Ruaha National Park - Day 1

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My last camp in Tanzania.  I spent 4 nights at Nomad's Kigelia Ruaha camp -- and I absolutely loved it!  (both the camp & the park)

Located at the heart of Tanzania, Ruaha National Park is the largest national park in Tanzania and it's the "other park" on the Southern circuit.  Ruaha's relative inaccessibility means it gets far fewer tourists than Selous and a lot less than any comparable park in the Northern circuit.  The rewards of traveling this far are a wild landscape with baobab-studded hills and rocky escarpments, with superb wildlife.

Elephants & Water:  Dry weather makes life difficult for animals of all sizes, but for huge animals such as elephants, a lack of water can seem to be an insurmountable problem.  Nature has equipped elephants well though to be able to survive and to find water. 

The average adult elephant drinks about 40 to 60 gallons a day.  They squirt it into their mouths from their trunk one or two gallons at a time, and they will often stay by the water until they have drunk their fill for the day.  When there's enough water available an elephant will squirt it over their backs to help them stay cool.  If water is in short supply, they may take a dust bath instead.

Elephants that live in areas where the baobab tree grows (like Ruaha) are able to use this tree as a source of water.  These huge animals push the tree with their heads or rip at them with their tusks, breaking the trees open.  Inside the trunk of each baobab tree is a reservoir of water, which the  elephant quickly drinks up. 

Elephants help not only themselves but other animals as well when they dig into dry stream beds or other spots to uncover water that is lurking below the surface.  They often create very large holes by digging with their feet, trunks, and tusks, working until they reach an adequate supply of water.  When the elephants are done with the water, other animals come to take advantage of whatever is left behind.  These holes also provide the elephants with a source of mud, which they scoop up with their trunks and spread over their skin as protection from the sun and biting insects.

Video alert:  none!  note:  the first couple of photos are from Selous (on the way to the airstrip & waiting for the plane)

Location: Ruaha National Park, Iringa, Tanzania

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