Page 18 - • IFV 8 2020.indd

Nature

He let them out. was surprised to see the herd coming and his little mouth searched hungrily
One day, Mnumzane, the disoriented towards him. They stopped metres for her teat” . . . there was silence among
male orphan of the previous matriarch away and Vusi spotted the calf below those watching.
and now an almost fully-grown bull, its mother’s belly. The mother was The team departed to allow the herd
charged Lawrence with murderous stroking its head, but the baby was to disappear deep into the bush, which
intent. Nana stepped between them. unresponsive. they were expected to do for days –
Mnumzane eventually left the herd, The only solution was to wait till dawn perhaps even weeks. That evening,
as is the habit of mature males, and and bring in a veterinarian by helicopter Francoise invited the rescue team to a
became an affectionate friend of and then, using two vehicles, drive the sunset champagne celebration a couple
Lawrence’s. But that’s another story – a elephants off and isolate the calf. of kilometres from the lodge. When she
very moving one. Francoise describes how the calf was stepped out of her house ready to go,
Indeed, there are so many stories. hurriedly anaesthetised using a drug “who should be at the entrance of the
If Lawrence went overseas or to another dart. To fully appreciate how narrow the lodge to meet me? The entire herd!”
part of the country, the herd would sense gap is between elephants and humans Incredibly, after the racket of the
his imminent return and travel miles to when living in cordial circumstances, helicopter; after the panic; after the
wait at the house to greet him. He called it is important to visualise the trauma stampeding and the trumpeting of the
it ‘spooky’. Francoise, in her own book, involved in this operation and its distressed cow forced to abandon her
describes something spookier. remarkable aftermath. calf . . . there they were, “every single
After Lawrence’s death, rangers Rangers cut away the wire and one of them. They stayed with us for
spotted a new-born, very emaciated applied antiseptic salve and then hours . . . who knows what they were
calf, its trunk and face deeply cut into injected a fast-reaction recovery drug thinking?”
by a thick wire snare. It was unable to before rapidly withdrawing. From a Was it gratitude? Did they want to say
suckle. When Vusi, Francoise’s right- distance, they watched the agitated something? Of course, they did.
hand man, went to see what could herd rush towards the calf as it One day, I believe, we’ll find a way
be done he spotted the herd through unsteadily wobbled towards its mother. to communicate with another species.
binoculars, but no calf. It was late Francoise says, “Freed from the snare, And one day we’ll crack the code and
afternoon. He sat in his vehicle and his trunk curled up against her belly speak with elephants.

Part of the herd on a visit to the lodge - they respect the flimsy fence

16 • Issue 8 2020 • The Villager