTER FRIENDS WITH THE BUSH’S BIG GUYS UNDERSTANDING ELEPHANTS BY: ELEPHANT SPECIAL ADVISORY GROUP PUBLISHER: STRUIK NATURE PRICE: R120

You only need to have been at the receiving end of a charging elephant once to know how intimidating these giants can be. In fact, a skirmish with an elephant can be fatal: According to the Elephant Special Advisory Group (ESAG), they kill three people annually in South Africa and were responsible for as many as 23 deaths in Mozambique and 21 in Zim between 2008 and 2015. An elephant will usually warn you before attacking, but do you know what those warning signs look like? Is he flapping his ears because he’s hot or because he’s angry? Is he shaking his head because the flies are bothering him or because he’s moments away from charging you? It’s uncertainties like these that make the conservation body ESAG’s new book, Understanding Elephants, so valuable when you’re in nature. It was written by a team of elephant specialists and covers a wide range of both interesting and very important subjects on these animals. There are chapters on their behaviour (towards each other as well as humans) and how they communicate, as well as interesting facts, like the difference between males and females and how to find and read their tracks. The most valuable chapter in my opinion is the one explaining how to view elephants safely in nature. Here you’ll learn critically important things like reading the warning signs of an irritated elephant, early signs of aggression, and how to behave around them in the veld. I actually wish everyone in the Kruger who thinks it’s going to make a great video if they hoot at elephants or drive in between them is forced to buy a copy!