I will now tell your the story of my most incredible sighting, my personal favorite one as an elephant lover.
In May 2021 I was still Field Guide for GVI Limpopo in the Karongwe Nature Reserve. I guided interns from all over the world in the reserve with my open vehicle, morning and evening. The primary goal of the GVI program is the conservation of cheetahs and lions, with elephants coming last in terms of priorities. Yet pachyderms have been my favorite animals in the South African bush since I first met one of them in Kruger National Park! It is therefore with great pleasure that this May day, at the end of the afternoon, already knowing where the lions and cheetahs were, my interns and I set out in search of the only herd of giants in the reserve!
We heard a call from one of the guides from Karongwe Portfolio, one of the nearby lodges, to point out elephants visible across the Makutsi River, beyond his vehicle's reach, moving East. This was good because I was nearby, so I took advantage of the open lock to start looking for them. By studying the map I managed to predict certain positions so that I could see them even from a distance, one of these points being none other than Fig Tree Phuza Spot, my favorite phuza spot in all of Karongwe! This location is perfect especially during the golden hours with the sun playing in the green branches of the Sycamore Fig Trees which border the river always containing a little water in this particular place. In short, a perfect place to go and admire the elephants as we approached the sunset!
When we got there, as we expected, the elephants were on the other side of Makutsi, feeding on the reeds. The herd was complete! We finally saw Charlie, the elephant calf born a few weeks earlier, Filippe the tusker and the Makalali bull,… they were all there to the delight of the interns, and mine.
Suddenly Charlie's mother started to cross the river in our direction followed by her calf and several other females. They walked calmly towards us and showed no intention of stopping. I told my interns that we were going to leave the place… A newborn child surrounded by his army of bodyguards… It is always a risk even if the elephants of Karongwe are particularly calm near the vehicles… Without waiting, I reversed the Land Cruiser, ready to turn towards my escape route. Except that, by some miracle, a large female appeared from the top of the road I was about to take… Only about thirty meters from the vehicle… I turn off the engine, calmly look back on the interns with a serious air which with difficulty concealed my excitement and my happiness to find myself surrounded by pachyderms: “sorry we can't leave, she is blocking the road and the rest of the herd has almost finished crossing the river… Calm, silence, no sudden movement… And enjoy the experience! ".
The mother, followed by her calf and no less than 5 other females arrived in front of our vehicle, at about 15m, they were stressed and began to surround the little one who, not understanding the situation, continued to play with his trunk and the soil under his paws. They screamed, growled, flapped their ears and demonstrated their strength! All the displays of dissuasion! Meanwhile Filippe, the tusker, joined them on the shore, standing motionless at a distance, not taking his eyes off us. This elephant is impressive… A male with impressive tusks, an incredible size, a presence that gives you goosebumps,…
The females ended up moving away, my interns were motionless, no one said a word, Filippe was still there, at a distance, staring at us insistently ... But so calm as if he carried all the wisdom in the world and knew full well that we were not a danger. The rule is simple, you can't run away from an elephant during an encounter, that would give it a reason to charge, so I stood there facing it. He finally approached slowly but decidedly, he was coming for us, the interns held their breath, I continued to admire him coming closer, totally captivated by the mastodon. He stopped near my door, sniffed with the tip of his trunk my side mirror, so tender and gentle. Then he moved up to my face still directed straight in front of me as I stared at him at an angle so as not to give the impression of confrontation. His trunk ended up sniffing my cheek, I felt the tactile hairs at its end, Filippe's breath, I had a smile that crossed my face conscious that I was living an incredible experience that few could boast of having lived ... After having cast a last glance at the interns, he ends up continuing his journey and rejoining the rest of the herd. I then turned to talk to my interns without really knowing what to expect from them… Everyone was stuck! there were smiles, laughter, tears of joy mixed with those of stress because, we must admit, as incredible as this experience may be, it is nevertheless a close contact with the largest mammal world largest terrestrial mammal. An elephant like Filippe could easily turn the vehicle over with a whim… Fortunately Filippe is wise of his age and experience, this peaceful giant does not have a reputation for being aggressive, he just has a particular concept of personal space.
And this is like this that, during that evening in May 2021, when the light was golden, he offered us the greatest privilege, having a one-to-one conversation with an African giant.
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