Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: ROAD TRIP (vacation) (07/02/15)
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TITLE: Twisted Fate Safari | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jack Taylor
07/08/15 -
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By the time my Toyota sank to its axles in powdered dust I reconsidered for the third time if the adrenaline rush of chasing down the pair of Kudus was worthwhile. “Nice driving,” my wife, Shannon muttered. Poachers in East Africa had decimated the striped antelope until sightings of the animals were rare. Their habitat is often close to dense brush but humans encroached on their territories to establish homes of their own. Hiding places were getting fewer.
In six safaris I had seen lion kills, white rhinos, crocodiles, elephant herds, cape buffalo and horizon to horizon masses of wildebeests and zebra. I’d seen Rwandan gorillas and stately herds of Maasai and reticulated giraffe. I’d seen cheetah cubs wrestling and leopards stalking. I’d booked over 257 species of birds. I’d even narrowly escaped being chomped by hippos surfacing under my row boat. In all my efforts I had never seen a Kudu, until now.
I caught my first glimpse of the skittish couple at the edge of a small grove of acacia thorn trees. Actually, Shannon pointed saw them first by whispering “something at 3 o’clock.” It was rare to see a male with just one female and separated from a larger herd. I’d spent five hours criss-crossing nearly bare fields of tinder dry grasslands, following almost invisible tracks made by mostly foot traffic. The ten vertical white stripes along the male’s torso set him off from other antelope.
To spot the two specimens this far from any mopane bush or forested hills was unusual. They were likely on the move to escape a predator or to find lusher pasture.
“Must be starving,” I said to Shannon. The leaves, grass, roots and fruit they loved was becoming harder to find in this area of the country. The drought was impacting everyone. The waterholes were shriveling faster than prune plums left in the mid-day sun.
The feature that turned this –grey bluish monarch of the plains into a prize was its large rack of twisting horns, two and a half twists to be exact. These horns made great Shofars for Jews to blow in their Rosh Hashanah celebration. “The poachers would love that buck,” said Shannon. The Kudu’s majestic features were offset by large ears, a white chevron across the snout, a short bristled mane plus its long legs on a narrow body.
The male was vocalizing through grunts and clucks. The thick mane along his throat moved like a wind-blown wheat field as he trotted ahead of his mate. My high powered zoom lens brought him in close. He was 600 pounds of beauty standing at the shoulder about my own height. The hornless female tucked in behind him as he turned to survey my Toyota starting to spin in the dusty soup.
“You’re going to have to get out and push,” Shannon announced. “I’ll drive.”
“I’ll need to stick something under the wheels for traction first,” I responded. I’ve been in this situation before but we were vulnerable out in the open like this.
The Kudu’s ears twitched frequently as it tried to discern the sound coming from my vehicle. His sense of hearing may have saved my life. I was just about to get out of my car to put rocks in front of my tires for grip when I noticed the male looking steadily at a clump of rocks a hundred feet behind my car. I paid attention and shut down the engine.
“What are you doing?” asked Shannon.
“Something’s out there,” I said. “Look at the way that Kudu is twitching his ears. That doe is nervous and I don’t think it’s just because of us.”
“I don’t see anything,” said Shannon.
“Wait a minute.”
Two minutes later a pack of wild dogs charged toward my car yipping and yapping and clawing at the windows. Shannon covered her eyes and ducked her head. One jumped on the hood and attempted to penetrate the wind shield with its sharp fangs. The pack was clearly chasing down the Kudu and seemed to consider me as easier prey.
Within ten minutes the wild dogs gave up and set off howling after the quickly retreating Kudu. I never saw the Kudu again but they kept me from serious trouble. It took an hour before I dared start up the car and let Shannon drive while I rocked the vehicle back and forth. We spent a good time praying and thanking God for the wonder of Kudus.
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