The next day at Khwai we decided to stay put on the campsite in the morning and see what animals passed through. There were quite a few interesting herons and egrets on the river and a group of elephants came to drink a few hundred metres away, then a solitary male came down right in front of us to dig in the marshy ground next to the river - he appeared to be eating roots - and a couple of jacanas were risking their lives between his feet - evidently profiting from his digging somehow.
Later in the day we took the truck for a quiet "game drive" down the riverside - just round the corner we discovered the source of the hippo calls - a pool with a small island covered in dozing hippos of all sizes. Further on we spotted water buck and then several small herds of elephant. Whist watching one of these drinking on the opposite bank, they decided to cross to our side of the river exactly where we were sitting - we decided to stay still to avoid startling them - they were going to walk right past us until the last large elephant (there always seems to be a large one both at the front and the back of any herd) spotted us and seemed perturbed - the whole herd trotted back across the river when suddenly they all froze - for at least 5 seconds - it seemed longer and was quite bizarre, seeming to be more like a photograph rather than "real life". They then moved off quietly, we couldn't work out what had happened - until..... Another group of elephants arrived across the river in the same spot as the last group a couple of minutes later - as we were watching them Sue spotted something exactly opposite us on the other side of the river - the lion pride again dozing in the shade of the trees! This was what had upset the first elephant group. The second herd was slowly moving towards the lions - and they had some youngsters with them - what was going to happen? As they approached, the lions started to look slightly uneasy, getting up and moving around, then the lead elephants started moving quicker, breaking trees and generally making a bit of noise, heading directly towards the pride who seemed to break up before slowly moving off into the trees away from the river. The elephants followed with some trumpeting and flapping of ears, even the youngsters joined in. The elephants formed a line and drove the lions out of sight. Very soon after a 3rd group of elephants arrived to take their place at the river, drinking and moving slowly through as if nothing had happened.
Back to the campsite slowly, passing the hippo pool where they were all either in the water or slowly slipping in ready for the night. On arriving at our campspot we spotted a giraffe - no, not one, but a whole herd slowly emerged from the bush, including some young. we watched them as dusk fell and only just got things setup for the night before it got too dark.
Later in the day we took the truck for a quiet "game drive" down the riverside - just round the corner we discovered the source of the hippo calls - a pool with a small island covered in dozing hippos of all sizes. Further on we spotted water buck and then several small herds of elephant. Whist watching one of these drinking on the opposite bank, they decided to cross to our side of the river exactly where we were sitting - we decided to stay still to avoid startling them - they were going to walk right past us until the last large elephant (there always seems to be a large one both at the front and the back of any herd) spotted us and seemed perturbed - the whole herd trotted back across the river when suddenly they all froze - for at least 5 seconds - it seemed longer and was quite bizarre, seeming to be more like a photograph rather than "real life". They then moved off quietly, we couldn't work out what had happened - until..... Another group of elephants arrived across the river in the same spot as the last group a couple of minutes later - as we were watching them Sue spotted something exactly opposite us on the other side of the river - the lion pride again dozing in the shade of the trees! This was what had upset the first elephant group. The second herd was slowly moving towards the lions - and they had some youngsters with them - what was going to happen? As they approached, the lions started to look slightly uneasy, getting up and moving around, then the lead elephants started moving quicker, breaking trees and generally making a bit of noise, heading directly towards the pride who seemed to break up before slowly moving off into the trees away from the river. The elephants followed with some trumpeting and flapping of ears, even the youngsters joined in. The elephants formed a line and drove the lions out of sight. Very soon after a 3rd group of elephants arrived to take their place at the river, drinking and moving slowly through as if nothing had happened.
Back to the campsite slowly, passing the hippo pool where they were all either in the water or slowly slipping in ready for the night. On arriving at our campspot we spotted a giraffe - no, not one, but a whole herd slowly emerged from the bush, including some young. we watched them as dusk fell and only just got things setup for the night before it got too dark.