Beyond the camp, day two: how much a giant elephant weighs and how to swim with crocodiles

It's the second day far in the field, and just one giant left to scan.

Today we went swimming in the lake. With the African heat it was blissful. After we got out, Louise pointed out the crocodiles swimming in the lake too ... She said the local crocodiles feed mainly on fish and are not dangerous. At least there have been no man-eating cases noted so far =)

We have just one giant left to scan. An extinct Elephas recki was found and excavated in 1974.

Elephant excavations, 1974

The animal was very similar to the modern Asian elephant, though much larger. With the digital scans, a direct size comparison can now be made.

Elephas recki was a large adult elephant and would have been larger than any modern elephant.

Just like the previous fossils, the elephant ones were also damaged. The elephant fossils have generated the biggest amount of raw data - more than 11GB of hard drive space. We mainly scanned with Eva, and used Spider for the teeth. The smallest details on the teeth can help to determine the age of the animal very accurately. We had to recharge the laptop twice to be able to complete the scanning.

We mainly scanned with Eva, and used Spider for the teeth.

The huge task of postprocessing now begins. We are back to the camp's comfort and the luxury of a shower!

A nap after lunch =)