Last day in Manyara National Park in Tanzania, about an hour or so drive from our Karatu Simba Lodge home bas. In the early afternoon the sun was still pretty intense.
Many large herds of elephants had come down from surrounding areas to Lake Manyara to feast on the fresh grass on its shores and to get some relief from the heat by standing up to their bellies in the water.
Towards the late afternoon when they’d had their fill and the sun warmth was just right for them, they emerged to dry out and mingle for an hour or so before heading back to the areas where they came from.
Each herd included many juveniles and young adults. They seemed to know each other, either from the daily visits to the lake or being a distant relative.
Most of the young males engaged in rough play and tried to display their strength and dominance, but this young male didn’t seem to be interested in rough play and stayed away from the boasters crowed. He just wanted to chill out, get dried out while the sun was still warm, and head back home.
He finally moved further out and turned around to watch the “game” with sun lighting up his back just right. I had my shot that I was waiting for after few hours of just observing and planning the shots in my head.