Gentle Giant

“Keep five yards from a carriage, ten yards from a horse, and a hundred yards from an elephant; but the distance one should keep from a wicked man cannot be measured.”
- Indian Proverb

"African Elephant" - Acrylic on Canvas - Maree©

With a height of just over 3 - 4m (measured at the shoulder), a length of between 6 to 7.5m (that's the length of an average motor car garage!) and weighing in at 6 tonnes, these mostly gentle giants of the African bush are highly intelligent with a strong sense of family and herd, and a complex social structure.

Elephants are incredibly social animals: they form strong, long-lasting bonds within their herd. They adopt orphaned calves, help injured elephants and work together. They have surprisingly complicated behavioural patterns and interactions. An injured member may be helped to its feet and supported by other herd members: if it is badly wounded, it may be vigorously defended by the herd, with even the calves taking part. Although elephants are normally peaceful individuals, they can be aggressive and extremely dangerous, especially if they are sick or injured. Females in groups with young are particularly unpredictable, as are males in musth.

Here in Africa they are native to a wide variety of habitats including semi-desert scrub, open savannas and dense forest regions. Besides its greater size, it differs from the Asian elephant in having larger ears and tusks, a sloping forehead, and two “fingers” at the tip of its trunk, compared to only one in the Asian species.

For this sketch, I looked at many different photographs from a great many angles, and developed this stance from all the 'information' I had gathered in my mind.

Acrylic on Acrylic Gesso primed un-stretched acrylic canvas sheet 12" x 8"

If you would like to buy a print of this painting, go to RedBubble or e-mail me if you are interested in the original.

Africa's Wonder

"Africa's Wonder - Elephant" - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - 12" x 9" - Maree©

Africa's wild animals are a constant source of inspiration and for me elephants symbolise Strength, Solitude, sense of loyalty to the family and Intelligence. Looking into the eye of an elephant, one sees Wisdom beyond our understanding.

I sketched this young elephant on a visit to the Elephant Sanctuary at Hartebeespoort Dam where they provide a “halfway house” for young African elephants in need of a temporary home.

Elephants might be the most well-known and well-loved animal in the line-up of African wildlife. But conservation of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) poses special challenges. While the overall elephant population is half of what it was 40 years ago, some regions of Africa have more elephants than populated areas can support.

African elephants are bigger than Asian Elephants. Males stand 3.6 m (12 ft) tall at the shoulder and weigh 5,400 kg (12,000 lb), while females stand 3 m (9.8 ft) and weigh between 3,600 and 4,600 kg (7,900 and 10,000 lb). However, males can get as big as 6,800 kg (15,000 lb!).



Years ago, over-hunting and the ivory trade were the biggest threats to elephants’ survival. Fortunately, ivory bans, hunting regulations, and protected areas safeguard elephants from these pressures today.

The 21st century brings an entirely different challenge to elephant conservation – land-use. Elephants roam over vast territories – across borders and outside parks and other protected areas. Unfortunately, elephants often range directly through human settlements and crops, causing discord between local farmers and these big mammals.

Successful conservation strategies must allow elephants to range freely in their natural habitats while reducing crop-raiding and other conflicts between elephants and local people and encourage peaceful co-existence.

Some interesting info :
Elephants have four molars; each weighs about 5 kg (11 lb) and measures about 30 cm (12 in) long. As the front pair wears down and drops out in pieces, the back pair shifts forward and two new molars emerge in the back of the mouth. Elephants replace their teeth six times. At about 40 to 60 years of age the elephant no longer has teeth and will likely die of starvation, a common cause of death.