There is something about seeing an animal in the wild that is unspeakably special. Perhaps it’s the feeling that I am in the only one in the world experiencing this moment, and that, had I passed this way but a moment before or after, I would have missed it.
Our first night in Hwange National Park, Alex and I departed the watering hole platform a few minutes after the other game viewers. We drove along the main road slowly, glancing from side to side in search of an animal. We were so busy looking out and beyond that we almost ran into two massive elephants crossing the road. My heart jumped in my throat, as the larger elephant turned to face us, puffed out his ears, and raised his trunk. We quickly backed up the truck, allowing the elephants to continue crossing the road without feeling threatened.This moment is the perfect example of what it feels to encounter an animal in the wild. Or just to be in the wild in general. Now, I know that a National Park isn’t “the wild” per se, but it’s pretty darn close – especially when I compare it to my previous Zimbabwe wildlife viewing experiences.
Those of you committed wanderingfootsteps readers may recall my trip to Antelope Park in October where I walked with lion cubs. I got a few amazing pictures of me happily walking in the bush, holding the tail of a 12-month-old lion cub. The pictures were great, but – I hate to admit it – staged. We were 15 paying tourists, walking along a dusty, worn path in the barely-bush, following two bored lion, inattentive lion cubs from photo-shoot spot to photo shoot spot. Yes, I did get to pet them, which was cool. But so did every other brave soul there that day. And the day before, and the day before that. Yes, I did get the picture, and it was indeed a good one. But did I ever feel my heart in my throat as I interrupted a dangerous predator in the middle of heading to a water hole? No.
In January, I went to a game “zoo” just outside of Harare. There, I pet a massive cheetah and enjoyed his loud purrs. That was pretty cool, as I was up-close and personal, and I was doing something that I knew less people had done. Nonetheless, that exact cheetah had been reared by the game zoo owner and slept in her bed for the first 8 months of his life. So I didn’t exactly feel that I was about to get my head bitten off. The elephant rearing its trunk and ears, however, seemed like he might just do that. And that was priceless!
I enjoyed wandering around the National Parks of Zimbabwe, even if I didn’t see a lion, a cheetah, the elusive leopard, or the endangered rhino. Something about the search – the chance to experience something unique and authentic – was good enough to propel me forward, to make me want to drive longer and to strain my eyes longer. Spotting an animal – a warthog, antelope, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, or elephant – filled me with pride that I had found them with my own two eyes, and with wonder that I was getting a little glimpse into their lives. I saw a warthog family creep out into the open to get a sip of water from a puddle; a male impala hopeless trying to stick it into an unimpressed female; three baby elephants dunking each other and sitting one upon the other at the watering hole as mama and papa drank lazily beside them; and zebra running through the open bush, chasing one another and playing like the horses on our farm.I may have been in a National Park whose complete wildness is philosophically questionable, but it was cool. The wilder, the better, I must say!
