Lars Beusker German , b. 1973

Literature

What could be more loving, peaceful and beautiful than a mother with her baby? Juma and I spent many hours with a small herd of elephants in a lush grassland outside Amboseli National Park in April 2019. 
Elephants feed for up to 18 hours a day, ingesting up to 600 kg of grass. After the rainy season, the areas are rich in fresh grass and the herd barely has to move while feeding for hours. My attention was fully on a cow with her young calf, probably 4 weeks old. The calf is fed by the mother's milk for about one year - the attempt of grazing has little success in the first months of life - the little ones first have to learn how to use their trunk, which often looks very funny, because they wave it around as if it were a long bobble on a cap. This situation was indescribable, so full of love and peace. Since I had stepped out of the Landcruiser very early, squatted down and just watched, did not move and did not make a sound, the mother let me full of calm. She always had me firmly "in view", but also sensed my peaceful intention. So I could over an hour again and again carefully slightly optimize my position and wait for the perfect moment: until Mommy stood frontally to my camera and Me also close to her - what a gift!