Elephants on the plains, Virunga National Park, Congo (Democratic Republic)

The park includes: part of Lake Edward (Lake Rutangize), the Semliki River valley, parts of the Rwindi, Ishasha and Rutshuru valleys south of the lake, the Virunga area within former Zaïre, and part of the Rwenzori (Ruwenzori) range. Lake Edward belongs to the Nile river system and Lake Kivu to the Congo Basin river system. Some of the largest wild animal concentrations in Africa occur along the rivers of the park. Mammals in the savanna of the Rwindi area include the elephant (Loxodonta africana) in the southern plains (3,000 in 1960, 500 in 1988: Verschuren, 1988) and at least 486 in 1998 (Barnes et al.,1998). Elephants play an important role in the forest and savanna ecosystems in which they live. Many plant species are dependent on passing through an elephant's digestive tract before they can germinate; it is calculated that at least a third of tree species in west African forests rely on elephants in this way. Elephants browsing on vegetation also affect the structure of habitats and influence bush fire patterns. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Westinghouse Film and traveled to Africa from October 26, 1970 to end of March 1971.