Addo Elephant National Park is an elephant park located 100 kilometers north of Port Elizabeth in South Africa. The park was constructed by its first warden Harold Trollope in 1931 with the goal of protecting and 
preserving the eleven elephants that roamed in the area. The period between 1943 and 1960 saw systematic immigration of elephants in Cape Province to the park. Addo Elephant National Park now currently houses 450 elephants. Covering an area of just 12,000 hectares, the park is considered "tiny" when compared to other national parks in South Africa. Nonetheless, Addo Elephant National Park ranks number one in terms of the African elephant population it accommodates. Apart from elephants, the park is also the home of more than 1,000 species of animals such as elands, Red Hartebeest, wildebeest, warthog, black rhino, African buffalo, black-backed jackal and so forth. 

As the largest land animals, African elephants do not have land predators and they dominate the African jungles. Prior to the arrival of European settlers, these animals roamed the land freely and consumed without restraint.
 
As a result, many forests in Africa faced destruction caused by these elephants (though the extent of damage on natural ecology done by these elephants was nothing compared to what the European immigrants did). Massive frontiers were opened for extensive cultivation of fruit trees, which brought enormous wealth to the new immigrants. However, it also meant the destruction for these elephants. Because of their appetite, these elephants cause havoc at orchards and farms while foraging for food. The new immigrants hunted down the elephants as a countermeasure and it resulted in sharp decline in the population of African elephants. In 1982, the South African government included African elephants in the list of endangered species and the efforts to conserve the animals saw gradual recovery in the population. 

Today, the 450 or so elephants in Addo Elephant Park mostly gather at the eight caves or dams in the park. These elephants usually come out of hiding from the jungles in groups at dawn and dusk; 

 
visitors can simply wait near the caves to see the incredible view of large elephant herds and hear their thunderous calls. Most people believe elephants are fond of water simply because they love to bath, which is untrue. Elephants use their trunks to spray water on themselves primarily as a means of cooling their excessive body heat. This explains why elephants usually appear near places with water. Despite their large and clumsy appearance, elephants are good swimmers. When a herd of elephants comes across deep water, the cow (female elephant) will use her tail to lead the calf by its trunk. 

  African elephants are good at adapting to their surrounding environment. One may find traces of these animals along the east coast of South Africa to Maputo shrub forest at the borders of Namib Desert and Mozambique to the west. 
The hunting of African elephants for their tusks began as early as 1658 by hunters armed with spears and arrows. Such primitive means of hunting made elephant hunting inefficient and didn't really hurt the elephant population. However, African elephants would face severe threat in the 18th century when teams of hunters began systematic killing of elephants with firearms. Back then, 22 elephants would be killed each day in the Cape Province, just for their ivory tusks. 

In 1979, there were approximately 1.8 million African elephants in Africa. The number dwindled dramatically to 735,000 in 1988, and by 1989, only 625,000 African elephants remain. Presently, the majority of African elephants now live in game reserves such as the Addo Elephant National Park. However, these animals still face the threat of poachers, who deploy all sorts of automatic weapon, modern transportation and advanced communication tools to evade game wardens for the sake of poaching ivory. In fact, roughly one hundred elephants in various reserves are killed by poachers on a yearly basis.
The average African elephant bull may be over four meters in height; cows may also reach approximately three meters. These elephants are the second tallest animals in the world, after the giraffe. African elephants' staple diet consists of honey locust tree leaves. Apart from the shrubs, the thorny honey locust trees are cultivated in abundance. The thorny trunks of the trees do not intimate these giant beasts; the African elephants use their enormous bodies to knock down the trees and use the finger-like projections at the tip of their trunks to pick up the tender leaves. However, these elephants also eat tree roots and grasses. The diet of an adult elephant is rather amazing in volume; it can eat up to 150 ~ 200 kg of plants per day and drink 220 liters of water. This is why in Addo Elephant National Park, apart from specific hedges of cultivated vegetation, most of the area in plain sight is barren with withered trees, which is the work of these elephants.

Elephants are social animals. Generally speaking, the head of the herd is the dominant bull. When male elephants fight for dominance, the battles appear to be very fierce. The weaker and younger males back off in battles. However, when the head of the herd grows too old, it would fall out of the herd and lead solitary life as its ivory tusks turn yellow. Due to considerable success in elephant conservation at Addo Elephant National Park, visitors may see many old elephants that roam the park alone far from their herd for food. Despite their seemingly pitiful state, visitors are reminded not to alight their vehicles in excitement and approach the elephants. Elephants are among the world's most potentially dangerous animals; one single swipe of its trunk could easily reach 500 pounds of strength, and tourists simply cannot afford to get careless.

There are many private lodges that are exquisitely furnished in Addo Elephant National Park. Professional guides are also available at the park to guide tourists through the game reserve. Addo Elephant National Park offer distinctively different views and scenery at different times of the day, and avid elephant lovers should not miss out the opportunity to see elephants engaging in various activities (playing in the water, knocking down trees, fighting and etc.) up close.