elephant family - babies walking | graphite

There’s something magical about watching baby elephants tumble and wander through the Timbavati bush veld - cheeky, curious, and always testing boundaries under the calm guidance of their mothers and elders. Sitting quietly with them is one of the greatest bushveld privileges. But alongside this beauty lies a real conservation concern. Elephants are powerful ecosystem engineers, and their feeding habits - stripping bark for nutrient-rich cambium and sometimes pushing over trees - are reshaping the landscape. Research from Kruger and the Timbavati shows rising elephant numbers are reducing woodland cover, which in turn affects nesting sites, plant diversity, and the many species that depend on these trees. It’s a delicate ecological balance that reminds us how deeply interconnected this landscape truly is.