A shocking moment on a day out in the reserve with the herd! Sebakwe picks up on something from younger female elephant Timisa and follows after her, with the desire to mount her. Even though he is on contraception as per South African legislation for elephants in the care of humans, he still has urges. And Timisa is on the receiving end today.

He has tried to mount Timisa before and has certainly chased after her in the past too, but as happens now again, the rest of the herd are quick to rally around Timisa to protect her and interrupt the dominant bull’s advances.

All the females seem to move in, surrounding Timisa, including Tokwe, Limpopo, Pisa, Bubi and Setombe. Even Fishan!

The carers try to dissuade Sebakwe as he continues to go after Timisa. They decide to move to a different area in the reserve to distract Sebakwe and give Timisa a chance to escape, as it is a stressful event for her.

Timisa might be going into oestrus and perhaps Sebakwe is picking up on this but she is showing no signs and is still very young. As such she is not yet on contraception. Elephants are far more perceptive than we humans are so there’s no telling what could be the cause of this ruckus.