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	Mac Age class: Senior adult bull Date first collared: May 2002 Collar/s donated by: Tony McCllelan, Marlene McCay Mac has amazed the researchers with the distance he covers during his annual musth cycle! A period of heightened sexual activity, musth is a time when bulls traverse out of their non-musth range into breeding herd home ranges to search for cows in oestrus. Mac leaves his natal area in Kruger National Park and comes down here to Timbavati eventually covering a total distance of approximately 5000 km²! His majestic presence is unmistakable for he is one our largest tuskers. So if you’re here during his musth cycle in April, May or June, be sure to look out for this gentle giant before he returns home to Kruger!
	Classic Age class: Senior adult bull Date first collared: May 2004 Collar/s donated by: Tony McCllelan, Marlene McCay To be in the presence of Classic is to be in the presence of Nature’s most splendid. Named for his perfectly matched, long, slender tusks, one can’t help but feel awed by this majestic being. The researchers remain indebted to Classic as he has taught them where mature adult bulls (bulls over the age of 35 years) prefer to spend most of the year while not in musth in order to satiate their appetites. Mopane woodland is the perfect vegetation type for Classic and his fellow giant pachyderms for this as there are vast quantities available within the Associated Private Nature Reserves. What’s more, they do not have to share their feast with the breeding herds as the latter require a food type with a much higher nutrient value. By tracking Classic’s movements via his collar, the researchers have learnt that due to bulls’ particular dietary needs, their home ranges are in a different vegetation type when they aren’t reproductively active to that of their female counterparts.
	Gower Age class: Senior adult bull Date first collared: October 2006 Collar/s donated by: Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa This mischievous bull has caused some angst amongst the researchers when he is in musth! Musth is a period of heightened sexual activity for bulls, a time when their testosterone levels are elevated which means they’re potentially more aggressive. The researches regularly monitor their collared elephants, and when Gower is experiencing his annual musth cycle, he likes to take this opportunity to assert his dominance over them. So with a sharp shake of his head, a kick up of dust and a bellowing trumpet, he lets everyone know that he is not to be disturbed on his search for oestrus cows!
	Summer Age class: Adult cow Date first collared: November 2005 Collar/s donated by: TEMBO, Tony McCllelan Summer is an adult cow belonging to a breeding herd called ‘Trees’ whereby each of the other individuals is named after a local, indigenous woody species. Summer is a favourite among the researchers as she and her family frequent Tanda Tula, and their relaxed nature and gentle disposition make it an unforgettable encounter for guests. As with all breeding herds, Summer and her family are lead by the eldest cow in the herd; the matriarch. Through the many decades the matriarch has journeyed through the wilderness, she has acquired a wealth of knowledge and experience which her daughters and their offspring now rely on to keep them healthy and safe.
	Striburus Age class: Subadult bull Date first collared: June 2006 Collar/s donated by: Marlene McCay As his name suggests, Striburus belongs to the ‘Grass’ herd. However he is now of an age where he has begun his journey as an independent bull and has since left the sanctuary of his natal group. Bulls start leaving their breeding herd generally between the age of 14 and 17 years old. It is at this age that they start becoming too boisterous and big for the adult cows to discipline. However for a young bull who is used to the security of his maternal herd, the world is too unfamiliar and daunting to travel on his own, so at this age so he’ll often find companionship in other newly independent bulls. These young bulls may even seek solace and guidance from the mature adult bulls who teach their young companions the secrets of the wilderness.
	Intwandamela Age class: Senior adult bull Date first collared: November 2005 Collar/s donated by: TEMBO, Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa Intwandamela “he who greets with fire in his eyes” will remind even the most seasoned wilderness traveller of Nature’s raw power and strength! This large tusker was named after he mock charged one of the researchers when they were on foot. Although it was just a warning, he reminds us all that the wild commands our respect and that to walk through the bush is to enter a world that we do not own or control. Listen as Nature speaks to us, watch for the signs that show us what our fellow creatures have done before us, and feel the continuous activity of life that flows around us, and remember our place in the wild.
