Authors: Beverley Harper
Gayle came to life when they stopped near a herd of elephants making their stately way along the road. She had barely raised her head off Matt's shoulder over zebra, a black rhinoceros, giraffe and a huge herd of wildebeest. But this sight certainly got her attention. âChrist! They look even bigger out here.'
Caitlin heard the comment and grinned. Most people, on their first introduction to a wild African elephant, had the same reaction.
Henneke also heard and mentally filed Gayle's throaty voice for future reference. Her husband tutted at the actress's blasphemy. And young Jutta Schmidt sat transfixed, not by the sighting but because Matt's leg had, twice, brushed her shoulder.
âGod, lover. Just look at them.'
Matt smiled at her excitement.
âOooohh!' Gayle squealed. âThere's a baby. Look, everyone, isn't it just the cutest little thing?'
Performance mode.
âThank God I'm not an elephant. I'd
hate
to give birth to something that size. Oh God! There's a big bloke. Look at the size of his schlong. Good grief! And it's not even excited.'
Matt nudged her and indicated Jutta.
Gayle pulled a face at him then touched the girl lightly on the shoulder. âSorry, darling. I forgot for a teeny moment we had a child with us.'
Jutta felt the flush of embarrassment rising to her cheeks.
Child!
She was not a child. She was fifteen, nearly sixteen.
Gayle's throaty laugh rang out. One of the females swung her great head towards them and flapped both ears.
âCan you try to keep it down a bit?' Caitlin asked. âIf we disturb them they'll move away.'
A young male tried to mount another male. âGay elephants!' Gayle giggled. âNow I've seen everything.'
Johan's lips were set in a tight line of disapproval. He was in two minds whether or not to place his hands over Henneke's ears. Blasphemy and now downright filth. The woman had no shame. Famous actress or not, she was no better than a common whore.
Next to him, Henneke's face revealed none of her amusement. Gayle Gaynor was too good to be true. Johan was shocked rigid. What would the film star's reaction be if he voiced his lack of appreciation? Henneke heard her husband's intake of breath. She was about to find out.
âYou've been asked once to be quiet. We're here to watch the animals, not listen to you.' Johan's expression was sanctimonious, his words accompanied by little nods of emphasis.
Gayle's face froze and her voice dripped ice as she turned to Matt. âDid you hear something? Did somebody say something?'
Johan didn't get the message. He tapped her shoulder. âMe.'
Slowly, she turned the full force of her cold blue eyes on him. âIt speaks! But in what language, I wonder?'
Johan still didn't get it. âEnglish, lady. Try English.'
âGood heavens! I don't think so.'
Henneke inwardly applauded. Neither she nor Johan spoke English very well but her husband's guttural accent was emphasised by the pompous loudness of his voice. Although an Afrikaner, Johan prided himself on being bilingual and was always correcting Henneke's English.
Right now he was spluttering with indignation.
Gayle turned her back on him and asked Caitlin, âCan we get any closer, my dear?'
âI wouldn't suggest it. This is a breeding herd. The cows can be quite protective of their offspring. Better to keep our distance.' Caitlin had listened to the exchange with some sympathy for both. Gayle was annoyingly arrogant but Johan had an equally irritating air of self-righteousness.
âJust a teeny bit closer?' Gayle wheedled.
âSorry. My decision.' Caitlin wondered if the actress had any inkling of the potential danger. Elephants in the zoo give the mistaken impression of being benign gentle giants. In the wild, especially where poaching is a problem, they can be quite aggressive. While Etosha's elephants were reasonably protected, some illegal activity still occurred. The rogue this morning, for instance, even though it had no ivory, would probably have been wounded in a bungled poaching attempt. Caitlin
had a healthy respect for all animals, and dangerous or not, preferred to give them space so they didn't feel threatened. The elephants were no more than twenty metres down the road from where she'd stopped. As far as Caitlin was concerned, that was close enough. There had been too many stories of tourists, rangers and even researchers getting in amongst them only to discover a perfectly justified objection. And when an elephant objects, being within trunk, tusk or feet range was not only a bad idea, it was suicidal.
