Page 36 - Silver Lakes June 2021

NATURE

WILD ANIMALS

HOW CLOSE CAN ONE GET?

By James Clarke, Photography by Mary Broadley

It's amazing how close one can get to
animals in Kruger Park these days.

The flight distance is the quite close to resting lions. The hypothesis we attract herbivores; we have to have
distance at which a wild that animals in the wild will flee at our livestock and so we attract carnivores; and,
as Africa’s human population grows, we
approach is not, however, an immutable
animal decides whether rule and it could be fatal to assume so. In have to establish villages and towns and
to flee or take aggressive fact, a ranger was killed in the Kruger Park invade the habitats of other large species
action. last month though I’ve heard nothing of – some bigger and toothier than we are –
the circumstances.
and so a conflict situation arises.
The problem is that, these days, ‘normal Many overseas tourists have a perception
recently wrote about how close we were circumstances’ do not prevail over much of wild Africa that has been heavily
able to approach zebra when driving
I in Kruger Park once the park was fully of Africa. We have to sow crops and so influenced by television programmes.
re-opened after the initial COVID-19
lockdown. This brought a response from
somebody who had noticed that lions at
Crocodile Bridge were unfazed when he
drove within a few metres of them.
Has there been a change since the
lockdown started – or are we imagining it?

It is interesting how, under normal
conditions, wild animals do not become
overly alarmed – cautious, yes – when they
are approached by vehicles. If we are on
foot, they invariably move away as soon as
they see us. Lions, elephants, buffaloes –
even crocodiles when encountered on dry
land – move away at our approach. Most,
including lions, will even flee.
This doesn’t say much for humans.
Significantly, such animals do not shy
away from other species – buck will graze
How close would you venture, on foot, to this little family? By car, 50 metres would be about
the limit.

34 INTRA MUROS JUNE 2021