Day Two: Kruger National Park
05/10/10
Our 5 a.m. smooth pavement was replaced by latched, corrugated roads of exposed rock as we vibrated across Kruger Park towards Mozambique. The late morning air was warm and caramel smooth. Umbrella-shaped trees were unmoved by the gentle breezes. I scanned each passing branch and shadows in the brush, sniper concentrated in my vision in search of predators.
Our driver Andre was much better than yesterday’s. Unlike Pasta, he helped prepare meals instead of ordering people around, drove slower, was happy to stop when asked, was informative and did not drive around while chatting on a cellphone.
Andre pulled over pointing at a group of giraffes.
He explained there are nine giraffe species. They are pregnant for 16 months, at which point they visit “birthing spots” and deliver standing up, dropping their newborn 1.7 metres. “The drop snaps them to life,” he explained.
We learned the giraffe sleeps only 21 to 24 minutes a day, has a half-foot long tongue, can run 60 km/h and are upwards of 5.9 metres tall, about two storey’s high.
We later spotted a warthog with large tusks, able to intimidate a lion. “It’s tail points upwards when it runs so its young can follow like an antenna,” Andrew said. “They basically do not have a neck so they have to eat on their knees.”
Nature magazines and documentaries had tricked me into thinking that giant cats are easy to spot. I constantly scanned tree limbs, the hollow shade below and open spaces, propping my head up like a prairie dog when I think I had spotted something, amusing Boxie-boo. At this point, I had spotted more wildlife than the guides, but was out of luck in search of cats.
“You look like a dog when you spot a cat,” Boxie-boo said, laughing at me on edge against the open-sided truck. I felt I resembled more so a golden unicorn playing a silver guitar than a family pet. But she was entitled to her opinion.
For hours we saw nothing but prey.
“They funny thing is we’ve probably passed five lions, but just couldn’t see them,” Boxie-boo said.
“In the grasses, I keep expecting to see a lion or a cheetah pop its head up,” Choppa-chaw added.
Stopping by a large brown pond, we looked at the most dangerous animal in the world - the hippo. Although seemingly obese and lazy, they can actually run 40 km/h. They are extremely territorial and kill an average of 400 people per year in South Africa, according to Andre.
Looking closely, Andrew pointed to the animals’ transparent eye covers, similar to a crocodile. He explained these massive creatures actually mate in water. Similar to humans, they are pregnant for nine months, giving birth on land, returning to their watering holes five days after birth. To protect themselves from the sun, a hippo releases a substance that protects their skin like suntan lotion. They are picky about where they will swim, only using watering holes in which they can be completely submerged.
Farther down the bumpy path, we spotted a family of elephants, many of which were dusting themselves to protect from the sun.
Andre explained that adult males are solitary, only visiting the herd to make sweet love, at which point, the females are pregnant for 23 months. The babies weigh 150 kgs when born. They have to learn to use their trunks quickly. Unfortunately for elephants, when born they have to eat their mom’s poop to survive as their droppings contain a special bacteria needed for survival. When the males reach 14 to 15 years old, the women kick them out of the herd.
The average elephant lives 60 years.
The African elephant is much bigger than the Asian elephant. The difference is easy to spot by their size and their African-continent-shaped ears. Behind their massive ears resides baby soft skin that work like radiators, cooling them off when flapped, which can also be used as a threat to intimidate predators. Inside their giant bellies they absorb 200 litres of water a day and 250-350 kg of food.
“When a member of a herd dies, they will visit the same spot where it died and mourn all over again,” Andre explained. I was digging all the info.
Surprisingly, I found more interest in the rhino than I expected. In the park, white rhinos are rather abundant, as the blacks are rarely spotted, victims of poaching.
The male rhinos mark their territory the same as dogs by the way of nature’s toilets. Males will challenge territory by doing their business directly on another rhino’s droppings.
Unlike elephants, if their tusks are cut, they will grow back. They are actually made of hair held together by carotene.
I also realized that rhinos are just really old, fat unicorns. I know it’s true. I read it on the internet after I emailed myself.
The last animal we learned a lot about was the waterbuck. This giant antelope has a gland on its neck, which releases an oil when the animal feels threatened that deters crocodiles with the oil and horrendous smell. This does not deter lions, however. With large circles on their bums, Andre asked us what we thought their purpose might be.
“The circle is a target to help the males when mounting,” I said, but was wrong. The circle bootae marks, Andre said, were for the animals to more easily spot and follow each other in the brush. Mother Nature thought of everything.
That’s all for now.
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