An Afternoon Drink and Refreshing Swim
In Africa the sun tends to warm up very quickly, and it gets very hot. From 9:00am onwards the temperature starts to reach a peak. In the heat of the day animals often tend to be lethargic and want to spend as little energy as possible, with their respiratory system working hard to try and keep them cool.
The animals will often try various ways to try and cool themselves down in the blistering heat; where some will find shady areas to lie down for the rest of the day in the bush, others will find a nearby mud pan and perform what we call mud-wallowing, whereby they will roll in the mud and water to cool down their temperature, and to get the mud on their skin as a form of sunscreen. There is often an influx in parasites along with the heat, and the mud that the animals get on their skin acts as a repellent against these parasites.
But nothing cools you down better than an afternoon drink, followed by a refreshing swim! On an afternoon safari we used our initiative and, with the sun performing at its best, we made our way to a waterhole where we had the privilege to find a group of African Buffalo playing around in the water. They had obviously come down for an afternoon drink, and were now licking their lips as they sipped up the ever so 'clean' water.
The funny part about it all is that they would first bath and roll in the water, and give it some flavour by urinating. Thereafter they will treat themselves to a refreshment through drinking that very same water. This unhygienic bovine can weigh up to 900Kgs and is one of the most dangerous of the Big 5, as Buffalo are often renowned for causing trouble without prior warning.
After viewing the Buffalo we were treated to an experience of a lifetime. We came upon a dam where the Elephants were all inside having a refreshing swim! The babies were trumpeting with excitement as the whole herd interacted in the vast water area. They were covering their entire gigantic bodies in the water in an attempt to cool down. At times you would see nothing but trunks roaming on the surface of the water as they try to breathe whilst submerged. It was as if they had all gone snorkelling. The elephants were having a blast of a time as they rolled around in their pool. Teenage bulls started getting a bit cheeky and were pushing each other around in the water, testing strength.
We watched in envy as these mammoth creatures put on quite the show, drinking as they go. An elephant can drink up to 80 litres of water in a day. Some young ones were trying to come up the embankment, but because of the angle of the slope, they kept falling back into the water. They clearly knew we were there as well, as they would raise their trunks in the direction of the vehicle and give a large trumpet whilst turning their bodies away from us as if they were shy.
We enjoyed the spectacle of the largest land mammal as well as the hygienic habits of the Buffalo, and returned back to the lodge to have some drinks of our own. Not only did we have to cool down, but also settle down after all the excitement of an afternoon drink, and many enjoyed the luxury of the lodge swimming pool.
