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Elephants are magnificent animals. They make wonderful mothers as well as
aunts, uncles, and cousins. You won't believe what tourists saw while on
safari in Africa.
At Chobe National Park in Botswana, a group of tourists got to see the
mother elephant give birth while getting up close to her. The moment they
witnessed the newborn infant being born was wonderful. They had no idea that
things would become much more fantastic. Fortunately, David Xing published
the film online for everyone to view in 2017.
The herd of the mother joined in after the delivery. They crowded around
her as they welcomed the newborn child and trumpeted. After that, they were
quite clear that they wanted the humans to go so they could spend time
bonding with the new baby. The fortunate vacationers took a ton of photos.
They won't even need to glance at them to capture this moment in time, but
you may now take use of their rapid photography talents.
According to ThoughtCo, elephants give birth after 18 to 22 months. The
roughly 250-pound enormous tots are born with the capacity to walk and feed
out of the womb. Amazingly, each day, the 3-foot-tall newborns consume about
three gallons of milk. Therefore, bear in mind that calves, or baby
elephants, are enormously large and ravenous. They still require a lot of
protection from wolves and other predators. Elephants are sociable animals
in part because of this.
According to ThoughtCo, they often move in sizable herds of moms, newborns,
and grandmothers. However, adult males start living alone between the ages
of 12 and 14.
The first and most ecologically varied wildlife park in Botswana is the
Chobe National Park, which is home to lions, elephants, hippopotamuses, and
common warthogs. However, the park is renowned for having a big elephant
population. The park has an estimated 50,000 elephants, according to some
estimates. The biggest kind of elephant, the Kalahari variation, makes up
the elephant population of Chobe.
Elephants in Botswana are still in danger from poaching despite the fact
that they are numerous in Chobe, according to the African Conservation
Experience. For instance, in August 2018, a group from Elephants Without
Borders flew throughout Botswana to count how many dead elephants they could
discover. Sadly, the crew from Elephants Without Borders discovered greater
decline than they had anticipated, showing that poaching was on the
rise.
Since Botswana is home to over 135,000 of Africa's 415,000 elephants, or
about 32% of the continent's population, this is very concerning.
Fortunately, groups like Elephants Without Borders exist to stop poachers
from exploiting Botswana's abundant elephant population.
Zoos Without Borders
The nonprofit "strives to locate animal migratory routes, safeguard natural
ecosystems, and enhance conservation of all species," according to Elephants
Without Borders' mission statement. The aforementioned aerial surveys are
only a couple of their most noteworthy initiatives. The group has spent more
than 4,000 hours doing airborne surveys since 2001 in order to gather
information on animal population, seasonal distribution, and other
significant results.
Even an airborne assessment of the Chobe woodland, where the film below was
shot, was carried out by the group. Their assessments of the Chobe Forest
Reserves from 2011 to 2013 indicate that the local population appears to be
constant. However, Elephants Without Borders does note that the region's
bush fires, together with deforestation and expanding human habitats, have
had a severe impact on the environment of the elephants. The group claims
further that there would be "an unavoidable increase in human elephant
conflict" because of the elephants' declining habitat, which impacts their
access to water.
Even while some have challenged the organization's assertions, an airborne
survey conducted in 2019 by Elephants Without Borders revealed a
considerable rise in poaching.
"When do we declare that there is a problem?" In a BBC interview, Mike
Chase, the scientist who founded Elephants Without Borders, posed the
question.
"Is it at 10 or 50 or 100 or 150 or 1,000? When we consider Tanzania, which
lost 60% of its elephant population in five years, we can learn how rapidly
poaching can infiltrate a population "Chase carried on.
"We personally seen 157 elephants that had been reported stolen. As we
haven't had the time or resources to inspect every carcass on the ground, we
estimate that the overall number of poached animals in the past year is at
least 385 and likely much higher."
The beautiful elephant herds that so sorely need our assistance are
fortunately protected by wildlife reserves like Chobe National Park, which
is shown in the movie below. This film serves as another another reminder of
the significance, magnificence, and beauty of elephants.
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