elephant love.

Elephants amaze me. They strike me as so wise. Did you know that they mourn the death of their loved ones? They seem steady and loyal and kind.

In Uganda, on a rare weekend off site, I went to Kidepo National Park in the far northeast corner of the country. We were incredibly lucky because the roads to Kidepo from where I was living had just recently re-opened. The park is in part of the north where the Lord's Resistance Army was still operating. As a result, Kidepo is not yet on the tourist map. The only people who really had access were those who could charter a plane from Nairobi, so it felt like an untouched corner of the world. There is only one lodge in the park, the Apoka Lodge. It was simply unbelievable. But I digress...getting to the point of this, they had watering holes right at the edge of the pool and the elephants would come right up. Amazing! We also happened upon a group of elephants one morning on a safari and followed them for an hour.

You can imagine what all of this did for my obsession of elephants at the time. And, if you still aren't with me on the whole elephant thing, this story in the Daily Mail today should get you on board. Look at these photos below of a group of elephants, captured by photo, protecting one of their own while she gives birth. They circled and shielded her to fend off the hyenas. And, after they threw dirt around to cover the smell and throw any predators off the trail of the newborn! Just astounding. Elephants. Oh elephants.