Elephants and Cheetahs

Elephants

After our day of rest, we made a trip to a few animal sanctuaries. We started with elephants. African elephants, as you know, used to be hunted quite a bit, but now they are pretty well protected. So protected, in fact, that the elephant population in South Africa’s Kruger National Park is nearly twice what the park can handle. Authorities will be thinning it out soon. In the past they would thin out populations by killing the older, more mature elephants in a herd. But the younger elephants would become rowdy and poorly behaved without adult mentors, so now they thin whole groups at a time, from young to old.

Even though there are tons of elephants at Kruger, they still have elephant sanctuaries. The one we visited near Johannesburg had five elephants that the sanctuary either bought from zoo or circus trappers. They try to make the five elephants into a family that they can then release back into the wild. In the meantime, as they are bonding, the sanctuary uses them as teaching animals for uneducated folks like me. In a cold, two hour tour, we learned about elephant herds and bodies. (Their skulls are huge but very porous in order to cool the brain and reduce the weight of the head. Their brains are five times the size of a human brain because they can migrate large distances and need to be able to store a huge amount of information about their path – hence the sayings about the memory of elephants.) The tour also gave us a chance to feed the elephants; pet their trunks, ears, belly, tails, and the soft bottoms of their feet; lead them around by their trunks; and get a muddy, wet, cheek-sucking kiss from their trunks.

Cheetahs, et al

Next we went to the cheetah sanctuary. Cheetahs are one of my favorite animals because they are sleek and fast. Their strides when they are running full speed are about 25 feet, where their hind legs will land in front on their fore legs in order to better propel themselves. We got to pet one, which was cool. They are really loud when they purr. Unfortunately they are going to be eliminated from the wild of Africa perhaps as early as 2012.

In this sanctuary we also saw wild African dogs, who eat extremely fast, even while their prey is still alive; ostriches; a few types of vultures; honey badgers, who have to have tops on their cages because they will build ramps to get out; monkeys: and a few others.

Your Education

So, what did I learn that would be helpful for you? How about escaping from wild animals?

Elephants – when they charge, you can’t outrun them, but as you run, start throwing off items of clothing, which they will stop and smell, slowing them down.

Cheetahs – do not run, but stand still. They understand prey as animals that run away, so if you stand still, they will be confused.

Ostriches – they can impale you with one kick, so it is best to roll up in a ball near a tree and try to protect your vitals.

Lions – well, unlike cheetahs, they don’t just chase prey. They also chase and kill any creature they think might be a threat to their hunting domain. If they attack…um, pray.

Wild African Dogs – unlike domestic dogs, they don’t fall for the stick throwing technique. They attack in packs (though two adults always stay home to watch over pups) and they eat quickly, while you’re still alive. So, um, go to confession before venturing into the African wild.

Helpful? Doubtful. Oh well.

God Bless,

Fr. Scott