Sniffed by an Elephant
Did you know an elephant’s sense of smell is four times as strong as a bloodhound’s? They can actually smell water several miles away. This can mean the difference between life and death during a drought. It’s very cool to be sniffed out by an elephant.
On my first game drive last January I headed out onto the high savannah of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy along with my friend Joseph Mutemi and our guide and driver Daniel Lotukoi. It felt good to be back on safari. Daniel spotted a small group of elephants. I was delighted to begin my safari with elephants! The elephant family approached and paused to sniff us out. Even the baby waved his trunk in curiosity.
As the group moved on a tuskless female came headed straight for my side of the truck.
She sniffed the air, as if saying – Who are you? What are you doing here? Kids, let me check this out, you go over there while I explore this vehicle. Her trunk came so close to me, I held my breath and for a split second I thought, she’s going to touch me! (You can watch the group here.)
When her trunk withdrew, I let out my breath and I turned to Joseph and Daniel, my eyes big as saucers. In silence we exchanged an OMG look between us. The toothless elephant seemed satisfied. Next she went over and boldly inspected the other land cruiser that was out on the game drive with us.
We were all quiet, frozen, watching every move. Daniel monitored the rest of the herd to make sure there was no other threat while we were fixated on the inquisitive elephant. Elephants are intelligent and curious. Sometimes it seems the animals are as curious about us as we are about them. The herd moved on continuing their afternoon walk accompanied by white egrets, their constant feathered friends. I was left feeling grateful for the contact, noticing how when we treat each other with respect there is no threat – we feel safe.
We’ve added a donate button to the website for those of you who want to directly support work in elephant rescue and conservation. During this campaign 100% of the profits from purchases in the online store will go to support conservation work until August 15th.