Elephants are among my favourite animals to spend time with. In particular, big old bulls take the cake, especially when you can just simply sit and watch them as they feed closer and closer to where you are positioned. This bull was feeding along the edge of the Sand River late one afternoon.
We approached slowly and turned off, watching him as he gradually fed to within a few meters of where we sat, allowing us a really close up and detailed look at him.
When you are that close, the smaller details such as the texture of their skin, the colour of their eyes and their eyelashes themselves are always worth a close look at through your binoculars or camera lens. In my opinion there are few animals that have such a “gentle” expression in their eyes, as an elephant who is feeling content.