Elephants march through hotel lobby

Elephants march through hotel lobby  after it was built on their migration  trail
By Mail Foreign  Service

These amazing pictures show  why you shouldn't get between an African elephant and its favourite  food.
Mfuwe Lodge in Zambia happens to have been built next to a mango tree that one family of  pachyderms have always visited when
the fruit  ripens.  When they returned one year  and found the luxury
accommodation in the way, they simply walked  through reception.

Let the porter grab your trunk: An elephant  wanders through Mfuwe Lodge, in the South Luangwa National Park,  Zambia

The animals come in  two-by-two: Hotel staff and visitors have got used to the elephants  impromptu strolls through reception
Now the family group,  headed by matriarch Wonky Tusk, return every November to gorge on mangos  - up to four times a day.
Andy Hogg, 44, director at  the Bushcamp Company that runs the Lodge, has lived in South Luangwa National Park since 1982.
But in all his years of  dealing with wild animals he has never seen such intimate interaction  between man and beast.
'This is the only place in  the world where elephants freely get so close to humans,' says the  44-year-old.   
'The elephants start coming  through base camp in late November of each year to eat the mangos from  our trees.
'When
they are ripe they  come through and they stand about for four to six
weeks coming back each  day or second day to eat the mangos.'
Living in the 5,000 square  mile national park, the ten-strong elephant herd are led to the lodge  each day by Wonky Tusk.

'The most interesting thing  about this is that they are wild animals and are certainly not tame,'  explains Andy.
'They come through the  lodge to eat the fruit.
'There are ten in that herd  and it is only that herd that comes through. It is a strange  thing.
'The matriarchal in the  herd is Wonky Tusk, and she brings the nine others through and they come  and go as they please.'
Mfuwe Lodge consists of  seven camps and the base camp where the elephants come  through.
Employing
150 staff, the  management of the lodge are happy to report that there
have been no  incidents involving the elephants to date.
'The
elephants do get  reasonably close to the staff as you can see with the
pictures of the  elephants near the reception,' he explains.
'But we do not allow the  guests to get too close.'  


Check-in: But it's unlikely  the lodge has a room big enough for its elephant  guests

'Guests
can stand in the  lounge area but as long as there is a barrier between
the elephants and  the guests that is okay,' he added.
'The elephants are not  aggressive but you don't want to tempt anything as they are wild  animals.
'It is the elephants choice  to come into base camp and they have been doing it for the last ten  years.
'There are other wild mango  trees around but they seem to prefer this one.'
And
even though the lodge  was unwittingly built upon the path, Andy says
they had no idea the  elephants would insist on returning.
'It wasn't a design mistake  - no-one really knew they were going to come through,' he says.
'The lodge was built and  then the elephants started coming through afterwards.


Gentle giants: The leader of the ten-strong herd  is matriarch Wonky Tusk
'We
keep people at a safe  distance. They are obviously close enough to see
what is going on from  pretty close quarters but we also make sure we
have staff around   to make sure the elephants don't get too close.
'But as I said they are  still wild and still dangerous. They are huge beasts and  untamed.
'We
have bricks and walls  between the elephants and the guests such as the
counter and other  barriers to stop them getting to people and if they
try to there is  enough time for people to get away.'
Naturally, the lodge  becomes a busier attraction for both elephants and guests during  November time.
'We
find that we get more  people visiting us during the elephant migration
because of the unique  experience of being so close to wild animals in
an unusual environment,'  says Andy.
'But
as I said this is a  totally natural phenomenon, the elephants come
here of their own accord  and it is certainly a rare but magnificent
 sight.'

Mfuwe Lodge: The hotel is set in an idyllic  national  parkland.