	Mapimbi Age class: Subadult bull Date first collared: October 2008 Collar/s donated by: ConserAfrica and Wilderness Safaris Conservationists have a dream to create a wilderness that transcends political boundaries, national borders and physical barriers; a natural environment that encompasses nature reserves linked via wildlife corridors. This is the vision that inspired the Great Limpopo Transfrontier National Park (GLTP) design; a wilderness area that traverses South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The researchers have recently collared a young bull called Mapimbi in the northern corner of Kruger National Park near Pafuri in the hope that he will show them a potential wildlife corridor between Kruger and Gonarhazo National Park in Zimbabwe. If the GLTP initiative can be realised then animals like Mapimbi can once again safely migrate through Southern Africa.
	Soshangane Age class: Subadult bull Date first collared: October 2005 Collar/s donated by: Marlene McCay, STE-SA Soshangane is named after one of Shaka’s (King of the Zulu), young men who eventually became leader of the local Shangaan tribe. Like his name sake, this bull has become a strong and independent elephant since he has left his natal herd. He is now at that age of exploration where he is discovering what the wild has to offer him. His journey takes him through unfamiliar territory, where he will learn the locations of the most nutritional food, the purest water and the safest refuge. He will encounter both friend and foe and learn his place in the social hierarchy. As a young bull, this will be a voyage that lasts him many years, and it will only be when he settles down and chooses one area to spend most of his time – his home range – will he have initiated into the mature age phase of his life.
	WESSA Age class: Adult bull Date first collared: November 2006 Collar/s donated by: Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa To journey into the secret life of elephants, is to discover a world of compassion, intelligence, humour, wrath, serenity, patience, loyalty and wisdom. After several years the researchers of Save the Elephants – South Africa (STE-SA) are slowly starting to unravel the mysterious ways of these majestic pachyderms, however this journey has required many tools including persistence and keen observations. The researchers use a technique that allows them to distinguish each individual elephant which helps them to reveal the elephants’ relationships. Look carefully at WESSA’s ears here, do you see how the margin is not completely smooth? How the sunlight reveals a network of veins? An elephant’s ear pattern becomes like a finger print to each individual and it is this which the researchers use to identify one elephant from another. Now they can distinguish WESSA from his fellow companions and eventually understand their relationships.
	Tussle Age class: Subadult bull Date first collared: September 2006 Collar/s donated by: Marlene McCay Via the global position system (GPS) in his collar, the researchers have been able to track Tussle’s journeys across Timbavati and into Kruger National Park. An elephant’s movement patterns would’ve remained a mysterious phenomena had it not been for technology such as Tussle’s collar. The researchers are now able to determine the areas that Tussle like, dislikes, and the corridors he uses to cross between the two. He has revealed to the researchers where he spends his time in the wet and dry seasons, how fast or slow he moves through certain areas, and the boundaries at which he chooses to cross. It is information such as this that will help reserve managers to understand what drives elephant movement and thus conserve the optimal environment for them.
	Captain Hook Age class: Adult bull Date first collared: April 2007 Collar/s donated by: Marlene McCay It may initially appear that Captain Hook is at a disadvantage with his one-tusk condition when he has to compete with other bulls for a breeding cow. However bulls don’t always need their tusks to assert their dominance, often their body size and elevated position in the social hierarchy is enough to diffuse a potentially aggressive encounter. Like many animals, elephants will try to avoid physical conflict because, at best, it can be very energy demanding, and at worse it can lead to serious injury, even death. Therefore elephants will initially try alternative tactics to ‘win an argument’. This may include walking tall, head shaking, trunk flicking, tree felling, trumpeting, and mock charging. Captain Hook can use these behavioural signs to communicate to another bull his intention, while avoiding a potentially violent encounter.
	Diney Age class: Adult cow Date first collared: May 2004 Collar/s donated by: Tony McCllelan, Marlene McCay It is with good reason that a consorting bull and cow is called a mating pandemonium! There is much excitement and noise from all members of the breeding herd as all individuals run around trumpeting and screaming. It is thought that this is a way for the herd to advertise the fact that there is an oestrus cow ready to mate and that any other bull within hearing distance who is interested should arrive quickly otherwise she will mate with the present candidate. A cow like Diney who has experienced motherhood several times knows that in order for her calf to have the best possible chance at survival must have strong, healthy genes. By attracting bulls to her mating pandemonium, she is able to compare her potential mates, watch their interaction, and decide on the strongest bull.
