Animal Encounters (KNP 3)

There is one critical thing about being out in the bush (or on the ocean, or up a mountain): respect for the elements and the natural environment. When us humans swagger in, thinking we know it all, we are often in for a nasty surprise. Seas turn rough, mountains get swathed in storm clouds – and animals can get mightily pissed off.

While it’s true that generally speaking animals are more afraid of us than we are of them, it doesn’t do to annoy them.

While out in the bush we had two “animal encounters”.

Lesson one: They might be cute and funny but do not make eye contact with Vervet monkeys…


There we were, at the picnic spot having leg stretch, when a female Vervet with an attitude of note (as is the way of Vervets) hopped onto a picnic table for a steal. Move over hornbills, Vervets are doubly cheeky and even more brazen. D, rather struck by the critter’s attitude made the fatal mistake of making eye contact. The Vervet stiffened and bristled. In a flash you could see her eyes change as she sussed him out and tensed, ready to spring onto his head. As she was about to leap, and make no mistake Vervets are goal directed and they bite – hard - D swung up the camera in front of his face and pointed the lens at her. Barrel of a lens, barrel of gun – the principle is the same. Madame flung up her tail and beat a hasty retreat – much to D’s relief.



Lesson two: if a bull elephant is pissed off, get out of his way…


We were on our way to a waterhole, traveling slowly as one needs to, when up ahead I noticed a white VW Golf edging down the hill. And there was something grey and very cross ahead of it. Through the cloud of ochre dust we saw, coming towards us, the form of a bull elephant. And he was mad. His head was up, ears were spread and flapping, trunk thrashed from side to side. It didn’t take rocket science to sense this was a beast in a mighty stonk. The driver of the Golf, prize idiot that he was, just kept driving the animal forward. Three animals, it turned out – three very annoyed bull elephants.
Now a baby ellie might look very sweet, and generally elephants are pretty laidback (if you give them space), but a bull elephant in a strop is not something you mess with. Weighing in at between 5000 – 6000 kgs and standing between 3 - 3.3 m tall, they’ve been known to turn over or simply squash cars.
As eager as I was to grab that award-winning front-on shot of a charging elephant, I was more struck by the need to simply show some respect.


The elephants could see us ahead of them, and while their gripe wasn’t with us, we were in the way. So I turned the car around and with caution being the better part of valour, headed in the other direction. We stayed out of sight until I figured the elephants had had a chance to get off the road and take a deep breath. Then we went back.
Sure enough, there they were, in the bush, taking deep breaths. They were still miffed and the Golf driver was still making a pest of himself, but the elephants had been given a way out. We didn’t bother to stop but drove on, leaving the Golf to its fate.
When we went back a half an hour later, the ellies were standing in a copse passing the time of day. On taking a second look I can only say I was glad to have heeded the call for “respect”. They were the hugest elephants I have ever seen.
But the thing that struck me the most was the sense – imagined or otherwise – that they really appreciated the fact that someone had been good enough to honour their feelings.