LIVINGSTONE, ZAMBIA …. “THE BIG FIVE”

So with the Falls behind us … we headed out in our jeep to see some of the beautiful native animals of Africa. The big focus by the Tourist Industry is to see “THE BIG FIVE.” The “Big Five” are Elephants, Rhinos, African Buffalo, Lions and Leopards. There are promotions for “THE BIG FIVE” everywhere … from hats to tee shirts to safari literature. So I was curious where the term came from …. it turns out it does not have the most pleasant history. “The Big Five” are those animals that are the most difficult to hunt … they were considered dangerous and a great achievement to show up at home with One or I assume… Better Yet … all Five.

So not being a hunter I decided I had my own 5. ( Zebras, Elephants, Giraffes, Wort Hogs … Love the Warthogs in Lion King … and Hippos. ) I guess you would say they are gentler creatures … though I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing a Lion or two.

So off we went on our Safari. “Safari” is a Swahili word that means “journey” orginally derived from the Arabic word “safar” … travel or trip … so we were ready for our journey.

And was all set to find my “My Big Five.” The Reserve we headed to is considered relatively small … located on the banks of the Zambezi. Animals here have no real predators …. So unlike our last Safari 15 years ago there would be no lions or leopards … fortunately I was not going to view some animal being eaten. I guess it is the necessity of life but I don’t really want to watch it. ( Thank god there are no tours of slaughter houses. ) The animals in this preserve usually die of old age … so they are around for a long time.

Reserves and Parks are natural environments that the animals live in … They are large areas of unspoiled land with over 100 in Africa ( Kruger Park in South Africa is the largest with nearly 4.9 Million acres ) … the land is protected by the army or private security and to enter you must be accompanied by a guide.

Reserves came about to protect the animals from poachers … which by now probably would have completely wiped them out …. They are now using AK47’s. They did a pretty good job of almost obliterating the Rhino population. So these sanctuaries were set up to protect them from the deadliest animals …. Humans. The animals here can roam freely … they are not fed nor are they tagged …. Basically they are just living their life … visiting them you are in “their house” and “their guest.” You are expected to be quiet so you do not disturb them and you may only approach them or get out of the vehicle accompanied by Reserve Security.

So I was really hoping to see a Zebra. On our Safari 15 years ago the one thing we didn’t see were Zebras .. which we were told were plentiful back then. So you never know what you will and won’t see.

We did get a sighting of Zebras from our helicopter the day before … it was a cool perspective to look down at them … but I really wanted to spot one “up close and personal.”

So I finally found my Zebra. They are such beautiful creatures … they remind me of a stripped horse … their distinctive fur is their signature and they have been a “great inspiration to many designers.”

It turns out Zebras are actually part of the Equidae Family … not the same species as a horse … but closely related and they are known to breed with each other. Their offspring are Zebroids … if it is a girl it is a “Zorse” ( love that name ) and a boy is a Hebra. ( Learn something new everyday. ) So since there are no horses here … I guess we won’t be seeing any Zebroids.

It took forever to find an elephant …. We could see where they had been ( Didn’t know I would become an expert at tracing elephant poop ) but we were driving all over and just missing them. But that is part of the fun of a safari …you don’t actually know what you will see.

The guide had given up and so did I … we were on our way out when we practically ran over one … not sure you can run over an elephant … he might run over you … but I was so excited to finally see one.

After missing them in Thailand and a few other places …. assuming I would see them in Africa … I did not want to leave without getting my eyes on at least one. This guy was clearly on a mission … it looked like there were more ahead so he was probably trying to catch up with his group.

We had gotten an Ariel View from the helicopter earlier which was an interesting perspective … it felt like we were spying on him.

We saw lots of giraffes … another beautiful animal … this one is a girl … the boys have horns ..the pattern on their fur is so amazing … no two are the same … Mother Nature designed the pattern in their fur so it does a great job of camouflaging them in their habitat. … despite their height. They are actually quite hard to spot because they blend in with the background..

One of my favorites … the warthogs … they are relatively small but so muscular. They remind me of our Scottie …. Teddi … with the big snout and stocky build. And boy are they fast … they were in packs and every time they heard us coming they took off.

So the next sighting was an unusual one.

We got really lucky with this Hippo. I knew it must have been a special find when even the guide was excited. I guess it is very unusual to catch hippos out of the water … but there he was … having come out of the Zambezi. So we had a chance to see him in both places.

This particular Reserve is known for its “White Rhinos.” There are both Black Rhinos and White Rhinos in Africa. Over the years Rhinos were near extinction from poaching. Thanks to Conservation initiatives there numbers have recently improved. There is a World Rhino Day ( Sept 22’nd ) and a “Save the Rhino Foundation “ to draw attention to the issue.

So I was excited to see my first “White Rhino.” I came to find out a White Rhino has nothing to do with being “white.” It got the name because this particular species has a wider snout … and they referred to it as a “weit“ rhino. ( “Weit” means “wide” in German… coming from West Africas Germanic language )

All this time I thought they meant a “White” Rhino … I am still embarrassed that the guide and my shipmates in our jeep must have thought I was a complete idiot when I was asking when we would see the “Albino” Rhino …. I guess that would have been quite the sight .😂

So I did not see an “Albino Rhino” but we saw plenty of Impalas roaming around … certainly no shortage of these guys.

… but my favorite are the baboons and monkeys. They were everywhere and they act so much like people but with a little more “uninhibited” spontaneity.

… and these two could be anyone’s Mom and Dad with there little baby. I wonder what they were thinking about … the stock market? The elections? Maybe more basic stuff like where are we getting out next meal. It is so interesting to watch how they interact with each other.

And they definitely cannot be an endangered species ….they were everywhere.

And I love this photo …. It has to be my favorite. How would you like to have your tail pulled.

So it was a great couple days. Saw lots of animals … maybe not the Hunters “Big Five” but the Big Five I hoped to see.

DAY 155 … BACK TO CAPETOWN