# 101 African bush elephant face close-up in Etosha National Park Photo by Giles Laurent

- By: Giles Laurent
- Date: 2025-07-31
- Classification: Photograph
- Museum: [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:101_African_bush_elephant_face_close-up_in_Etosha_National_Park_Photo_by_Giles_Laurent.jpg)
- Rights: [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/commons/thumb/f/f0/101_African_bush_elephant_face_close-up_in_Etosha_National_Park_Photo_by_Giles_Laurent.jpg/1920px-101_African_bush_elephant_face_close-up_in_Etosha_National_Park_Photo_by_Giles_Laurent.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

African bush elephant face close-up in Etosha National Park, Namibia. The African bush elephant face is covered with cracked dry mud and dust. Elephants deliberately coat themselves with mud to protect their skin from intense sunlight, biting insects, and moisture loss, with the dried layers highlighting the natural wrinkles and texture of the skin. Photography presented in black and white to better showcase the mud cracks texture.