Let me take this moment to introduce you to Hemedi, the elephant that made Baobab camp a home.
Since we built the Baobab camp in Tarangire, we had several challenges that we worked on to make this little paradise a dream come true place.
It is indeed a dream come true place due to the number of elephants passing by the camp on their grazing land; the camp is surrounded by many trees, much grass, waterholes, and a great corridor between Lake Burunge and Tarangire National Park.
You will often see a lion, leopard, Zebra, Wildebeest, or cheetah passing by the camp, minding their own business.
But, for Hemedi, he made this place home; it could be that he used to hang around here before the camp was born, and he found himself a part of the Baobab camp family.
Most of the time, you will see him grazing nearby.
Since our introduction of this camp, little we knew that Hemedi would be stealing our water, many times he used to come to the water storage tanks, sniff around and leave; he later discovered that the Big 5000ltr black plastic water tanks we had were easy to open to drink water from so he started enjoying the easy drink that was at the camp.
He loved it, drank it, showered with it, and sometimes brought the whole family to enjoy with him.
Initially, it was challenging to deal with because we brought fresh water from around 100 km from the camp, a vital resource.
We later found a solution and installed several big metal tanks so that he could not steal our water, but Hemedi was very smart. He found a way to open the lid on top and kept drinking our water.
We kept trying different solutions until one day, we came up with one, change the colors of the water tanks from their initial color of brown to dark green.
Since then, Hemedi has never tried to open the tanks but graze around and go to the Tarangire River or other waterholes for a splash and a sip.
He comes in the morning, eating grass from the ground and to some trees, checks around like saying hi, then leaves and gets around again in the late afternoon. We are happy to be around him.
The Life of Elephants in Tarangire During the Dry Season
Life for elephants in Tarangire National Park becomes especially demanding during the dry season. As highly water-dependent animals, elephants require approximately 100–200 litres of water per day, depending on factors such as body size, diet, and environmental conditions. The dry season typically runs from June through mid-November, a period when water sources within the park gradually diminish.
As rivers and waterholes dry up, elephants are forced to travel long distances in search of water. During this time, many move out of the park, sometimes passing close to our camp in their search for relief from the intense thirst. Fortunately, Lake Burunge lies just a few kilometres away and serves as a vital lifeline, attracting elephants and many other wildlife species, particularly during the hotter afternoon hours.
Our camp is along this natural wildlife corridor, allowing us to witness these remarkable animals as they move in and out of Tarangire, following ancient routes in their daily struggle for survival.
