Y más elefantes: The infamous Big Five

 No pensaba escribir esta entrada, pero, en cierto modo, "ya la tenía escrita"... resulta que el Departamento edita una pequeña revistilla bianual, con historias escritas por alumnos y profesores sobre las excursiones, el trabajo de campo, los congresos a los que ha ido la gente y cosas así. Nos pidieron a Joaquín y a mí que colaborásemos en el último número, repartido ayer, y escribí acerca de un suceso que ya os había comentado aquí (y que no es que me muera de ganas de revivir, la verdad), aunque más por extenso. Así que como cuando esto se publique yo volveré a estar en el Kruger pues os pego el texto aquí, y así practicáis inglés...

Half a year after my arrival to South Africa, I still hear regularly the question ‘so why did you choose to come here?’ My honest answer is invariably ‘well… I didn’t have that many options’. Competition for research and academic positions is fierce all around the globe, yes, and I wouldn’t have said ‘no’ to a secured postdoc position, even if accepting it meant leaving everything I cherish behind… Notwithstanding that, it is also true that, for somebody who enjoys nature and outdooring as I do, South Africa is truly a blessed place, crammed with habitats and species to be found nowhere else in the World.

My first real experience out in the veld came when we left for fieldwork in Kruger last July. I was anxiously waiting it, as nervous as a child on Christmas Eve, but altogether I was also quite worried. I have never been particularly brave, and since I knew that, to settle Klinette’s camera traps, we would have to go out of the car and walk up to the waterholes, the perspective of becoming the main course of a lion pride was for me an unnerving one. At any rate, my first hours in that World-renowned Park went by in pure joy: all those birds that I had countless times dreamt on seeing were finally there, in front of my eyes. Every time the car stopped for my fellows to look at a black rhino, a roan antelope, a king cheetah or any of those drab, absurdly furry creatures; I had the occasion to admire through the opposite window the countless myriad of little, brown birds we birdwatchers love so passionately…

The moment finally came when we stepped out of the car at the first waterhole: Mdu all dressed up as a ranger, the rifle all set; and Mariska, Klinette and I following closely behind. Whilst Mdu kept a vigilant eye on the surroundings and the girls set up the camera trap and took some measurements of water quality, I kept myself busy trying not to faint out of fear. Everything went well, though, and soon we were back in the bakkie and heading to the next waterhole. But then, there they were, the (in)famous Big 5: five elephant bulls lounged next to the pan, while a herd of impalas stood around them, looking to the water with thirsty eyes but altogether keeping a respectful distance. 

‘Well, that’s it, we’ll have to wait till they decide to leave…’, I naively told to myself. Indeed the conversation inside the car revolved around that idea, while I kept myself busy trying to get a good shot of a Southern grey-headed sparrow. Several tourist cars came and went, stopping to take a quick look at the magnificent beasts and to exchange information about lion sightings. However, a few minutes later I realized with growing horror that my beloved boss started to look ominously impatient… ‘OK… they look like they’re gonna spend the whole day here. But they’re all just males and they’re not even drinking anymore, so once this get freed of people we’ll go out and chase them away…’ I heard him saying that, but I didn’t want to believe my ears. Eventually, all cars but one left the place and, to my great dismay, Mdu went out to talk with the lingerer ones. He came back at once saying that, after told them that ‘sorry to disturb, but we have to go out of the car and chase those elephants away for scientific purposes’, those people told him that it was ok, that they’ll be pleased to record everything it might happen, just in case, as you never know when you’ll have the chance to crack YouToube with a new ‘Battle at Kruger’ blockbuster… The little hope I harboured that it was all a sad joke vanished when, resolutely, Mdu told us to brace ourselves and to follow him some steps behind. I briefly looked up to Heaven and thought that indeed it was a sad joke that, me working with pathogens, my death was about to become viral… Off behind Mdu we went, me looking over my shoulder at the half-opened door of the car, calculating how fast would I be able to make it back… The impalas flew off and the elephants, now looking bigger and more imposing than ever, became aware of our approaching presence and stop playing around to stare at us. All of a sudden, my boss started clapping hands and yelling, scaring the s*** out of them and me all at once. Before I had time to put myself together and run off, I saw incredulously how the five brutes turned around and flee, trumpeting deafeningly… Mdu turned toward us, smiled, and we resumed our trek to the pan, set the camera and went back to the car.

And here I am, some months later, looking forward to go back to the Park. I know now that I have a boss who knows his stuff, and that I’m able to keep a cool head in this sort of predicaments… although I could happily do without them. Incidentally, the girls say that, during the whole episode, I could not help but swearing in Spanish rather rudely… I do not know about that, but I highly doubt it. My mother says I am a well-mannered child…