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Relaxing in the mud and sun Africa ENDEARING images of a small elephant herd enjoying a mud bath were captured in South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. The elephants sprayed themselves with mud and water to cool down and escape from the 25-degree heat and the scorching African sun. One elephant, from the herd, can be seen enjoying the muddy bath a lot. He kept rolling around in the mud, waving its trunk, clearly overjoyed by the activity. These images were captured by British wildlife photographer Nathalie Mountain with a Nikon D850 Camera and Nikon AF-S 180-400mm lens. “It is always wonderful watching wild animals behaving naturally in their environment and particularly when they seem to be enjoying themselves,” she said. “You can almost sense this elephant's happiness in these photographs. “The mud was not only cooling, but it blocked the sun and prevented their sensitive skin from being damaged and sunburnt. “Mud-wallowing and bathing is practiced by many ‘follicly challenged’ animals besides the elephant, such as the African buffalo, rhino and warthog. “In elephants, the network of crevices in its thick wrinkled skin helps absorb and retain enormous amounts of water and mud keeping it cooler longer.” ENDs