A truly memorable day around Longinye swamp. We started off with a family grazing at sunrise, with an amazing display of colors as the clouds took different shades of orange and red. We then watched a clan of about one hundred Elephants head towards the swamp. Among them was a female in estrous followed by six bulls. One was in musth and clearly dominant over the others. He mated with her as the others watched on in excitement. In the afternoon we returned to the area and some distance away from this group we noticed one of the biggest bulls of the ecosystem, named Tim by the Amboseli Elephant Research Project. I photographed him extensively in 2010 and 2011 and I was really glad to see him again this year, and in perfect shape. He was grazing peacefully while the female was still being pursued by the males. All of a sudden he decided that he too was interested in this female. He walked into the herd purposefully and created panic among all the Elephants present. The bulls all scattered and walked away from him. The females and youngs screamed in alarm and excitement. Tim, also in musth, chased all the other bulls until it was clear that he was the dominant one and the others accepted his position. The other bull in musth decided not to challenge him and kept well away. The female in estrous also screamed and walked back and forth with the bulls following her, until Tim finally mated with her, with a glorious light and some amazing dark clouds behind.
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