Forest elephants in the Odzala National Park

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Forest elephants in the Odzala National Park

Forest elephant* is living in tropical forests in the Central Africa, and smaller than elephant living in savannah. In Japan they call it 'round ear elephant' because of its round shape of ears. As its name suggests, forest elephants can walk even in very dense forests where people cannot walk, by pushing forward their bodies. I had only several chances to see them during a year, but whenever seeing them, their eyes attracted me with something mysterious. (*It was classified as a subspecies of African elephants, but the recent study suggests that forest elephant is a different species from African elephant.) In Odzala National Park, we need to get deep into the park in order to see forest elephants.

Eco-guards found an elephant in the Grande Saline along Lekoli River. We approached by a boat.		↑To buy postcards of this photo

This big bull went back into the forest slowly. See a movie of this elephant （WindowsMediaPlayer)		It is dangerous to encounter elephants in the forest. Female elephant with her baby is especially nervous and chase you if you approach her. However, the elephants in this photo were a group of six and eating leaves, without caring us.

An elephant seen near Mboko, tented lodges in the park. You may see elephants on the same ground level, different from East Africa where you always see them from a vehicle. You will notice them by hearing a sound of browsing leaves from the forest. ↑To buy postcards of this photo		See a movie of this elephant （WindowsMediaPlayer)

A female elephant eating leaves.		↑To buy postcards of this photo

This is Muanji Saline in the north where many poached elephants had been found before the park was extended to this place. There was a tragedy that two groups of poachers exchanged shots and a man was killed.		A male elephant with long tusks. In the area where tourists and park staff come and go, elephants can be seen in the bush just beside the forest like this photo. They are prepared to go back to the forest as soon as they feel danger.
Forest elephants in Odzala National Park　　　Crop raiding by forest elephants Elephants in the forest...　　　Poaching of forest elephants　　　 Eco-guards of the Odzala National Park　　　Wildlife in Odzala