The majestic sight of a troop of these mighty beasts sits high on the must see list of every safari goer. The largest living land animal, the male African Bush Elephant can grow up to 4m at the shoulder. Its cousin the African Forest Elephant, once thought to be the same species, is smaller. But there is more than sheer size to these highly intelligent creatures.
Elephants live in family groups headed by a matriarch, they are herbivores and can cause serious damage to local vegetation thanks to their prodigious appetites. They can communicate over long distances, using frequencies of sound beyond human hearing. They are extremely intelligent, displaying a range of behaviours that put them level with primates. Perhaps most their most famous behaviour is the touching way they mourn their dead.
Elephants have long been under threat from poachers, but thanks to protected regions their numbers have stabilised in recent years. South Africa has seen a healthy rise in Elephant populations and tourism has certainly had a positive effect.