Look behind the scenes of Rhulani Safari Lodge.

At Rhulani there is a beautiful marula tree under which we can enjoy breakfast outdoors on a beautiful morning. But as our manager Riaan shows us today, this tree recently suffered damage because of an elephant. Will it recover?

Elephants love to scratch the bark of a marula tree. We can therefore see that it is easy for elephants to get to our lodge, even to the boma, which is actually intended for breakfast.

Riaan gives us an assessment of whether the marula tree will recover from this damage. The decisive factor is whether the tree can maintain the transport of fluid and minerals from the roots to the leaves and vice versa, and whether the bark can grow back.

Stay tuned for the next episode on 9 May when Ralf shows us the difference between spines and thorns