Red Elephants of Tsavo East

Tsavo East National Park in Kenya is famous for its “red elephants” and big tuskers. The elephants are not red of course, but the soil is full of red clay, and when the elephants are freshly “dusted”, and in the right light, they certainly look red. Elephants dust or mud themselves to protect their skin from the sun and insects. All elephants do it. It is just that the soil of Tsavo East turns them red when they do. The big tusks of Tsavo East are more of a mystery. Elephants with big tusks are increasingly rare in other areas of Kenya and Tanzania, but many remain at Tsavo East. No one knows exactly why. Sony RX10iv at 90mm, 350mm and 600mm. Program mode. Processed in Polarr. Note the corrugated tongue on the close-up. 🙂

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