Elephants reign supreme in the wild
Elephants at Queen Elizabeth National Park take a minute to feed by the game track. Photo by Rafsanjan Abbey Tatya.
What you need to know:
While the lion is believed to be the king of the jungle, an experience in the wild brought the writer face-to-face with elephants, making him argue that the elephant rather than the lion, is the supreme wild being in the jungle.
During one of my expeditions to the magnificent Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda, I discovered something spectacular – something that triggered a debate in my head. An age-old debate of who truly rules the jungle.
It all started when we stumbled upon a pride of seven lions devouring a zebra, which looked like a fresh kill.
Everyone aboard our safari vehicle wanted to get very close and witness a once-in-a-lifetime experience; just spotting lions is very hard, and to find them hunting or feeding is exceptional. The tour guide refused to drive closer to the pride, saying he did not want “us to distract” the lions. He said the pride could easily abandon its prey if it felt disturbed by our proximity.
The previous day, we had encountered a family of about 10 elephants grazing by the roadside in the park. When the same guide saw a mother elephant strolling with a calf of around three-months-old – starting to show signs of uneasiness, he drove off immediately. He said the elephant would attack and injure us if it felt threatened because mother elephants are known for their hair-trigger tempers.
Against rules of nature
“As guides, we are taught to respect all animals and even respect elephants the most because they are the bosses of the jungle,” said the guide. I have watched documentaries where baboons, cheetahs, buffaloes and even hippos tease lions but no animal will even think of messing with a full grown elephant.
This is what made me start thinking, “so the lion is the king of the jungle, the sultan of the savannah, but can be bullied by humans”, and I thought, “but elephants scare the heck out of lions, they have no natural predators and they are the biggest bullies on the animal planet.”
The rule of the jungle dictates that the strongest and fittest survive while the weak perish, and it is clear – supported by numbers – that elephants are big time survivors compared to lions and all the other big cats.
Save for barely five documented incidents where the pride of lions have killed juvenile elephants, usually when the earth’s largest animal faces off against the earth’s fiercest animal the encounter goes one way – the lions take flight.
The biggest elephant versus the biggest lion will be 6,000 kilogrammes against 190 kilogrammes respectively. Any single lion which faces up to a full grown elephant is looking to commit suicide.
“The elephants’ society is led by the oldest female called a matriarch. She determines when they eat, rest, bathe and drink and unless you are mad but its size alone demands that you give space and you must,” says John Onenchan, a game ranger with Uganda Wildlife Authority.
When mass is everything
Standing at around 12 ft tall at the shoulder, a big male will drive off almost everything in its way, including trees.
“When you don’t show a sign of danger to the family, the big elephant won’t attack you,” adds Onenchan. “Like any other bully, elephants want to be respected and given space. You oppose that and you’ll get punished.”
That has set a big question in my head: Is it about time to elect a new king of the jungle?
Daily Monitor’s Fort Portal Bureau Chief Felix Basiime says his regular encounters with wildlife suggest that the elephant should wear the crown for the “King of the Jungle.”
“I remember elephants holding us under siege for over five hours in Kibaale National Park,” recounts Basiime. “I was driving through at night and they were crossing. Everyone had to park their vehicles and wait for hours as the giants crossed in split small groups. Had they been lions, some people would have tried going ahead but no one wants to dare the elephants.”
Lions are so amazing; they deserve their moniker of “King of the Jungle” and they have been celebrated throughout history for their courage and strength but even above a powerful creature lies another power creature – and that is where the elephant dwells. For thousands of years, humans have utilised the brute strength of elephants for everything from war to transportation.
