Wild animals and a Sony camera | Pushkar's Diary

I am in Nata and Kasane is more than 300 km away. There is only one village, Pandameteng, on the way, 200 km from Nata. I have to cross the distance in one day.

Everyone I meet along the road is concerned about my journey. People have been mauled and devoured by lions. "How will you escape if a lion attacks?" they ask. An armed national park guard was killed by an elephant. There are not just lions, but elephants, savage Cape buffalos and leopards also. Nobody says I can make it across the jungle.

Why will an elephant kill me? Because they don't have enough grass. Why are there lions and leopards waiting to eat me up? Because they don't get Impala and deer in the jungle. I would love to see those wild animals. If they attack me I can't do a thing but I have my original Sony Camera. If they jump out of the bushes, I will say Cheeese! and go click! click!

I leave Nata with many good wishes and Natalese voices fading in my ears. The jungle has wild animals lurking in the thickets. No village. No people. Not many cars on the road.

Where are the wild animals? Swaaaar! I jump out of my skin, there's something moving in the bushes. Run, don't look back. There's one of Africa's 'Big Five', an elephant with young ones, in the middle of the road! The giants smirk at me, "We are the biggest in the world. What can you do?"

Sorry big boy, I can't do a thing. Only take a picture. Smile! They sh*t. Elephant sh*t. They are not polite, they don't hide behind bushes or go to the toilet. Maybe they were in a hurry. What will I do with a picture of an African elephant sh*tting in the middle of the road?

It's the middle of the day. Are there lions hiding in the bushes? Or maybe they went to a barber shop. Lions have long hairy manes that make them look scary. They should get a haircut and shampoo to attract lionesses.

Giraffes don't saunter on the road. I don't think they know how to cross. The buffalos know me. I love buff momo (Ha,ha). Where is Aunt Hippo? She must have gone swimming with Uncle Hippo and Baby Hippos. They like that.

I pedal and pedal when the elephant traffic clears off the highway. I reach Kasane without trouble. My heart beats a crazy tattoo in my ribcage. I have to see lions so I can tell my friends about them. The next day, I go to Chobe National Park in a jeep. There are herds of elephants, giraffes, monkeys, and deer. I thought the African elephants were the biggest animals in the jungle but I was wrong. I see an elephant and giraffe playing together. It's as if the giraffe is saying to the elephant: "Hello, little boy."

We drive around the jungle for three hours looking for lions. Before sunset, we spot two lionesses. They look nervous. They look at us. Perhaps they know we are searching for their boyfriends. What will these humans do if they find them?

What will we do? We only have a Sony camera. We will say Cheeese, Brother Lion. Click! Click!

Find this article at:
http://www.wavemag.com.np/issue/article1699.html