September hibernation - 03:12 pm
03 Sep 2009
By Jason Loughran
September has to be one of the harshest times in Moremi.
The rains have ceased and the only available water is in the channels still holding the seasons floodwaters. Vegetation on the sand tongues and mainland have moved all of their remaining energy down into their roots, storing it until better growing conditions return. This forces the animals to congregate around this available water. Herds of elephants, often in their hundreds, move out of the forests and into the floodplains.
The plants growing in the water are not of a high nutritional value and so animals will target the remaining seeds and fruits in order to obtain the nutrients they need. When returning to the dry the only option is to get to the roots and tubers. Elephants are masters of this and will dig up grass and even push down trees in order to get to this energy source.
These elephants had kicked up so much dust getting to the grass roots and with the sun setting behind them it appeared as though they were standing in the middle of a veld fire.
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