Amboseli has one of the best-known and most closely studied elephant populations in the world. The park holds over 1,600 elephants distributed across dozens of family groups, all individually identified and named by the Amboseli Elephant Research Project. Because the animals have been peacefully observed by researchers for over fifty years, they are remarkably relaxed around vehicles — close enough to photograph in detail, to watch family dynamics, to see young calves nursing and playing.
The best viewing is around the southern swamps, particularly Enkongo Narok and the area near Ol Tukai camp, where the elephants drink and wade in the early morning and late afternoon. Bulls in musth — the heightened testosterone state that makes male elephants unpredictable — are common sights, and the large old patriarchs with their massive tusks are among the most impressive elephants anywhere. The open lakebed provides wide sightlines ideal for watching family groups moving across the flat landscape with Kilimanjaro behind them.