On one of our morning game drives into Amboseli National Park, we spotted this African Elephant mom and calf at a distance, by the side of the tracks. The mother had her back to us while she shielded her calf. We were keen to get a clearer view of the Elephant calf and moved closer to them.
On seeing the approaching vehicle, the Elephant mom turned around to face us and that was when we noticed her odd shaped tusks – one tusk was normal and the other was in the exact opposite direction.
On seeing this, our attention completely switched from calf to the mom. When the Elephants got comfortable by our presence, the calf came to the near side, in front of the Elephant mom and started suckling, creating a magical moment (first image) for us.
After a few minutes, the calf tried his hand at plucking the fresh grass.
We got even luckier when the calf walked closer to us away from the mother, while trying to pluck some grass.
This amazing sighting of the odd-tusked Elephant and calf was one of the highlights of our maiden visit to Amboseli National Park.
We must admit Amboseli is one of the best places in Africa to observe wild African Elephants in their natural habitat.
Thomas Suresh Anand
Wildlife in India, experience in pictures - Walk the Wilderness - A blog on wildlife in India where we share our experiences in the various national parks through wildlife photos
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