Elephants

[Spalea]

Shaaz Jung: " From the Archives | In my early days of guiding safaris, big bull elephants in ‘musth’ weren’t my favourite animals to encounter on the track. The number of times I’ve had to put the pedal on the medal, with the jeep in reverse, is far more than I’d have liked. There’s no bigger rush than taking a blind turn on a beaten track and coming face to face with a giant, but as a guide, you’re responsible for everyone in the jeep. Not many understand the dangers of an angry bull and I think most guides would agree that it can sometimes be nerve wracking when you’re leading a Safari with clients. I absolutely love elephants but the jungle has taught me to respect them most. .

Musth’ is a condition in bulls that makes them highly aggressive due to high levels of testosterone. These levels can be 50 times greater than an elephant that isn’t in musth. These bulls often discharge a thick secretion called ‘temporin’ from their temporal ducts on the side of their heads. .
I photographed this elephant with my Nikon D3000 and 70-300mm in 2010 and it was the only image I took before I quickly realised what was happening. "

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