Matt sought to head Gayle off before she tried to push it. âWe're close enough, my girl. I don't want you in any danger. Humour me.'
It worked. âAren't they sweet, though?' Gayle cooed, before settling her head once again onto Matt's shoulder.
Chester was having an easy time. The four students were knowledgeable and appreciative. Their education covered a broad range of subjects and was not confined to fauna. They were able to identify grasses and herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees, some by their Latin derivatives, and even knew what part of each was favoured by which animal. Chester couldn't fault their knowledge and quickly realised that what interested them most was when he related stories of unusual animal behaviour. They were like intelligent sponges, crammed with factual storage capacity and ready to soak up new experiences, even somebody else's. It made a pleasant change.
Assessing them, Chester quickly summed up each one's area of interest. Kalila and Fletch had scientific minds so it was not surprising to learn that both intended to enter the postgraduate field of research. Megan seemed more interested in conservation. Chester had never seen a white woman with such large breasts. He'd have found her attractive but for that shrivelled leg. As for Troy, the one who had faced a rogue elephant so well, his knowledge of animal anatomy was phenomenal. There was no doubting that he would make a fine vet. Not only did he understand what made things tick, his obvious love of the bush meant he'd be a natural to work out here.
Chester couldn't swear to it but he had the feeling that Kalila was coming on to him. She kept leaning forward to speak and her eyes never left his face while he replied. Like the other rangers, Chester received his fair share of offers from the opposite sex. Being only human, âNo thank you' was a rare response. He'd become adept at picking up vibes â the transient nature of tourists being what it was he rarely had the luxury of time on his side. Khaki-fever revealed easily recognisable symptoms and Chester rarely got it wrong.
Kalila was attractive. Tall for a Zulu, with fine features and a lovely smile. Chester liked her soft way of speaking. He was not bothered by the fact that she was a student. He correctly calculated her age as mid-twenties.
She'd just asked him about the anthrax problem in Etosha. âGood question.' Chester nodded. âIn the
old days natural migration allowed the land to be spelled. Now we have fences and artificial water-holes. Instead of rotational grazing, the game is forced to go back and forth over the same ground. The waterholes become over-used and germs such as anthrax bacilli start to incubate. Wildebeest are the hardest hit because they can't move more than fifteen kilometres or so from water. Something like sixty per cent of wildebeest deaths in Etosha are caused by anthrax. It's a vicious circle. The lions feed on dying and dead animals. While they themselves are immune to the disease, the blood of their victims permeates the soil. Rain washes bacteria into the waterholes.'
âBut it's deadly to humans too, isn't it?' Kalila queried.
âIt can be. If it gets into the bloodstream death within hours is likely.'
âDoesn't anthrax mean
carbuncle
in Greek?' Troy asked.
Chester grinned. âYou tell me. You're the Greek around here.'
Troy shrugged. âI'm okay on conversation stuff. Not so hot on medical terms. I think it does, though. I remember reading somewhere that anthrax, in people, normally presents as boils. If they're not treated the patient usually dies.'
âBoils?' Fletch thought of a painful eruption he'd had on his backside when he was ten or eleven.
âThere are boils and boils,' Troy explained.
âPlease!' Megan interrupted. âI'd rather hear about anthrax. Boils! Yuck!'
Chester winked at Kalila. âBacteria can remain dormant in the ground for ten years or more. That's why anthrax is impossible to eradicate.'
âMan's intervention strikes again,' Megan said. âWhen will we learn?'
Chester shook his head. âNever. Our egos can't accept that nature knows best.' By now, he was reasonably certain of Kalila's interest in him. It was in her eyes. But he figured that his chances of lying with her were, at best, borderline. On a scale of one to ten, he'd be lucky to reach as far as four.
James and Mal had gone Kodak crazy and were bug-eyed with amazement when Dan brought them close to a pride of sleeping lion. âDoing what they do best,' Dan said. âThey'll stir in an hour or so and if they haven't eaten for a couple of days, start to hunt.'
âIsn't our tracker a touch endangered?' James worried.
