KENYA: Elephants Dust Bathing

As they amble closer to us, their ears flap constantly, helping to cool them off under the hot sun.

They stop in an area where the soil appeared softer, contrasting with the hard compacted earth. The elephants kicked the dirt with their toes, using a repetitive dragging motion to further loosen it. This might be their favorite spot for dust baths. They collect dirt in their trunk which acts like a hose, and spray it out all over their bodies. Sometimes they spray over their heads to cover their backs, and sometimes under their ears to reach their sides. The soil feels cool on their dry skin, and helps repel insects and parasites, much in the same way that water and mud does. Their dust bath completed, they move away and disappear in the acacia thickets.