Having ever heard of the mysterious, largest land mammal so they say, I felt obliged to once in a lifetime get to come in contact with the African elephant. Where to be found I did not know but one thing for sure was this giant was laying low, keeping a remarkably unidentified profile, deep down in the hearth of the African Forests. Yes, I had seen the other mammals that constitute to the Africa`s big five and these being the lion, cape buffalo, leopard and the rhinoceros excluding the great elephant which I had the chance of only getting a glimpse of it on screen yet I lived in Africa, what an embarrassment. After a relentless effort to get to see this unsolved mystery, my efforts turned to be somewhat fruitful but with lagging drawbacks.
Having my house in order up there, in calmination, during this lull period, I then recalled that in Africa was Zimbabwe largest game reserve, the Hwange National Park. It was by then that it became lucid that it was obvious that I was going to get to see the elephant. With this knowledge I had obtained about the elephants, I was more than keen to see these magnificently marvelous animals. I really had to start preparing the journey and in on time I headed for Hwange National Park in my quest to see the elephant. Even though risky because my finances were a bit shaky, there was nothing I could do, I was not going to look back. Having had such opportunities I had to be prestigious of this adventure. In the early morning on the 5th of December this year I left for Hwange National Park which was somewhat a longish journey.
Just because I was eager to get to the site, I arrived at dawn. ”Bad timing,” they said to me. ”A tremendous herd of cattle of around 80 strong was here yester evening,” said one of the game rangers who appeared to have a passion for these animals. Knowing that my pockets were heavy with just air not even a piece of paper was found therein, I could not afford to go on a game drive in search of the giants but instead I had to wait till dusk so that I could get to view elephants at the largest waterhole were all animals met to quench up for the night. While I lingered about as the day went by, the ranger proposed that we had to take a tour around the reachable close surroundings of this boundless wilderness. It was quite an eye catching site with some of the beautiful birds which are inclusive of the 400 species of birds found there and up to 108 mammal species. Truly summertime is joy time, there really was life in the park. As we approached one of the small waterholes I felt shivers go down my spine, I was shocked more than the word itself.
Never in the history of the park had such a thing happened. It appeared as if there were strange, undefined, large mounds laying on the ground. Yes it was true, it was a dreadful site of dead elephants which numbered up to something like 22. Surely! Surely! What cruelty man has in him, to slay such a large number of great beasts. It grieved me that someone out there did not care about the natural beauty of these animals but all he worries about is satisfying his belly, money. These elephants had been poisoned with cyanide and the tusks had already been ripped off for ivory purposes. Measures had been taken to trace down these trophy hunters and punish them accordingly, fair deal. While the day went by we then went to the waterhole at dusk, which was a splendid sight indeed. For someone seeing these elephants for the first time like I, it was wonderful. I was pretty sure that perhaps it was the largest herd of elephants the park had ever had. It pleased me to see that these elephants were reproducing and the calves appeared seemingly fit. I was gratified to hear that these rangers sacrificed their sleep in protecting these magnificent Jumbos. I returned home grateful as I had fulfilled my quest. We all have a positive role to play.” Bye! Bye! to the Jumbos”
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