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I wonder what it was thinking when we made eye contact. I thought it was beautiful…..
I hope it was thinking the same about me as well. 
It’s my 2nd visit to the Kinabatangan Floodplain of Sabah, Borneo. Home to the Bornean Pygmy Elephants, one of the most endangered elephant species in the world. Only about 1,000-1,500 still roams within the rapidly vanishing forest of Borneo.
One evening, my guide and I were able to track down an adult female and two calves feeding in the forest. He knows the elephants well as their migration route often passed by his hut, thus the adult female was peacefully feeding while one of the calf decided to check us out.
I was able to get this amazing eye-to-eye close-up of the inquisitive youngster, with my telephoto lens at 400mm. The vegetations that slightly covered its face illustrate the elusive nature of this species. Little is known about these baby-faced pachyderms.
However, on my birthday, a day after I’ve captured this image, I witness a calf that almost drowned in the deep river. It was spooked by two fully packed tourist boats, which had gotten so closed that they had totally blocked its path while it was following the herd to cross the river to the other side of the forest. The bubbling sound of the drowning calf pierced through my heart as the trumpeting of the angry herd (no less than 20) drove the tourist boats away. My guide and I watch helplessly from afar as the herd rescued the calf back to land. I hope that is not the calf in this photograph’ and if it was, I hope it has survived the horrific ordeal.
Eco-tourism is a double-edged sword. Tourist and especially tour operators need to be educated on how to approach wildlife safely and respectfully. Since the incident, my guide and I had been warning tourist boats from getting too close while the elephants are crossing the river, until the end of my trip.
Nikon D70s with 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6, 1/80 sec at f8; ISO 200
