In November 2023, one of the tragic casualties of severe heat exacerbated by the El Niño phenomenon was an elephant in Zimbabwe's largest animal reserve. Hwange National Park, boasting over 45,000 elephants, witnessed the deaths of over 100 of these majestic creatures due to dehydration.
"Elephants returning to a matriarchal group are greeted with ceremonial embraces, entwinings of trunks and colossal snorts of pleasure. Coming across the bones of their dead, they will salute them, lightly touching the skulls and tusks with their trunks. They have been known to bury dead family members, covering them in earth and brightly coloured leaves, working together, surrounding the corpse with fruit and flowers."
from 'The Golden Mole', by Katherine Rundell #Books#Nature#Elephants
Botswana’s elephant population has tripled over the past 40 years, and the African nation’s efforts have been lauded as a conservation success story. But the country is feuding with Germany over their new law aimed at banning the import of hunting trophies. President Mokgweetsi Eric Masisi is threatening to send 20,000 elephants there in protest, saying “You should live with the animals the way you try to tell us to.” Read more about the controversy from NBC News.