Field notes on the Elephant ' Olifant'  'Indlovu'

Keep an eye on the waterholes

These are the best places to see elephants, especially when it is hot and dry. Elephants spray water over their bodies to keep cool and drink about 100 litres of water every day - that's equivalent to 600 cups of tea!

Watch them eating

Elephants use their trunk, tusks and even feet to gather vegetation. At Addo,  much of what they eat is thorny - the trunk moves branches into position between their large grinding teeth, so the tongue and lips are protected from the thorns.

An elephant spends most of its day ( and night) eating. Very little of the food passing through an elephant is digested before it comes out  the other end. As a result, an elephant needs to eat 150 -200 kg of  food a day and produces up to 100kg of dung!

Elephants are very important

•  Addo's unique flightless dung beetle feeds on elephant dung.
• Elephants spread seeds and fruit in their dung.
• Their 'destructive' way of eating actually makes the bush grow thicker.

Culture and beliefs

African people have a  tradition of respect for elephants and many believe they have magical powers. The San people of Southern Africa believe that elephants can call rains from the sky.

Family life

Like human children, elephant calves spend many years with their family, learning about the world around them. Female elephants (cows) stay in the family group in which they were born but  males (bulls) are kicked out when they are 12 -14 years old.

Calves spend most of their time playing - it is how they learn.

Why don't Addo's females have tusks?

By the time the park was created in (1931) there were only 11 elephants surviving. Some of the females didn't have tusks (probably why they hadn't been hunted) and that tusklessness got passed on  to their daughters. There are only four females with tusks today and they will probably be the last.

How many elephants live at Addo?

There are over 300 elephants at Addo today and the number continues to rise. The latest total, and news of recent births, is posted in Reception.

Who's who?

An elephant can be recognised by the notches, tears or vein patterns in its ears, the wrinkles on its face and its tusks (if it has them).

Some elephants are wearing collars!

The collars contain tiny radio-transmitters. Radio - tracking allows researchers to find and follow a particular elephant.

Did you know...?

Elephants can sleep standing up.

The mission of the Addo Elephant National Park is to conserve the faunal and floral assemblages and ecological processes that characterise the unique Eastern Cape region, and to actively present this for the appreciation by visitors.

click link below for larger mage

http://www.sanparks.org/parks/addo/images/maps/addomap2.jpg to see map of Addo Elephant National Park