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John Kok
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The Delta Daily: Elephant Shakedown; Baboon Innocent
The Delta Daily: Elephant Shakedown; Baboon Innocent

Breaking news: Residents of the Okavango Delta were shaken, stirred even, by unshakeable evidence. Elephant, caught red-trunked, errr.. red-handed.

The authorities were overheard muttering: "The scene is a mess. Everything trampled to dust. Size 24's at least. Could do to lose some weight too. There was poop (must be a bachelor, male). There were seeds. There was dirt. What a shambles. How are we to pin this on the Baboon now?" **see previous post.
Your on-the-spot intrepid reporter :-)
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During our walk on the island, I was lugging my big bazooka rig and fading fast. Then we saw this big guy, taking his time hoovering up the palm seeds on the ground around the tree with his trunk, enjoying his morning feast. Our Guide told us, "He's going to do it again." Really?

Yeah - but it took him an age. As usual (this seems to happen to me a lot in Africa), just as we are on the verge of giving up, he did it! Stepped up to this tree and gave it a series of almighty shakes. If you have heard the sound of a heavy rain storm on a forest canopy, that's what it sounds like.

You can see the palm seeds raining down in the picture. Elephants absolutely love this stuff. And perhaps I've given myself away - so do I, taking the picture, not the palm seeds :-)

This was a tough shot. The light was very harsh by then. The elephant is pretty dark. There were not a lot of choices for vantage points. We were on foot and not planning to get any nearer. The dust in the air did not help. I am also not much of a fan of HDR nor mega post-processing (my lack of skill being the reason).

African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana)

D3S_Eagle Island Camp 2010 Aug 16_0230

Eagle Island Camp, Central Okavango Delta, Botswana
Coordinates: -19.545707, 23.048029

© All Rights Reserved
Taken on: August 16, 2010
Tags: Everybody's photos tagged with African bush elephant African bush elephant Everybody's photos tagged with Elephant Elephant Everybody's photos tagged with Loxodonta africana Loxodonta africana more » Everybody's photos tagged with Central Okavango Delta Central Okavango Delta Everybody's photos tagged with Botswana Botswana Everybody's photos tagged with August 2010 August 2010 Everybody's photos tagged with TWOP TWOP « less
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Camera: Nikon D3S, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, 400mm, ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Nikon D3S
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Focal Length: 400mm
ISO: 400
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash
Exposure Program: Shutter speed priority AE
Exposure Mode: Auto
Metering Mode: Spot
White Balance: Auto
Gain Control: Low gain up
Color Space: Uncalibrated
Software: ViewNX 2.0 W
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