Post #14289

Ghost Elephants: Snow-white, strange and very rare. These are not albinos! Since ancient times, African tribes have told legends about white ghost elephants, mythical creatures filled with mystical power. They say that only a very lucky or very honest person can meet such an elephant. Etosha National Park guides disagree. They say: “Come to us, you can look at white elephants every day!” The national park is in the very north of Namibia, which is very, very dry land. For most of the year, Etosha is a bare wasteland, in the midst of which there are scattered scattered emerald oases, in which all local life is concentrated. And local elephants are perfectly adapted to such conditions. Their herds wander from oasis to oasis, where they find temporary shelter, food and, of course, the opportunity to swim and roll in liquid mud. Very light and clayey mud. Can you see where I'm going with this? This dirt, as well as the dust that adheres to the giant, forms a crust, which turns an ordinary elephant white. But if you rub it with a wet cloth, under the layer of dust and dirt you will find a very ordinary elephant. So the national park workers lied to us a little. But the aborigines do not. Let's change the topic and talk about completely different white elephants from another region of Africa. When ecologist Steve Boyce heard stories from Angolan tribes about ghost elephants, he took them seriously. So in 2016, Steve returned to Angola, armed with camera traps. Camera traps recorded leopards, monkeys, pigs and a lot of rodents, but not a single elephant. Then he came back again, and again, and again. He rented helicopters, hired guides and communicated with local hunters and leaders. Year after year he searched for his white elephant, like a man possessed. Until finally, in 2024, his labors bore fruit. He managed to shoot one single, unclear and low-quality video. But this was enough to gain recognition, volunteer helpers and funding. It was thanks to him that we found out that white elephants are a unique population of African elephants, numbering from 40 to 100 individuals. Their herds roam the expanses of the Angolan highlands, but move exclusively at night, and during the day they lie in bushes and open forests, which is extremely atypical for elephants. And real white elephants, unlike “painted” ones, are only a couple of shades lighter than the overwhelming elephant mass. And a non-specialist may not even notice the difference. But from the point of view of their behavior and genetics, they are unique. Author: Yaroslav Ilyin 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot