There are many things about Africa that I will never forget,
for as long as I live. Many things beautiful, mesmerising and a few absolutely
bewildering!
However, of all the things in Africa, there is one individual
in particular that stands out in my mind. This individual makes me long for the
windswept floodplains and dense thicket of Pongola more than any other thing in
Africa.
He is staggeringly beautiful, and gargantuan in size. His
thick grey skin tinged with copper orange soil and wrinkles that crossed his
entire body like deep fjords. His eyes are something I will remember always,
sparkling and wise, like a great amber sapphires. A tell tail sign was his
wonky left tusk that protruded inwards towards his long serpent like trunk.
There has never been a more aptly named creature to grace this earth…Khumbula,
Zulu for ‘Remember’. If elephants had second names, his would definitely be Ungakhohlwa…‘Never
forget’.
One day in particular was truly amazing. There was not a
cloud in the sky and a light breeze that made the leaves sway gently as it
passed. One of the things that surprised me most was how easily these two tone
animals could hide in the thicket, and how easily they can disappear into it
like a shadow in the night. Often, you heard the elephants before you saw them,
the snapping of branches and crunching of leafs as the elephants amble through
the forest.
On this day we first herd another elephant, Asiphephe, as he
sent a 4m Tree Wisteria crashing to the ground so he could feed on the
succulent roots that were formally locked tight below in the moisture starved
soil. As we watched, it was then that
Khumbula reviled himself as he slowly strolled out of the thicket showing off
his characteristic trudging gait.
After browsing near
his travel companion for a short while, he was drawn closer to the car by a smell
that seemed to endlessly entice his curiosity. Heike, the elephant whisper (although
her modesty will not permit her to enjoy that title), checked the proximity was
okay with everyone. However, something told me Khumbula would have paid no mind
to our preferences.
He sauntered over to the car edging closer and surveying the
strange new people that had invaded is home. It wasn’t long before some form of
scent on the front of the car had him transfixed. A smell he could just not fathom.
He stretched his long, slender grey trunk out again and again, sniffing like he
was going to suck all the air from the earth as he tried to decipher the scent
that masked the front of our truck. Occasionally he would reverse back, with
the grace and delicacy most people could not muster in their lives before venturing forward to within 2m of our vehicle. He would
twist the trunk under itself, pointing its tip towards the car as he attempted
to disguise his interest- this gave it the nickname a ‘sneaky sniff’, something
he would do many times in our later encounters. Gradually, his interest dwindled
and he vanished into the thicket as easily as a leopard disappears into a
tree.
I would see this astounding individual many times while I was in Africa, every-time the hope
of finding any elephants had faded he would appear by the road side as we drove
back to the Loose Mongoose Camp. As if he sensed our disappointment or craved
the limelight. He was always relaxed, absurdly photogenic and unfailingly
curious.
How photogenic can you get?
One thing that Khumbula, and the other elephants of Pongola
made me realise was that nothing on the television can get across to you how
utterly amazing these creatures are until you see them for yourself. They are
loyal to a fault, which shows through their sense of family and kinship. At
times their dedication to one another made me wonder if what I was witnessing
was in fact true altruism.
Khumbula left me with no doubt in my mind that these animals
are true natural wonders. With that they have the intrinsic right to exist in
their natural habitat, safe from the heinous persecution that is decimating
their global population and that is being driven solely by human greed and
vanity.
I cannot begin to even imagine the extent to which the
poaching crisis will effect elephants, not only in terms of population, but in
terms of their social groups, behaviour and mental well-being. The elephants of
Pongola are luckily safe and prosperous (some people even think they’re too
prosperous), for the time being. It would be a crime if we were to allow the
thousands of elephants, just like Khumbula, to become a distant echo of the
past as they have done across much of their historic range.
I will always remember Khumbula, and his charming and
lovable personality. I will always remember how he, and the other elephants of
Pongola, taught me how important their
survival is not only for their own sake, but for the sake of humanity. My trip
has left me with even more fire in my belly and a renewed determination to protect
and conserve elephants so all of Africa can be as safe and prosperous for them as
Pongola Reserve.
