The cute little dude was back in the water today.

I haven’t seen such a young elephant calf go so wild in the mud and water. Usually they hold back and stay with mom. And in this little guy’s case, his mom was holding back but instead of sticking to her side, he joined the rest of the family in the wallow.

If he’s so bold at this age, imagine what he’s going to be like all pumped up with testosterone and hormones when he’s in musth. He’s going to be a raging lunatic. Anyway all’s safe for now and we’ve got at least 15 years of peace before he runs amok.
When I got to the pan this morning a troop of baboons seemed to be having a picnic on the water’s edge. They spent about an hour here playing, turning over elephant dung looking for insects and fruit and just having a leisurely time in the shade.

They had already moved off when the elephant arrived. First Spud came over alone. He’s fully in musth at the moment and went over for a mud bath before moving on.

One-Tusk’s family arrived a little later, had their mud wallow and were off. The elephant weren’t hanging around today.
When I got to Banyini this evening a huge herd of buffalo had just drunk and were moving off.

And the Quelea were still coming in their droves, especially towards sunset. With most of the colonies nearly finished nesting, I wonder if they’ll nest again this season as they did last year?