Elephants are the largest land mammals. In addition to being large in size, elephants exhibit amazing levels of intelligence, display emotions and possess sharp memory. Being large herbivores, elephants process a great amount of vegetation material as food and produce dung piles that rejuvenate the forest floor with nutrients so that more vegetation can grow. They uproot trees and branches, thus creating dead vegetation on the forest floor that decays and disintegrates slowly, enriching soil.
During summer, water is an essential commodity for the pachyderms. In the late afternoon, the herds find their way to the nearest source of water. This is a fun time for the elephants as water provides them with unlimited pleasures. Tiny babies roll around in water while their bigger relatives sit in water, spray themselves or splash around. After the elephants come out of the water, they dust themselves. This layer of dust keeps the elephant’s large body cool and protects them from parasites.
Summer and monsoon is the best time to observe elephants in their natural habitat in Corbett Tiger Reserve, a protected area with more than 1100 of these gentle giants.