Walking Among Elephants

Today was another day of inductions, but not with the lions… with elephants (“Ele”s as people say here). In the morning, we went to the Bomas where the elephants are kept at night due for safety reasons. We cleaned the enclosures, and then proceeded to herd the elephants to another location. We were herding them early in the morning, so the African sunrise lit up the grassland beautifully. We weren’t walking on a path, we were walking in the middle of the grasslands with blades of old grass up to our heads. There was something peaceful about it—I felt like I was truly one with nature.

After breakfast, we participated in some elephant training with some of the local Zim guides. We got to sit on the elephants bareback—something I had never done before even though I’ve ridden elephants several other times. After some preparation, we took an elephant ride through the bush. Seeing Africa by vehicle is one thing, but seeing it while on an elephant is a completely different experience. You’re much higher up, so you can get a better view of the landscape. You see things you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. And, you can get closer to animals.

After lunch, we had another lion induction. This time, we learned how to greet the lions properly. There is a certain way to greet them that enables the lions to think we are part of their pride. They’ll rub against your leg, leaving a scent, that lets them know you’re part of their pride.

We also had a photography induction, where we were presented with a slideshow of photography tips. We went over our program schedule, which includes a variety of different activities such as horseback rides, orphanage visits, town visits, working with the elephants and lions, bird walks, and rides in the research vehicles to see the release pride. I also signed up to go to Matopos, where we will go rhino trekking. Matopos is also home to some of Africa’s cave paintings, which will be really cool to see in person after taking Ancient to Medieval Art History and learning about cave painting techniques and meanings.

After the presentation, we photographed some of the staff with the elephants for a new internship program African Impact is creating in hospitality. We pretty much had the elephants to ourselves, so we were able to tell the elephant handlers where we wanted to take pictures of the elephants. We asked if we could make the elephants go in the water, and the elephants seemed to enjoy that quite a bit!

Here’s a picture of Antelope Park… I’m in love with the scenery!

It’s been a very busy day to say the least. It is now 8pm and I’m ready for bed… The photo volunteers are going out on the research vehicle at 6am to photograph wildlife in the park and the release pride!

One last note: Antelope Park isn’t just all about the elephants and lions… There's also a lot of bird life!