	Mathambo Age class: Adult bull Date first collared: November 2005 Collar/s donated by: TEMBO, Joubert de Lange (Intel) Mathambo is a very placid animal. When elephants experience nutritional stress during the dry season, they may be forced to feed close to human settlements during the dry season. Mathambo has moved close to some private camps but fortunately has not learnt to bridge the gap. It is an unfortunate fact that humans and elephants are often competing for resources. It is even sadder that this competition can often lead to conflict and grim outcomes on both sides. Therefore despite the challenges, it is important to conservationists to devise solutions to resolve this conflict. It has been well established that elephants are intelligent and sentient beings thus managing the human-elephant conflict often requires novel and innovative methods of solution. For instance it has been discovered that elephants have an adverse reaction to the sound of swarming bees. Therefore is has been suggested that bee hives be constructed around crops to discourage elephants from crop raiding, what’s more it provides local farmers with an extra source of income. A similar method of repelling elephants has been experimented with in Zimbabwe with chilli plants. Elephants are very sensitive to the smell of chilli thus can be used as a natural barrier around crops. A complex problem often requires a lateral solution and the human-elephant conflict is no exception. These are just some of these solutions that conservationists have suggested to promote a harmonious relationship between humans and elephants.
	Joan Age class: Adult cow Date first collared: November 2004 Collar/s donated by: Marlene McCay Understanding the motives behind elephants’ distribution such as Joan’s will provide wildlife managers with an invaluable tool for elephant conservation. STE-SA is investigating particular drivers behind elephant distribution, namely; nutrient requirements, social relationships, past management practises, and elephants’ perception of risk/safety. It is a well established fact that animals move in relation to their nutrient requirements and elephants are no exception, however STE-SA have discovered that bulls and breeding herds select certain types of vegetation for their home ranges to fulfil their differing energy demands. By uncovering the relationships between groups and individuals, STE-SA have gained insight into how an elephant’s movement pattern can respond to an oestrus cow, a musth bull, a more dominant breeding herd or a family reunion. A manager’s decision to create a physical barrier between wilderness areas can leave a lasting impression in an elephant’s memory after that barrier has been removed; elephants within STE-SA’s study site still adhere to an invisible line today where fences existed years previously. Humans are largely the only the natural predators of elephants thus often an elephants disposition can often be a reflection of how comfortable or uncomfortable he is around the surrounding human activity. An elephant may spend all his time in one area as here his does not feel threatened, and avoid another area altogether as he fears the human presence. Over the years the elephants have revealed to STE-SA just how these four factors influence their spatial distribution. This information is invaluable to conservationists and land managers who wish to understand the ecology of an elephant.
	Lapajuma Age class: Adult cow Date first collared: October 2006 Collar/s donated by: Marlene McCay After being collared in 2006 Lapajuma proved to be very elusive to the researchers of STE-SA. Leading her herd up to the mountainous corner of the Associated Private Nature Reserve, the researchers often struggle to track her with the telemetry equipment after she was collared. If found, the herd rarely lingers and it has been quite a challenge for the researchers to photograph and identify each of Lapajuma’s family members. Often all one sees is a tail disappearing into a cloud of dust! Some elephants remain disturbed by human presence and one has to wonder what has caused such a reaction. Various studies have suggested the unique ability of elephants to acquire and store memories and this is especially evident in their ability to return to resources such as water holes after months of trekking the land. Perhaps Lapajuma and her herd have had a negative encounter with humans and have retained this experience as one to adhere to. It is sad to realise that despite the good intentions of many, there are some humans who do not respect these majestic and sentient pachyderms and can ruin the precarious relationship between people and elephants.
	Proud Age class: Adult bull Date first collared: November 2006 Collar/s donated by: Marlene McCay Elephants are renowned for their strong social ties, and various studies have examined how relationships between elephants influence their behaviour and ecology. Elephants have shown remorse for a dead kin, sympathy for an injured related herd member, patience for a straggling friend, and excitement for a returning family group. Originally it was thought that out of the two sexes it was the cows who remained tightly bonded and the bulls who were largely solitary, however continuous resightings by STE-SA researchers of bulls like Proud and his fellow pachyderms together are beginning to paint a different story. Perhaps bulls are not as solitary as once depicted. Perhaps bull gatherings are not solely a response to shared resources, completion or sheer coincidence. Instead, perhaps these bulls have a friendship or kinship that draws them together repeatedly over time. And really perhaps it is no wonder considering the first phase of their life was spent embedded in family bonds.
