An African elephant herd returns from the river in the Samburu Nationa Park in Kenya, and one by one, mothers leading calves, they walk a thin trail.
Last year in September I went on safari with my friend Isaac and spent 8 days in 4 different parks. On this particular evening we came upon a massive herd of elephants walking just at sunset on our last night in the Samburu National Park. It seemed every where we turned in this park there were elephants, and by far this herd was the largest we had seen with close to 40 elephants walking in a straight line. If you've been on safari or had the opporunity to experience elephants up close, you know how quiet they are when they walk which seems counterintuitive to how massive they are and how loud their trumpets can be. But this herd was no exception, and with a quiet confidence, they followed the paths of their ancestors, just as the maternal leaders were showing the young on this evening.
As they made their way to their destination, we followed along, keeping a parallel path to theirs in our loud and clunky safari vehicle. With so many young in the herd, we made sure to keep our distance so as not to threaten them, but I was able to snap a couple quick shots from the moving vehicle and capture this gorgeous scene unfolding in front of me. Step by step, one by one these elephants reminded me of the journey we each take with the love, support and guidance of those whom love us.
You can see a quick clip of this herd in motion on my Kenya highlight slideshow by clicking here, or to see a larger and high-res version of this image, click here to view it on my Google+ page.
