Who Would Dare Challenge An Elephant? Who Would remain Defiant When An Elephant Charged?
Evil from the sky
Elephants soon learnt that in the entire animal kingdom, practically spoken, their kind had no natural enemies. Enemy number one were humans. Poachers and unscrupulous hunters were on the black list and were hated with equal intensity.
Old age, accidents, drought, fires, floods, fights and famine (especially when their sixth and final set of teeth been so badly worn that they could not eat properly) are further causes of elephant fatalities. An Elephant Witnesses A Remarkable Safety Measure Provided by Kruger National Park's Game Rangers.
One threat in particular, always sent shock waves through the elephant community. They knew it as “the evil from the sky”. The drone of a helicopter approaching caused terrific stress for as long as Mayafudi could recall. That sound meant powerful darts for the sake of research, capture or culling.
Culling was something especially cruel. It destroyed families and friendships without mercy. Elephants were very sensitive about this. Their radar-hearing could detect the sound of a rifle shot even at a distance of five kilometres.
For many years the Kruger Park had been a source of providing elephants for other parks and zoos worldwide. That was the purpose of periodic captures. Culling, on the other hand, was a long feared method of controlling numbers in the past. Debates, as to whether culling should be applied or not, often caused blood pressures to rise. Even now the issue is again hotly debated.
Culling, according to Ukuthula’s reasoning, however sad, did indeed help to protect the future of elephants and the vegetation. Research too, even though it might be humiliating, could be justified. It was beneficial to the elephant population.
Mayafudi’s first experience of “the evil from the sky” was one of the darkest days in his life.
On that day the helicopter was not employed for capture or research. Its function was culling – and Mayafudi’s own family was the target.
The angel of death and its disturbing, whirring rotor, descended on Ukuthula’s herd. Like an omen. For a long time it circled overhead in order to separate those marked for culling. The adult elephants milled around in fear. The little ones rushed around and called for their mothers.
One of those was separated from the herd, was Mayafudi’s beautiful twin sister, Nkosikasi. Nkosikasi was a chip off the old block. At an early age she showed signs of being able to emulate the matriarch. Now she was sentenced to death. In anguish he turned to his mother, who could always advise. But Ukuthula’s own face was a picture of confusion.
From the steel monster came a shower of darts filled with potent scoline. Bulls, cows and calves were paralysed. Nkosikasi too. She lay struggling for breath.
Mayafudi and the rest of the herd stood watching at a distance. They saw the entire macabre operation; also when ground personnel moved in, armed with heavy calibre guns, to do the final execution.
Even worse than the loss of his sister, was the show of anguish and anger by his mother, Ukuthula. Always a picture of decorum, the matriarch rose on her hind legs, like a performing circus elephant, the moment Nkosikasi fell. She uttered a groan and aimed a desperate swipe with her trunk at the helicopter. It pained Mayafudi to see his mother thus humiliated. She seemed stripped of her natural grace and correctness. To him it felt like a scoline dart in his own heart. Why Young Kruger National Park Elephants Moved From The Kruger Park To Pilanesberg Nature Reserve.
In sombre tribute the surviving members of the tribe slowly moved away with their trunks raised in salute. In a choir they uttered their sadness. The butchers then moved in to prepare the carcases. The herd moved off without deigning to look back. What was past, was past.
Mayafudi remained within touching distance of his mother. He wanted her to know of his empathy. In intimate proximity to her, he was seeking solace for himself.
Ukuthula walked on in deathly silence, further and further away from the scene of slaughtering. The other elephants followed her like a funeral procession. In spite of the blistering heat and the need for a drink or shower, they went past several inviting water holes.
After hours of slogging, they reached a favourite pool. Ukuthula stopped, sniffed the air and smelt the fresh scent of water. She moved in close to drink. The herd respectfully gave her a few moments of solitude. Then they also moved closer.
It wasn’t long before the young ones started squirting water at one another. They rolled in the mud. One by one the adults participated in the fun. They showered and frolicked.
For a moment Ukuthula and Moholoholo stood to one side. They seemed to be in deep conversation. Then they too plunged into the pool, deeper and deeper until only their heads and shoulders remained visible. The message was clear. They had been hard hit, but remained undaunted. Their spirit was not broken. Life had to go on.
In Mayafudi’s mind there was a turmoil of questions. He could, however, not decide what to do. If his mother so wished, she would share with him her feelings in those moments of grief underneath the helicopter. If she chose not to, he would resign himself and try to forget.
She evidently decided to remain quiet, until one day she briefly jut warned her herd against bitterness. “Remember, the game rangers are our friends.” She re-iterated what she had taught them before. Culling was surely not a pleasant task to the rangers. But they had their responsibilities. They had to attempt to maintain the Kruger National Park as a paradise for man and beast. And that ended the entire episode.