	Mellow Age class: Senior adult bull Date first collared: April 2007 Collar/s donated by: Marlene McCay Over the centuries elephants have repeatedly proven their amazing ability to adapt to challenging conditions. Despite being the largest land animal, elephants have proven their resilience to harsh and often nutrient-lacking conditions. This is partly due to their flexibility in dietary requirements, and partly due to the ‘tools’ they have developed to find their food. Most of an elephant’s diet consists of grass and during the wet season, there are bountiful amounts of this to satiate their appetites. Elephants such as Mellow use their trunks to wrap around tufts and feet are used to kick at the base to loosen the roots. Trunks are again used to stretch high into canopies to select the newest and juiciest leaves. As the skies completely dry up and the bush becomes devoid of all greenness, the elephants strip the bark of trees to obtain the nutrients being transported to the roots for winter storage. Tusks become a very useful tool as they pierce the tree trunk to loosen the bark. At the height of the dry season when the veldt looks completely desolate, elephants look to the soil to find and dig out roots and bulbs for those precious few rations. Mellow uses his large head and massive bulk to push over large woody vegetation to unearth the root stock below. This is often enough to sustain these resourceful and well equipped pachyderms until the skies once again open to hydrate the parched earth and entice the first flush to appear.
	Koeleria Age class: Adult female Date first collared: July 2007 Collar/s donated by: Marlene McCay, Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa The STE-SA researchers fist got to collar Koeleria after she needed to be anesthetized to remove a snare from her back foot. Since collaring her, the researchers have spent numerous hours in the field collecting data with the aim of acquiring a deeper understanding of these majestic and sentient pachyderms. It is no wonder then that they have had the privilege to witness some curious and remarkable behaviour. Koeleria once decided to lay down flat in front of the vehicle. “We had stopped on the road to watch the herd cross in front of us” describes the researcher “most of the herd had passed by in their usual manner, when Koeleria who was trailing behind the others stopped right in front of us, crouched down onto her hunches then proceeded to stretch out her enormous body along the ground in front of our vehicle! We were amazed! The rest of her family stopped and turned to watch her clearly stunned as we were. After several seconds she lifted her head and slowly rocked her bulk until she was back on her feet again, shook herself off and ambled over to rejoin her family who all moved off into the bush again. We could not discern any apparent reason for why she did that from the ground she’d just left; no mud to wallow in, no rock to scratch herself against, and no roots to feed on. The fact that she had not moved much while she was laying there confirms the fact that she wasn’t wallowing, scratching or feeding! We were touched by Koeleria’s ability to make herself vulnerable so close to the vehicle.”
	Barry Age class: Adult bull Date first collared: May 2005 Collar/s donated by: Barry Mence There are many attributes that make an elephant like Barry unique and special among other species of the animal kingdom. One is their adaptation to produce six sets of molars which develop consecutively. Elephants are born with their first set of molars, a set lasting up to approximately 15 years before they are worn down and are replaced by the next set. Elephants have an unusual root system whereby the roots grow at an angle down toward the back of the mouth (roots unusually grow vertically down) which pushes the molar forward. The biting, crunching and grinding of the teeth on vegetation causes the tooth to chip and eventually wear smooth. As the tooth is worn down and pushed toward the front of the mouth its root is reabsorbed back into the gum and another tooth has begun to emerge from the back of the mouth to replace it. Elephants normally receive their sixth and finally set of molars at approximately age 45 years old. As this last set is worn down the elephant is forced to move to areas where there is less woody vegetation and softer food such as grass to feed on. Inevitably these areas are often where the old elephants die given rise to the myth of ‘elephant graveyards’.
