Elephant bulls eating bark during the drier months. Somopane, Sebakwe & Zindoga of the Jabulani HERD

Have you ever seen an elephant eat the bark of a tree?

Our winters are arid, with very little to no rainfall over this time, and although mornings and evenings can be cooler, the day time is still quite hot, drying out the vegetation and the land quickly. It is hard to think it was still so green in May, just three months ago!

Wildlife adapts to the seasons, including elephants, and they turn to eat the bark of the trees too.

In this clip, Adine gets a great view of Somopane with a branch in his mouth, and how he rolls it with his powerful tongue, as his teeth (molars) – also very powerful- strip the nutritious bark off that he then digests. The rest of the branch he then leaves behind.

Somopane is indulging in a section of Sebakwe’s large branch that he pulled down to enjoy. He is always happy to share with his fellow bulls. You will also see Bubi’s son, Zindoga, behind Somopane.

Fortunately, Jabulani has its own bana grass plantation, and we are able to supplement their diets with fresh-cut bana grass which is laid out for them in their stables every day, along with teff, luserne and when available, fresh fruits!

We look forward to the ever-welcomed summer rains!

You can read more about the bana grass plantation here:
https://herd.org.za/the-beauties-of-bana-grass-aka-elephant-grass/

Please consider supporting our Fundraising Campaign, which goes towards both HERD and the Jabulani Elephant Care Crisis fund:
https://chuffed.org/project/artforelephants