In celebration of a special birthday at Jabulani today, we’d like to share some bush and elephant knowledge with you from the birthday gent himself... Happy Birthday to Shepherd Nkomazana! Our cherished Level 2 Jabulani Elephant Carer!
Here, Shepherd explains the benefit of the Knob Thorn (Senegalia nigrescens) for the elephants.
Elephants can be seen stripping the bark of this tree, not to eat the bark, but to get to the thin layer of juicy, nutrient and moisture-rich cambium (which transports water and food through the tree for leaves to grow). Certainly a source of moisture in an unexpected place!
Thank you for the lesson, Shepherd!
The knob thorn tree was previously called Acacia nigrescens, and also goes by the names: knoppiesdoring (Afrikaans); muunga (Tshivenda); mooka (Sepedi); and umKhaya (Zulu).
