Yala national park Sril Lanka is home to many Asian elephants. During our trip, there were many females walking up together with their young. These are often family members who stay together because of shared care and protection from predators. The males are solitary and only join the females during mating season. The photo shows a feeding female with her own young but also the young of a sister or her mother. The young play with each other under the caring supervision of the mothers. This creates an endearing atmosphere that is well expressed in this photo. In Sri Lanka, fortunately, elephant populations are well protected and the lack of large tusks like those of the African elephant helps. The photo was taken from a Jeep with the engine running and in first gear. Indeed, it is always a matter of being careful because the females will defend their young to the hilt. In addition, there are always large and sometimes aggressive males around who can suddenly emerge from the bushes. So no matter how sweet, you always have to be careful with wild animals
Biologist, entrepreneur and passionate photographer with publications in National Geographic Calendar (2016, 2019), IKEA and own exhibitions. All photos were taken with Nikon SLR cameras including the D300, D750, D800 and the D850. Lenses 300MM (P)F4, 500mm (P)F5.6, 70-200 2.8 VR, 14-24.. Read more…