A Time We Interrupted A Wild Elephant’s Meal – And He Wasn’t Too Pleased!!!

We were literally semi-charged by him!!!

On this World Elephant Day (12th August) that includes both the African and the Asian species of elephants, I would like to share an extremely interesting experience that I had while travelling to one of the remote places in South East Asia (undisclosed location to prevent prowling poachers).

What Had Conspired?

We had heard that at this place (say “LogT”) a lot of people had encountered elephants loitering. So that was our cue. Unfortunately, the last time I had been there I wasn’t so lucky so this time I wasn’t getting my hopes high lest they get “trampled”!!

After going all the way, when we had lost all hope of seeing one, one of the guys spotted a male elephant (hopefully male because it was all alone, and females are usually found in a herd). As soon as we heard the guys say “Gajah”, we literally took a “Dhoom” U-turn and zoomed towards the site. It was the first time I was looking at a wild elephant in its natural habitat and doing the most naturally thing – munching on some yummy long grass!!! Being stared at while eating isn’t really a very flattering thing which naturally got the elephant quite offended as he tried to chase us away.

Yes!! That’s what exactly happened. He charged at our car as we accelerated…..But shamelessly we stopped half a meter ahead and kept looking at him (mind you all were conservationists in the car, we just wanted to observe), while he stared right back at us, waiting for us to leave. When we didn’t leave he charged again.. Finally we left and but obviously took a U-turn from ahead and stopped across, a little ahead on the other side of the highway (unabashed!!!!) to avoid detection. When I say this, that elephants are super-sniffers with more olfactory receptors than any other mammals (more than even dogs!!), I am not kidding – they indeed do have, and research has proven it and I kind of witnessed it. The elephant could sniff our scent from the other side and crossed the busy busy highway (while we were frantically yelling at the trucks and other vehicles to stop so that the elephant remains unharmed) and started searching for us. It was time for us to leave because there was absolutely no point causing unwanted stress to the majestic beast.

On the way back we were blessed to see 2 more of them. While one was simply strolling, the other one was found, preoccupied with eating. However, when we stopped and I looked right, his (he was a tusker!!) tiny piercing eyes looked right at me (the highway was elevated whereas his “food plate” was at a lower height and perhaps extreme excitement was contradicting my sense of reality, but I am certain he looked right AT ME!!!) where we halted. “Aankhon aakhon mein ishara hua” which I don’t think played well, as he simply left his meal and swayed off (that felt humiliating!!) but he wasn’t an aggressive one. Just thought it better to leave in order to avoid any human interaction!!

This just goes on to show how smart they are. And its always interesting to know the unique characteristics of these enigmatic species!

Some Interesting Facts About Elephants

• With their ability to recall waterholes, recounting interactions with other elephants and humans and having the largest brain among all land mammals to do all the heavy work of remembering - their memory is truely legendary!

• Their society is matriarchal – decisions are taken by the ladies!! There is one head matriarch, and everyone follows her.

• Bulls or males are usually solitary beings, they stray from the herd after they come of age and sometimes join other herbs or remain a maverick (moody)!!

• Elephants being mega-herbivores, need to fulfill their daily food requirement – approximately 150 – 300 kg which is 10% of their body weight!!

• Since they have to maintain their weight, they end up not being picky eaters and evolved into generalist herbivores (kuch bhi veg kha jao – we really need to learn from them and stop bothering our moms).

• They possess deeper understanding of languages and can differentiate between them!

• With enlarged ears and sensitive nerve endings in their feet and trunk, they have the ability to pick up infrasonic messages and seismic vibrations. They specialize in detecting low rumbles over long distances.

• They are phenomenal swimmers!

• They can suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in case they witness their family members being killed by poachers or a calf (baby elephant) being orphaned by poachers. This is natural because of their strong familial bonds and excellent memory.

• They are far more conscious than us when it comes to their skin!! They use dirt as sunscreen and douse themselves and the calves in dust to prevent from sunburn!!

• They are known as “Mega Gardeners” because of their ability to disperse large forest seeds over long distances which would otherwise be impossible to disperse by bees, bats, birds and other smaller animals!

• They dig waterholes which eventually enables a micro-ecosystem!

Preventive Measures To Avoid Accidents With Elephants/Wildlife On The Highway

• Signboards are usually present at the onset of highway corridors that indicates you have to drive slower in those areas.

• If you see an elephant or any wildlife crossing, stop your car and let them pass.

• Do not honk or flash lights on them. That might irritate and agitate them which might lead to an attack or an unpleasant experience.

• Avoid using high-intensity discharge lights. It causes unpleasantness not only to other drivers but also to wildlife.

While we love our travel and our drives, it is equally important to be mindful of other beings that share this earth with us. So next time we drive through forests or forest corridors let’s be respectful of their presence and give them an opportunity to thrive!!

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