While we constantly saw this family of ten elephants around camp, we were getting to know each of them individually as they chanced to encounter us up close and personally. At this point, we were wondering if aggression was going to be their main form of communication.
And then we met Marshmallow and Mini Me. Everyone knows that mothers of young calves are the most dangerous elephants in the bush, and this female standing in front of us outside the camp office had a one-year-old baby by her side.
We braced for a charge and were ready to back into the office doorway, but she just stood there looking at us without showing even a hint of threatening behaviour. Because of her mellowness, her young son was free to explore near us, and to satisfy his curiosity by walking so close to us that we often had to back away.
Despite how tempting it was to make a pet out of this little guy, even while his mother stood mere metres away feeding, the last thing anyone wants is a giant, tame playmate five years down the road who fears no one. That would not have been in his best interest.
And that is how we came to meet and name Marshmallow and Mini Me. Four down and six to go, we thought.