The African sat on his special seat at the front of the vehicle completely unconcerned, legs only metres from the nearest animal.
âSeen many legless people at the lodge?' Dan asked by way of response.
Mal wondered aloud how the ranger could be so matter-of-fact. There on the ground were nine big cats, any of which were more than capable of instant action. A deft leap, a quick swipe and it would be all over for the unfortunate individual who captured their attention.
âThey're scared of us,' Dan explained.
âReally?' James sounded doubtful. âThey look positively bored. I sure hope one of us is right. I'd hate for them to get any fast food ideas.'
âThey've grown used to the vehicles. Remember to remain seated. You're perfectly safe.'
Proximity to the king of beasts inevitably boosted everyone's blood pressure. Dan, who saw lion almost every day, never ceased to admire the sleek pride. He knew this lot. This was their territory and photographic opportunities were many as the relaxed group ignored those who came to gawk at them, displaying an almost aristocratic indifference. For Philip, being so close reaffirmed the sheer size and power of Africa's largest carnivore. Memory didn't do the lion justice. Mal and James fell into awed silence, terribly aware that almost close enough to touch was death on four legs. They were both conscious of the transition from two-legged New York predators to this lot. These fellows were much more impressive.
One of the females rolled onto her back and yawned. At such close range, the shape and size of her fangs were totally awesome.
Felicity had visited more than one game reserve in her life and knew that the indolent display was deceptive. She'd watched a pride of hunting lions at one of the private game reserves in South Africa. After a newborn rhinoceros, their cold eye-locking stare and determined stalking were absolutely without conscience. While accepting that the lions had to eat, their behaviour seemed positively evil. On another occasion, she'd been right next to a
very pissed off senior citizen that was trying to mate with a provocative female. The lioness wasn't quite ready but her scent was driving the male crazy. When the game-viewing vehicle pulled up next to them, he vocalised his displeasure in no uncertain terms. The sound scared the living daylights out of everyone on the truck, including their ranger.
Philip observed quietly, âThere are cubs around somewhere.'
Dan nodded. Two of the females had swollen teats. âProbably in the shade over there.'
As if on cue, two wobbly little figures appeared, their heads poking through the grass, blinking sleepily against the sunlight. Although they hadn't made a sound, their mother eased herself up and loped over to the shade where she flopped down on her side. The cubs were hidden from view but presumably she was feeding them.
The three vehicles converged on Natukana Pan and arrived within a few minutes of each other. If there was one successful project that could be attributed to Billy Abbott it was the Ekuma hide and man-made waterhole. Until permanent water was introduced the long sweet grasses of Ekuma were visited only infrequently by grazers and elephants. Sightings now had become virtually guaranteed, although in times of severe drought the waterhole could dry up. When that happened the game moved further south. This year, despite an ongoing lack of significant rain, higher than
normal cyclonic activity in southern Africa during January and February had kept the water table relatively high. Thirsty animals would drink it dry each night but a pool reformed within hours. Not that anyone could see water from where the vehicles were drawn up in a small enclosure surrounded by a two-metre-high reed fence.
âThis is the only hide in Etosha,' Caitlin explained. âIt has proved to be very popular with our guests. But for most park visitors, the rule about being back in camp by sunset makes it impossible to be here at the best time of day. Only guests at Logans Island enjoy that privilege.'
âWhere's the water?' Gayle asked.
âWe walk.'
âGo on foot? Is it safe?' Johan glanced around nervously.
âHow far?' James wanted to know. Like the middle-aged Afrikaner, he wasn't overly in favour of the idea.
âAbout five hundred metres,' Dan told him. âIt's quite safe. The track is fenced.'
âGreat! You mean like this is fenced?' James looked sceptical. The reed barricade didn't look as if it could withstand a puff of wind.
Dan smiled. Every group had at least one worrywart who suddenly discovered that being on foot in the African bush was not to their taste. âThe fence is only so the animals can't see us. Remember, they're frightened of us. Look at the ground. See any sign of lion? Any elephant droppings? Any pug marks? You won't. The scent of humans is
strong here. That's why we're so far back from the water. Now, who's for a drink?'