A Single Moment....

I don’t even know long we had been driving around; it seemed like hours yet like no time had passed at all. I think I could have been out there forever and it would feel like a single moment. We had seen many animals by this point.

We saw hippos competing for territory, facing each other, mouths wide open, although we couldn’t tell who won, a winner was declared and the loser left standing alone. Human emotion would have you feel sorry for the subordinate, that he was left standing there while the winning hippo tail-flicked his feces at him in declaration of victory. Honestly I just though he looked miffed.

We also saw a crocodile struggling to drag the carcass of a water buffalo down a small rapid. It was painstaking as he fought through the rocks to get to deeper water. Meanwhile we had two rather large, living water buffalo on either side of our vehicle.

Water buffalo are one of “Africa’s Big Five.” This means one Africa’s most dangerous animals. They are most feared by hunters for their courage when wounded. They will, continue fight rather than run. Also included in this group are the, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and the lion.

I remember when I saw my first wild lion. It was a whole pride with cubs. We were so close that we saw the cubs before any of the others. To me it was like seeing a movie star walking down the street. I had seen these animals so many times on TV that it became a surreal experience to see them in person. They were lounging around in the long grass, yawning to show off the pearly whites, almost looking bored. One female came up from behind and walked right into the middle of our circle of Land rovers. She took the time to study each vehicle as if to say “What are you looking at? I am much more interesting than that lazy pile.” Then she moseyed on through to find a comfortable spot in the shade of a dormant termite mound. That was the most activity we saw from the lions. They seem to while away the time through their lazy afternoons conserving energy for their evening hunt.

At one point we saw a Rhino. Our guide told us how rare it was. They hardly ever saw them on safari. I have to admit I felt privileged our Rhino demonstrated his amazing strength as he urinated right in front of us.

Throughout our stay we saw many wildebeests, zebras, ostriches, two species of giraffe and warthogs. The warthogs would high-tail it whenever we came near with their skinny tails straight as pencils in the air. I couldn’t help but laugh every time. We saw Topi, an African deer that always seemed to be posing for a picture in the sunset no matter when we saw it. Tommy Gazelles were everywhere with their little spiral horns. We even almost caught a cheetah on a hunt but he decided it wasn’t worth his energy, called it off and took a seat on a nearby termite mound. We saw almost every African creature I could hope to see except maybe the leopard, they were absent during our time there. My favorite creature of them all was the Elephant.

What a majestic being. To me elephants are mysterious and romantic. They seem to have an ancient wisdom hidden behind their eyes. They radiate peace and calm within a power that could crush in an instant. Our driver, a Kenyan who had been doing this for 20 years, told us that elephants will take a tusk from a fallen member of their herd with them and bury it. I have also seen on TV how they remember a spot on their journey where they had lost a loved one previously. They will take a moment to mourn and move on.

We came across many herds on our drives. Some herds allowed us to drive right through the middle and wouldn’t bat an eyelash. We could hear the huffing through their trunks and literally feel the swishing of their ears as we passed by. I imagined their leathery skin creaking like a new pair of shoes. Some would turn to us out of curiosity but forget about us the instant we passed. We petty humans were no more than a mild distraction on their journey to the next water hole. Other herds wouldn’t let us any where near them. It was amazing to watch them gather their young ones in the middle of the adults and turn away from us. They wouldn’t panic or stampede but they would set a steady pace to keep some distance between us and their babies. One or two would keep an eye on us and flash their ears out as a warning to stay away. You could read the personality of an entire herd by these actions. Some were more wary than others.

We had just crossed a extensive, rocky ditch with one barely passable trail through it. This would have been filled with water had it not been the dry season and the beginning of drought for Kenya. We could see them nearby. It was a mother, a teenager, and a baby little more than a few months old. Our driver parked us in between the elephants and the path. She saw us immediately. Even a novice, such as myself, with no more experience than a 19 inch TV screen can give, could tell that she was of the more wary variety.

She looked at us and ceased her chewing. She was considering what to do. We were looking back at her totally enthralled. Her ears went big in warning…we sat…she shook her massive head, further warning…we sat….she took a step towards us…still we sat…finally she trumpeted her challenge as she began a determined march in our direction, that, rather quickly, turned in to all out run! We yelled to the drive “she’s coming go!” Next thing we know our driver punches the gas as we are bouncing across the terrain towards our rut path with a five hundred ton elephant literally on our heels! Ok so she wasn’t five hundred tons but we felt like she could have been! When we hit the rut, cameras and bodies hit the floor of the vehicle. She was still following us for good measure but she had slowed down knowing we were no longer a threat, finally she turned back to her calves. We were giddy and exhilarated, not one moment did I feel fear, maybe shock, but never fear. Honestly, I think she knew we were bumpkins from Minnesota and gave us a show for a true African Safari experience.

I loved that moment! All the power of nature behind and still she chose to let us go. In her wisdom she knew we were not a true threat. As we headed back to the lodge we came across another threesome, same exact set up, a mother, teenager and young calf.

This family had a completely different feel to it. The mother barely acknowledged us. The teenager was very close and watched us with curiosity. The baby was hysterical. He put in mind of a young child. He was standing by his mother when he first saw us. His little ears got big, his little voice sounded his challenge and he came running at full speed. Then he would stop suddenly, turn and run back to hide behind his mom. Then he would peek out from behind and start the process all over again. His ears would get big and straight at us he would come only to stop and run back to mom. He did this two or three times before we continued on our way. Meanwhile mom just continued her grazing with perhaps a little laughter in her expression. You couldn’t help it. He was absolutely adorable.

It was an interesting experience. The different personalities of the elephants were so obvious. I feel privileged to have seen it first hand. I felt I could relate to these creatures from a completely different world than mine. Their personalities are every bit as unique as our own. They are an excellent argument for animals having emotions!