tusker.

Our friend knows a quirky man who is one of the few people to live deep in the forest, alone.  He has a beautiful back porch that overlooks a long strip of forest and a watering hole – great for spotting wildlife.

When we arrived to spend an afternoon animal watching, this enormous tusker elephant was standing a few feet from his house.  We crept inside the front door and onto the porch and watched this incredible creature for at least a half hour.

Elephants can be very aggressive and have claimed many villagers who happen upon them in the forest.  This rogue tusker has killed six people.  In South Asia’s sad view of life, he still roams free.

After watching him for a while, I realized I couldn’t get this close to a wild elephant without touching him.  I know, I have issues.  As he approached the porch, I kept my hand out to get a touch of his trunk.  I had to dodge a few swipes at my face, but prevailed, touching the rough trunk.  It was epic.