Staub (Dust)

This bull elephant of the Lewa Nature Conservancy happened to be crossing a road when we stopped in front of him. He was not aggressive, only curious. He came incredibly close to the Land Cruiser before shaking his massive head and continuing on around us. Bull elephants usually leave the herd between 10- 16 years of age. When they leave the herd they will congregate in small groups or be solo. Elephants use there large ears as air conditioners on hot days and also as a defense. Ears of an elephant’s size make the elephant appear even bigger than they already are. “Staub!” the title, is German for dust. In the late 90’s I helped do mobile safaris with a South African guide. We had mostly German clients. It use to crack me up when they would get sick of all the dust and declare “Ich hasse Staub!“ In all fairness, dust is generally not liked by any person with camera equipment. - Kim Diment