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Loxodonta africana
The legendary red elephants of Tsavo East (National Park) are normal bush elephants with a thick layer of red mud/dust.
Semidry savannah
The red color comes from the alternating bathing in the mud and subsequent dust bath with the iron oxide containing dust. This makes a thick protective layer against parasites.
14 Comments
Thank you, Christine.
Fantastic spotting, congratulations Benno!
Thank you Jim.
Well done, Benno...great spotting!
Thank you, remkinloch.
Congratulations on SOTD. A beautiful series of photos. The images of the elephants really emphasise the redness especially against the stark black and white of the zebras.
Thank you Felix
Great spotting, Benno. Congrats!
Congrats Benno. Well deserved.
You're welcome Benno. All your latest contributions from Africa are of an amazing quality, with multiple shots showing animals really well in their habitat (the "h" in our acronym (Noah) actually stands for habitat!).
Feeling honored, Daniele, thank you.
Congratulations Benno, this fantastic series is our Spotting of the Day!
"Find out about the "red elephants" of Kenya's Tsavo East National Park in our Spotting of the Day! These African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana) owe their color to red soil, which they roll in as a dirt bath. As home to Kenya’s largest elephant population, the Tsavo ecosystem is critical in elephant management and conservation. African elephants continue to be under pressure from poaching and other forms of threats. Here you can find out more about elephant census in Tsavo: https://buff.ly/2fNgLx3 "
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Thank you, Mark.
Great series and spotting Benno.