Definitely Not the Zoo

Right at water level in a makoro

(Dana) Two elephants trying to shake palm nuts out of the tree next to the boys’ tent at our last camp. Hippos feeding, snorting and laughing right outside the girls’ cabin last night. Lioness prints on the sandy path between our tent and breakfast this morning. Our guide doing a 360-degree sweep of each area before we are allowed to “use the bush.” Leopards calling to each other at night. All constant reminders that we are just visitors in the home of the wild animals.

Interacting with wild animals is not at all what I expected. Sure, I knew that we weren’t at the zoo; there were no guarantees that we would see a particular animal (only a probability). But I was surprised by many things:

• How much I enjoy seeing hundreds of different birds, not just the “big 5” mammals.
• How we need to look around for 5-ton elephants who walk so quietly, we wouldn’t even know they are there.
• How our vehicle can get 2 meters away from a lion or two lionesses if they have recently gorged on a kill (as long as we don’t stand up).
• How much I am now interested in seeing animal behaviors (like baby elephants learning clumsily how to use their trunks or zebras nursing) and not just the animals.

Two tons of tusks

And most importantly, how deadly 2-ton hippos can be and how much distance our native guides give them. Yesterday in the Okavango Delta while in our mokoros (2.5meter-long, flat-bottomed canoes in which you feel you are sitting on the water), our group stumbled upon a hippo pool. The two residents weren’t happy at the intrusion. Fortunately, we hadn’t gotten too close because most large animals have warning signs – in this case, a big snort. By giving them space, they relaxed with a large hippo laugh. They certainly are not the lethargic lumps I have seen at the zoo.

Ironically, I had literally just finished this post and was walking to the dining tent when I heard a distinct rumble that I assumed was the aforementioned lioness. The mongoose I was watching shot away and the nearby impala scattered. I backed slowly toward my tent and waited for a guide escort. My heart was still racing when I learned it was just an elephant giving us a warning.

All 6 explorers are still accounted for, but we aren’t letting down our guard.