Nature Reminds Us

Every job, no matter how romanticized, has its seemingly mundane tasks. Thursday the 2nd May proved to be a day that I was to perform such a task. Our temperamental but ever so faithful Land Rover was having another bad day, we use this vehicle in the training of prospective rangers, and a few of the new rangers having never “off-roaded” before had induced another bad mood. So the task of getting the Land Rover in for repairs was left to Dumi and I. On route to the Phinda workshop I was feeling almost as temperamental as the Land Rover, when nature reminded me once again why I do this job, and treated me to the most amazing sighting I have yet experienced on Phinda. Dumi and I rounded a corner and not 3 metres in front of us was an African Wild Dog. Phinda has no permanent population of wild dog, though they do occasionally visit from neighbouring reserves. Dumi and I spent several minutes watching the dog investigate a troop of vervet monkeys, which were very obviously agitated by the predator’s presence. Once the dog realized that the monkeys weren’t going to present an easy meal it moved off to more promising hunting grounds. The retreating dog left me with a great sense of appreciation for giving me a few moments with a seriously endangered animal, and reminded me that my minor irritations pale in the challenges these beautiful creatures have to face. And that you never know what surprises await around the next corner!

Posted: Phinda by Donovan de Swardt, Date: 2 May 2008