In 2018, I returned to Mount Elgon National Park​ in Kenya, so our 18th #BrightenYourDay video is from there, but this time its not about elephants. As in Kenya's other montane rainforests, on Mt Kenya and the Aberdares, the Elgon elephants share their habitat with buffaloes - a very different kind of herbivore, though both can act as seed dispersal agents. Elephants eat fruit and seed pods, so they disperse the seeds in their dung - known as mega- #GardenersoftheForest and Savannah - but buffaloes are grazers, and ruminants at that, so seldom ingest seeds. Notice in this video that the most curious buffalo as our Land Rover draws to a halt, appears to be wearing earrings and beard jewellery - these are burrs, seed cases covered in tiny hooks, that hitch a ride on passing animals. The longer hairs on a buffaloes ears, chin and tail do the job nicely - as do the KWS rangers' woolly jumpers and socks, and even my shorts - so we all ended up acting as seed dispersal agents!
Like all the herbivores on Mount Elgon, feeding on plants that grow in soils that are leached of soluble salts by the heavy rainfall, these buffaloes visit the caves to satisfy their salt appetite. They lick and nibble the mineral-rich volcanic agglomerate in the world's only subterranean salt-licks that have been excavated by generations of troglodyte tuskers.
To while away your time in #Covid19 lockdown, why not take a virtual tour of Mount Elgon, including the huge entrance chamber of Mackingeny Cave - a favourite of buffaloes - via www.vEcotourism.org or by downloading the free vEco Tours app - for use with or without a #VR headset.