The Imire Elephant: Matriarch of the African Buffalos

Some of the elephants at the Imire Rhino and Wildlife Conservation in Zimbabwe.

One of the elephants eating.  It's amazing how powerful they are, taking down trees.

Hi, elephant tush!

A baby elephant.  Still my favorite of all the animals, how can you not just love a baby elephant?

Imire has an elephant who is rather famous for her 'identity crisis.'

Nzou is the matriarch of this herd of African Buffalo.  That's right, she's the head of a herd of African Buffalo.

When Nzou first arrived at Imire, she was placed with a bull elephant within the only large herd Imire a had at the time---a buffalo herd.  By the time the bull elephant died, Nzou had immersed herself so completely within the buffalo herd that she became distressed when Imire tried to move her to the elephant herd they had obtained.  The buffalo also became visibly unsettled by her absence.

When I visited, fourteen male African Buffalo had challenged Nzou for head of the herd over the past 30 years---she won every time.

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The Chobe Smorgasbord of Animals!

Why, hello, giraffe!!

I love the attitude in this giraffe's look.

These beautiful animals are all over Botswana's Chobe National Park.

So stunningly beautiful!

An African buffalo in Chobe.

An African buffalo cub.  How can an animal be so cute and ugly at the same time?

After rolling in the mud.

Why, hello, you beautiful elephant, you!

A pod of hippos sunning along the Chobe River.

A hippo cooling in the grass.

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The Chobe Hippos et Al!

Why, hello, hippo!

A hippo yawning in Chobe National Park in Botswana.

A baby hippo nestled in its pod.

A crocodile lounging on the Chobe River.

An African Buffalo.

Why, hello, elephants!

There's something about baby elephants that is just so ridiculously cute.

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Snapshots from the River: Botswana Chobe Style!

The Chobe River in Botswana.

A houseboat on the Chobe River.

Elephants, as seen from a riverboat.

Why hello, African Buffalo!

Tented lodging...

A crocodile sleeping.

One of the unusual cranes in the river area.

Hello, stork!

The scenes on the Chobe River were serene and beautiful---it's amazing that just crossing the border
into Botswana from Zimbabwe had such remarkably different terrain!

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Three of the Big Five

While on safari in Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe, I was lucky enough to see three of the big five!

One: this impressive male lion.

Two: this huge hippopotamus in the Zambezi River.

Three: this huge herd of African Buffalo.

So amazing...and my heart beat a bit faster the closer they got to us.

Even with their beauty, you can see how they are the kings.

We didn't see a leopard sadly..but one was spotted while we were there. So close!

(African Buffalo skull...)

Two hippos on a small island in the middle of the Zambezi River.

We weren't lucky enough to see the fifth of the big five: the rhino.  

They apparently don't come to that part of Zimbabwe anymore and those that used to had been poached.

(Why are these the big five?  They are the most dangerous animals to hunt.  

In particular, they are the ones that will charge you vice run from you when threatened.)

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And We're Off to Mana Pools!

Recently traveled to Mana Pools National Park in northern Zimbabwe in the lower Zambezi River region.

This the Parks and Wild Life office--easy to miss and a must stop to register with the park authorities.

Zimbabwe is crawling with these lizards. I have no idea what kind they are but this photo doesn't do their startling blue tails any justice!

The entrance to Mana Pools.  My favorite rule? Please avoid behaviour likely to disturb wild life or people.

Um, yes, please don't give the lions any reasons to attack...

While the dry season is the best for seeing wildlife (it's the dry season now), it makes it difficult for more drought-prone areas in Zimbabwe to survive.  Here, the park entrance makes do with a water tower (and public bathrooms!).

I thought baboons frolicking and leaping were a fitting way to start the new safari adventure!

And a sign of the difficulties of obtaining fuel in more remote parks of the country: the line of jerry cans...

And voila! Immediately entering the park we spot one of the big five: the African buffalo. 

And then this impressive bull elephant that stared us down!  This bodes well for the safari...

and to think! We hadn't even reached our safari lodge yet!

For more information on Mana Pools.

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