An elephant cuddle!
On safari in Udawalawe National Park with Udawalawe Ethical Safari.
Elephant cuddles are nice things to see on safaris because elephants are one of the most social animals on the planet. When male elephants reach sexual maturity the females will exclude them from the herd and drive them away. This is because the adult females do not want the males breeding with females in their own family and they no longer accept the males as part of the herd. They are forced to live their life from that point on alone, adult males do not live in groups.
After the males have been isolated they feel alone and have no friends for long while until they find and settle into their own territory. When male elephants find other friendly males they love to have the little cuddle with them, contact is important for such social animals. That’s really nice to see because that’s the moment they are sharing lots of feelings between them like love and happiness, it is like they are smiling and playing. That’s why it’s very special to see elephants cuddle during the safari and it makes us emotional in that moment, seeing the lonely males share friendship.