	Mandy Age class: Adult cow Date first collared: May 2005 Collar/s donated by: Barry Mence, STE-SA Elephants like Mandy are continuously amazing us with their apparent understanding, and displaying of emotion. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder of Save the Elephants, recounts how he witnessed the “behavioural reactions of elephants towards a dying and deceased matriarch”. In October 2003, a matrirach collapsed due to unknown causes and died the next day. During her demise, reactions from both related and unrelated elephants ranged from mild interest (directional sniff toward body, raised tail) to obvious signs of distress (rapidly approaching body, screaming/trumpeting, touching the body with trunk or foot) to actively trying raise Eleanor (both before and after her death) with their trunk and tusks. Iain discusses the various possibilities of why elephants display such behaviour; is it to investigate and learn something from the nature of the death? In the case of the matriarch’s family, is it the insecurity of losing a matriarch that causes them to linger around the body? Or is it something deeper than that? Something that humans can actually relate to? Perhaps until now, humans have been arrogant to assume that they are the only species to feel empathy, compassion and sorrow, and that elephants also mourn their dead.
	Caughley Age class: Adult bull Date first collared: September 2006 Collar/s donated by: Marlene McCay Caughley’s massive body is silhouetted on the horizon by the setting sun. His walk is steady yet purposeful and one can almost be lulled by his rhythmic rise and fall of his great head with each step. His footfalls cause puffs of dust to disperse around his feet, linger in the dry air and finally settle to the earth. It is a telling sign of the parched earth as each day yields another cloudless sky. He is thirsty. Everything to him appears thirsty. Caughley lets out a trumpet of excitement as he reaches the edge of the pool, and with ears still flapping runs into the water knee deep. Great trunkfuls of water are sucked up noisily then sent rushing into the mouth. Caughley doesn’t stop until the last of the aching thirst had been flushed from his body. Elephants are extremely adaptable to dry season conditions. Once the grass is no longer nutritious, they switch to browse and start feeding on dry sticks and roots wherever these are to be found. Although elephants are preferentially grazers, they are forced to browse once the grass looses its nutritional value as the dry season progresses. Spend some time watching how elephants feed and what they are feeding on, you will learn a considerable amount.
	Big Al Age class: Adult bull Date first collared: November 2004 Collar/s donated by: Marlene McCay, Lonnie Strickland Umbabat Age class: Adult cow Date first collared: October 2005 Collar/s donated by: Marlene McCay, Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa Ever wonder if the elephant peering back at you is a male or a female? Well let us introduce you to two of our collared elephants Big Al and Umbabat! As you read on, refer back to their photos to see if you can spot their differences! Elephants are sexually dimorphic which means that there are notable physical differences between males and females. The most obvious disparity is the difference in their body sizes. Adult bulls can weigh between six and ten tonne, adult cows roughly four tonne. Bulls tower over cows in their stature; their height, width and even length surpass their female counter parts. As a result of his excessive body dimensions, bulls like Big Al grow significantly larger tusks then cows like Umbabat. They are generally thicker and longer. What’s more a bull’s thickening tusk and widening of forehead causes his head to develop into an hour-glass shape compared to the otherwise longitudinal shaped head of the cow. But size and shape are not the only discerning features between the two sexes, bulls and cows also have different shaped foreheads. Bulls generally exhibit a broader and rounded shaped forehead, while cows developed a square, sharp angled forehead. The line of an elephant’s undercarriage can also be used as a tell-tale sign of its sex; A bull’s front legs are comparatively longer than a cows front legs in relation to both sex’s back legs. This causes the bull’s belly line to slope more steeply compared to a cows. Of course if you find these details may be lost on your untrained eye, do not be shy; it never hurts to look for the obvious!
	Namaste Age class: Immature bull Date first collared: June 2007 Collar/s donated by: Brian and Claire Makare Namaste (which is the Hindi translation for greeting someone) is the youngest bull collared by the researches. He has amazed the STE-SA researches with the distance he has travelled since becoming independent of his natal herd. Via collars containing global positioning systems (GPSs), it has been discovered that the average home range for young bulls of a similar age is 4,415km² which is 500% percent more than what was determined using the traditionally technology of radio telemetry. Yet Namaste’s home range far exceeds that! This young bull exhibits a trekking distance of over 8000km², an exceptional undertaking for a bull his age! Young bulls undertake these exploratory expeditions to unearth the mysterious ways of the wild.

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