Elephant Scratching His Head in Chobe River Front, Chobe National Park, Botswana (photo)

An elephant scratches his head in Chobe River Front. The Chobe National Park was named after the Chobe river, which forms the northern boundary of the park. The Chobe River area is very rich in plant life, offering Bachestegia sandveld, mopane woodland, mixed Combretum veld, floodplain grassland and the riverine woodland. The latter has, unfortunately, been severely damaged by elephants and has in places been reduced to scrub or totally denuded. Perhaps the greatest attraction of the Chobe river area is the elephants, which can almost always be seen there. Their late afternoon visits to the water's edge offer hours of fascinating viewing and wonderful opportunities for the photographer. Along with the huge herds of elephants, huge herds of buffalo can also be seen in this area during the dry season. You can also expect to see tsessebe, waterbuck, roan, eland, sable, giraffe and, if you are lucky, one of the rare puku. The floodplains of the river make an ideal viewing area, with mixed patches of open grassland, thickets of bush and riverine forest. In the river itself you should see hippo, and crocodile. The Chobe river area has a rich selection of bird life as well. Exquisite sunsets make this a wildlife experience not to be missed. Photographed in 2013