Anyone who has spent any time with elephants know that they have very strong maternal instincts (the daddies don't live with the herds). The picture below was taken in Yala National Park, and we first spotted the mother and calf in the brush ready to cross the trail to have a drink of water. Upon seeing us, they paused and the mother positioned her body between us and her calf, and they walked across the trail in this formation and proceeded to quench their thirst.



This next couple of pictures were taken at Minneriya National Park in Sri Lanka, where we were fortunate enough to witness the annual gathering of elephants known as (wait for it…!) The Gathering! The mother wasn't overtly shielding her baby from us, but gently followed him around and kept a watchful eye on him.