Rhino Anti Poaching Stories.
There was a huge old leopard at Palala Rhino Sanctuary; one of the
younger rhino bore the scars from an attack when he was a baby. His one
ear was torn in two, long ways and drooped, I had never heard of a
leopard going for a rhino snack before! I found the leopard’s prints,
all around my hut quite often so my drill for going to the toilet at
night was as follows:
Open door, check the step for snakes, as there were many night adders
about. Use torch to look for shinning green eyes, recheck the ground
and then proceed to the open air bathroom. Check for any signs of life,
when finish, repeat the process and try get back to my hut undamaged.
My little bird must be after that proverbial worm, he starts pecking
at my window just before 5am.. While having my coffee I hear, on the
slopes of the mountain to my right, the warning cry of the Baboons.
“Borghom, Borghom”. I immediately think, “Leopard!” I rush to get my
binocs and before I even lift then see something greyish moving along
the slopes. Using the binocs I find a family of Bush Pigs running along,
not Warthog, Bush Pig.
They look like the cartoon Boar in Asterix and Oblix. I am not too
disappointed, having often heard them in the night I have never spotted
one in the bush before. I make my morning notes and then pack my Battle
Jacket, where a magazine of bullets is suppose to go now holds a Cannon
Powershot camera, the rest of the magazine pockets are largely empty.
(A very sore point I will not dwell on here).
I have modified the Jacket so my binocs are easily accessible but do
not bang around; other pockets hold water bottles and Super C sweets.
And of course, my pen and paper.
That night, there I was, minding my own business; reading a book by
torchlight while lying on my bed. As it was hot I was shirtless, next
thing I get this tickling feeling on my chest, which is hidden from view
by the book. Now, I am not paranoid about spiders, not even really
afraid of them, that said, I have also seen the damage some of them can
inflict.
The problem is, unlike with snakes, I have no idea which spider is
harmless and which is not. The one on my bare chest looked similar to
the ones I have seen in gardens in Gauteng. Brushing him off and making
sure in the dim light that he had really skedaddled I continued reading.
Then! Another spider landed on my neck. It ran down my neck and on to
my chest in seconds. This kind of spider I have never seen before, shape
of a Daddy Longlegs but lime green and pale yellow. I have since
learned that it is called a Lynx Spider.
After that I pulled the bed cover right up to my chin, never mind how hot it was.
There was a huge old leopard at Palala; one of the younger rhino bore
the scars from an attack when he was a baby. His one ear was torn in
two, long ways and drooped, I had never heard of a leopard going for a
rhino snack before! I found the leopard’s prints, all around my hut
quite often so my drill for going to the toilet at night was as follows:
Open door, check the step for snakes, as there were many night adders
about. Use torch to look for shinning green eyes, recheck the ground
and then proceed to the open air bathroom. Check for any signs of life,
when finish, repeat the process and try get back to my hut undamaged.
My little bird must be after that proverbial worm, he starts pecking
at my window just before 5am.. While having my coffee I hear, on the
slopes of the mountain to my right, the warning cry of the Baboons.
“Borghom, Borghom”. I immediately think, “Leopard!” I rush to get my
binocs and before I even lift then see something greyish moving along
the slopes. Using the binocs I find a family of Bush Pigs running along,
not Warthog, Bush Pig.
They look like the cartoon Boar in Asterix and Oblix. I am not too
disappointed, having often heard them in the night I have never spotted
one in the bush before. I make my morning notes and then pack my Battle
Jacket, where a magazine of bullets is suppose to go now holds a Cannon
Powershot camera, the rest of the magazine pockets are largely empty.
(A very sore point I will not dwell on here).
I have modified the Jacket so my binocs are easily accessible but do
not bang around; other pockets hold water bottles and Super C sweets.
And of course, my pen and paper.
That night, there I was, minding my own business; reading a book by
torchlight while lying on my bed. As it was hot I was shirtless, next
thing I get this tickling feeling on my chest, which is hidden from view
by the book. Now, I am not paranoid about spiders, not even really
afraid of them, that said, I have also seen the damage some of them can
inflict.
The problem is, unlike with snakes, I have no idea which spider is
harmless and which is not. The one on my bare chest looked similar to
the ones I have seen in gardens in Gauteng. Brushing him off and making
sure in the dim light that he had really skedaddled I continued reading.
Then! Another spider landed on my neck. It ran down my neck and on to
my chest in seconds. This kind of spider I have never seen before, shape
of a Daddy Longlegs but lime green and pale yellow. I have since
learned that it is called a Lynx Spider.
After that I pulled the bed cover right up to my chin, never mind how hot it was.
Taken from the yet unpublished Chronicles. You can find links to the already published series of
The Chronicles of the Mexican Horse Thief on my page
THE MEXICAN HORSE THIEF.
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