Our quarters while at Baobab Safari Lodge consist of individual thatched huts (not tents) that stretch across the edge of the hillside, following a rock-lined path.  We were issued a key and told to be sure to lock our doors when we leave our rooms.  Apparently the baboons occasionally play with the door latches and if they manage to jiggle the door loose, one might find one's undergarments, or "smalls" strewn across the property.  Each room is fully equipped with a bed, flushable toilet, running water to a sink and shower, as well as a small desk.  More importantly, each room comes complete with a can of mosquito repellant called Peaceful Sleep, a bug spray called DOOM, and a compressed air boat horn for medical emergencies.  Thankfully the only one I didn't have to use was the horn.

I'm fairly certain the Peaceful Sleep was so named not only for it's ability to deter mosquitos from disturbing ones sleep but also because spraying the cloud of heavy, chemical mist onto ones body causes immediate gasping, drowsiness and eventual loss of consciousness.

Our mornings began at 5:30 with a "wake up call."  The lodge hostess, a woman we called Auntie would walk along the path, stop at each room and play a drum until we yelled back with a cheerful "Good Morning!"  Our breakfasts are hearty and delicious, and after we eat, we jump into our safari vehicles and head to the Chobe National Park, just a few minutes down the road.

The game drives are amazing.  While there are designated roads, they are far from flat or smooth, and occasionally the vehicles will bog down to a slow, bumpy crawl in the fine Kalahari sand.  Our guides and trip leader refer to the experience as an authentic "African massage." While in the park, we're treated to many animals.  Elephants, baboons, groups of impala (called a "rank" of impala), kudu, warthogs and sable, to name a few.

A yellow baboon foraging for seeds and other goodies commonly found in elephant dung.

 The male impala will keep a harem of up to 45 females.  It's no wonder that he may be thin and exhausted by the end of the mating season.

The greater kudu- the male has horns which reach one full twist at around two years of age, and do not reach the full two and a half twist until they reach the age of six.

Both male and female sable antelope have long arching horns, reaching one meter in females and slightly longer in males.  When threatened by predators they can use their horns quite effectively to protect themselves, occasionally killing big cats who hunt them.

Warthogs get their name from the "warts" on the sides of their face that act as shock absorbers when they butt heads during a fight.

Elephantidae Loxodonta

... commonly known as the African elephant.  The African elephant can be distinguished from it's Asian cousins by it's larger stature, bigger ears and by having two "fingers" or "lips" at the end of their trunk, as opposed to the Asian elephant's one.  They can eat up to 450 kilos of plant matter per day but their digestive system only processes about 40% of it.  In parts of Africa there is an overpopulation problem with elephants.  Quite a quandary... what to do with an overpopulation of car-sized mammals that we went through so much effort to protect.

As many elephants as we saw, I never tired of watching them.  The way they use their tusks and trunks to break down trees was fascinating- many of them had an expert understanding of leverage.  Sadly we saw many areas where the elephant population had decimated  the vegetation.  There were entire orchards of indigenous trees that had been broken down to leafless stumps of brush that stood 4 feet high.  The baobab tree in particular is a prime target for the elephant.  During the dry season they become a staple because the soft, corky trunk stores large amounts of water.

Chewed up trees were a common sight in Botswana.  Interestingly, elephant dung looks nearly identical in texture and color, owing to the fact that 60% of its makeup is undigested vegetation.  We learned much about animal dung on this adventure... but that's a separate post in itself.

Elephants can live up to 80 years, with child bearing years being between the ages of 20 and 50 years on average.  The mother generally carries the child for 22 months with each pregnancy bearing one calf.  Time between pregnancies can range from two to four years.  A group of elephants is called a "parade of elephants" and the little ones are usually in the center, protected by the adults.  As a general rule, if a baby elephant can still walk under the adults' bellies, it's less than a year old.  

We've all heard that elephants never forget.  While that may not be entirely true, they do in fact have quite extraordinary memories.  The ivory trade nearly wiped out the elephant population, bringing it's numbers down to only 600,000.  In 1990, ivory sales was banned, but in some of the areas hardest hit by poachers, the elephants are still hostile toward humans.  Twenty one years later, they would still flap their ears in irritation and trumpet angrily as we passed.  I don't blame them.

Notably, the African elephant's ear mimics the shape of the African continent.

Interestingly, I learned that the legend of the elephant graveyard is generally a myth. It is true that the bones of old elephants are commonly found in groups, but the reason is not because they have some sense of burial rite or tradition.  Elephants have 6 sets of teeth and as the forward set wears out, the next ones move forward, much like conveyor belt.  As the elephant wears out it's last set, it must seek out softer foods, usually around bogs and marshes.  The elephant will stay in that area until it can no longer eat, at which point it will starve to death.

I wish we had these signs in Los Angeles.  It would make driving more interesting.