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Port Elizabeth / Sun Mar 10

Today we're in Port Elizabeth. PE, as it's commonly called, is a city on Algoa Bay in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. A major port, it's known for its beautiful beaches and numerous wildlife reserves located outside the city.

Along with George and Jayne, we went to Addo Elephant National Park which is the country's third largest park and home to one of the densest African elephant populations on earth. 

The population of elephants dropped over the last century because of poaching for the male's tusks. This has led to an interesting phenomenon. 98 percent of the 174 females in Addo Elephant National Park were reportedly tuskless by the early 2000s. In 1989 the elephants were added to the international list of the most endangered species with only sixteen left in the Greater Addo area. Today there are over 600 elephants in the national park. “Addo elephants might be the biggest success story anywhere,” said the park’s conservation manager, John Adendorff. “So maybe it’s not a bad thing that they don’t have tusks. Tusklessness has helped protect them.”

Fortunately we got to see several elephants along with male and female kudu and wart hogs. Most of the elephants we saw were in the bush but happened to come out into the road we were on. When they go back into the bush they just about disappear even though they're such huge animals!

We also saw many dung beetles who feed partly or exclusively on feces. A dung beetle can bury dung 250 times heavier than itself in one night. There are signs in the park telling people that dung beetles have the right of way and not to drive over them or elephant dung!
Dung Beetle
Dung beetles eating


Wart Hog
 


Female Kudu
Male Kudu
 

The road from our 4x4


Heading out!




 Tomorrow we arrive in Cape Town!
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