The hidden life of elephants
Bob Preller's book on elephants is a comprehensive guide to these huge silent giants, but is also full of anecdotes of his life and times with Loxodonta africana.
PRETORIA – Bob Preller has had countless special encounters with elephants. He shares some of these interesting experiences in his self-published book, The Silent Giants of Southern Africa, Including the Desert Giants of the Kaokoveld.
Preller and his wife, Annette, lived among elephants for four years in the bushveld during which time he had close interaction with them.
This honorary ranger’s 266-page guide to tuskers includes information about he social habits of elephants and a range of photographs, as well as anecdotes. 
As part of Lowvelder’s Pen in my Hand initiative, Preller will be presenting a talk on the silent giants in Mbombela on December 8.
This is an extract from the book in which he explains how a research project inspired by himself uses infrasound and seismic signals to find a means of keeping everyone safe in areas where elephants and humans live together.
The camera-shy elephant
Shingwidsi, a bull elephant of approximately 30 years old, has a reputation of being irritable and easily frustrated. I attempted to obtain a close-up photograph of Shingwidsi’s head while he was browsing on the leaves of a buffalo thorn. I stood behind the trunk of another tree, five metres away from Shingwidsi, when he became aware of me focusing on him with my camera. He became clearly irritated by my presence and ,with his trunk, scooped up a load of sand and with perfect aim threw the sand over me, covering me and the camera from head to toe in sand. He then waited a few seconds to see what my reaction was and then retreated.
Kicking a block into oblivion
The salt block had become a round rock ball because of constant licking and chopping by the game. Shingwidsi had an urge for some salt and attempted to crush the salt ball with its one front foot. This did not work. He then trampled on the ball with both front feet putting his full weight on it. Still he could not crush it. He picked it up with his trunk and put it to his mouth but it was too big and fell to the ground. He tried again. Again it fell to the ground.
Irritated and frustrated by the situation, he kicked the salt ball with his back foot away from him. Not satisfied, he backed up further and this time slogged with all his strength so that it rolled out of his sight. Amazing! Thereafter he totally ignored the salt block.
Chomping away in the dark
We had a spotlight which I fitted in a tree near the game feeding place at the corner of the garden ,which was switched on at night so as to enable us to watch any animals which may be attracted to the lucerne during the winter months This light remained on late into the night.
Normally a herd of 13 or 14 elephants visited the lucerne bales two to three times a week and this was usually after dark. We had learned to know approximately when to expect them and on this particular evening some friends had joined us for a braai. As if by appointment the elephants arrived after dark and we walked nearer to observe the animals as they congregated around the lucerne and molasses block. The spotlight made everything all very visible, without which of course it would be total darkness.
A younger bull elephant, which was not impressed by the light, moved towards the tree at the corner of the garden, up which I had placed the light, probably about three and a half metres among the branches.
I was intrigued as I watched him feeling his way with his trunk up the tree trunk following the electrical wire, which he had wound up towards the light. Just below the light was a ceramic connector to which the electrical wires were connected. When his trunk reached the connector, he calmly pulled at the wire, which fused all lights in the garden including the source of irritation to the elephant.
