Terrifying Life Escapes Made By The Mayafudi Elephant In The Private Kruger Park
Mayafudi, unlike his famous grandfather, was a lad for the limelight. He liked nothing better than to play between Ukuthula’s front legs, grab hold of her tail with his pliable little trunk, and to frequent tourist roads along the Sabie River and pose for photographs.
A popular outing was to walk past the Kruger Gate and then to slide backward off the steep incline, to land on the tarred road to Hazyview. The lawn in front of the Coert Steynberg sculpture of Paul Kruger, erstwhile first president of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republic (ZAR), and one of the founders of the Park, became a favourite playground of Mayafudi’s where he could execute mock rushes with ears flapping around his comical little body. Tourists enjoyed these antics tremendously. A Huge, Roaring Fire Exacts Its Toll In The Game Reserve Than The Elephant Kingdom Had Ever Experienced
He also liked to pose, trunk aloft, against the large notice board with the words “Welcome to the Private Kruger Park”. To the dismay and fear of some of his more cautious aunts, he loved going close-up against the green Land Rovers full of tourists who clicked away with their cameras.
Mother Ukuthula was a real lady with an iron hand and a strong sense of discipline
She was, however, an understanding mom, who did not begrudge her son such innocent pleasures. She took him on excursions everywhere in their immediate surroundings, stretching westward from the Kruger Gate as far as the Albasini ruins and eastward all along the humid Sabie valley, until they reached the rest camp Lower Sabie. Sometimes their wanderings took them as far south as Crocodile Bridge near the border of Mozambique.
A favourite area, however, was the winding river road, the S3, on the lush bank of the Sabie River. From here they regularly crossed the river to the private nature reserve of Sabiepark. A strong attraction was the oasis of Sabiepark’s picnic spot and the unique hiking trail all along the Sabie River, through shady, green avenues, towards the bridge at the Private Kruger Gate. This was where Ukuthula secretly came to taste the sweet grass and reeds.
More than once, surprised hikers came upon these massive visitors from the Private Kruger Park. Every time it was the humans who beat a hasty retreat.
One afternoon Mayafudi strayed
He forced himself in under the low branches of a huge Natal mahogany tree that grew next to the hiking trail. When the first people came past, he lowered his trunk like a traffic boom just ahead of them. The resultant perplexity and their scrambling flight was as an injection of adrenaline for the little scallywag.
A few days later he wanted to repeat this successful stunt. But this time the “hikers” was a pride of lions which was stalking a waterbuck on its way to the river. The lions were grown and experienced hunters. They were not intimated by an impertinent juvenile elephant. They grunted belligerently and approached in a threatening way. This time it was Mayafudi’s turn to receive the fright of his life.
Later, Ukuthula explained that baby elephants should know their place. Elephants did not normally have enemies. It was, however, quite possible that a stray elephant calf could be attacked by predators – especially if such calves would not listen to the warnings of their parents.
Mayafudi found it difficult to believe that a lion could kill an elephant. But he knew that Ukuthula would not warn needlessly. Even though he was mischievous, he was an obedient fellow. The youngster took it all in and promised to take care. The Kruger Park Is Flooded With Heavy Water and Many of The Animals Loose Their Lives
Good road sense is also part of the elephant syllabus. Some elephants, large and small, often blindly rush across a road. Ukuthula taught her pupils to be very careful. They had to look right, left and right again. A collision with a heavy vehicle could have dire consequences. And not all motorists adhere to the speed limits of the Park.
Such recklessness almost caught up with a very young Mayafudi. A battered, yellow Mazda 323 very nearly ploughed into the elephant herd, about one kilometre from the Kruger Gate. The little bull was miraculously saved when an older bull grabbed hold of him ahead of the oncoming car.
The elephants more narrow escapes in the Private Kruger Park
The narrowest of narrow escapes in the young Mayafudi’s life occurred after days of pouring rain over the entire Lowveld, especially in the mountains near the town of Sabie. The level of the water rose very fast and the deluge raced seaward with thunderous haste. Mayafudi was on one of his own journeys of exploration on an island in the river and Ukuthula was searching for her offspring when the flood suddenly surrounded them.
Mayafudi shrieked with fear when their island suddenly disappeared. Ukuthula wrapped her trunk around him and attempted to drag him towards the riverbank. The water, however, broke her grasp. Brown foam enveloped the little grey body. He was suddenly toppled head over heels in the churning mass, dragging him along towards the sea.
Ukuthula went wild with fright and helplessness. She trumpeted piercingly once – an outpouring of her maternal instinct. A primeval protective urge caused her to swim as never before. She experienced panic once or twice when Mayafudi was swept from view, then rose again like a cork. But she realised she just had to persevere. She was catching up with him. A Sad Farewell To A Member Of The Elephant Aristocracy Of The Game Reserve
For about 80 metres she remained on his heels. Then she caught up with him. He shivered, short of breath and very close to despair. With a final super exertion, she lifted him out of the churning stream, stood awkwardly on her hind legs and placed him on a ledge just above the water level. She fell back into the river, utterly fatigued. The water carried her along. But the giant body fought back. She aimed at reaching the opposite bank and eventually reached safety.
She rested only a few seconds. Then she plunged back into the angry river, holding her trunk above water like the periscope of a submarine. She aimed directly at Mayafudi, who stood frozen with fear on the ledge. As far as she went she called his name. He pointed his ears as he picked up her voice – the sweetest music he had every heard.
When the intrepid matriarch reached Mayafudi, she stopped bawling. Eventually she succeeded in climbing the slippery bank. She stroked her trunk lovingly around his head. He became aware of a deep rumbling sound like the purr of a contented kitten.