We first saw this huge tusker – male Asiatic Elephant, feeding on the burnt grass at some distance away from the safari road. After taking a few record shots, it dawned on us that there was a possibility of the Elephant crossing the safari road to get into the waterhole on the other side. We decided to wait and watch. At first everything went on plan with the Elephant taking a few lazy steps towards the road. Little did we realize that this waiting game would extend well beyond half an hour.
After taking those initial few steps, the Elephant stopped again to feed on the burnt grass while contemplating the best place to cross the safari road. For some reason it decided that crossing the road near our jeep was not a good idea and it started trudging in a direction parallel to the road. It would stop every now and then to feed on the nutritious burnt grass and also to scan for the best crossing point.
With every passing moment, it was evident that the Elephant would surely cross the road. The “start and stop” mind games went on for some time. The Elephant finally lost patience and crossed the road behind where we were parked, giving us some frame filling compositions. Even while crossing the road, it kept a close watch on us. After it crossed over to the other side of the road it gave us these parting shots before moving on. The whole experience of waiting and predicting the Elephant’s movement and finally watching the crossing left us pretty satisfied and we drove away with lovely memories and pictures.
