They were grazing peacefully on the dry grass when we came upon them, a dozen female elephants and calfs. Ears flapping they immediately turned to face us, pushing the young to the center. They recognized the threat - us!
Once, before the war, Gorongosa had a thriving elephant population. Now, thanks to poaching, it has fewer than 400, including six males imported from Kruger. The others are survivors and their offspring of the poaching. Most have small tusks - or none at all, which is probably why they were spared. In fact Gorongosa elephants have had small tusks for centuries, possibly because the park is on one of the histsoric trade routes from the coast to Zimbabwe. Is it any wonder why they don't trust humans?
Is that a bullet hole?
Elephants are intelligent and social and have l-o-n-g memories. The matriarch, swollen breasts indicating she is the mother of one of the tiny ones, came forward slowly and deliberately . . . then she charged! A false charge but the message was clear. The rest of the herd flared their ears, raised their trunks and kicked the dirt in support. She backed off a little then moved forward to shoulder down a tree in a show of strength. It was time for us to leave! As we drove off the adults chased us as if to say, "And don't come back!"
Gorongosa is 200 km from Beira which is an hour plane ride from Maputo. Yes, we flew; enough long bus rides! And Edward was waiting at the airport to drive us to the Chitengo Safari Camp, with a stop at Shoprite to buy fruit and stuff for lunches. Our chalet comes with breakfast and we will a la carte it at the restaurant for dinner. The camp - and the park itself actuall - is here partially due to the efforts of the Carr Foundation and head Greg Carr. I had a beer with some of his staff this afternoon. Alan is the resident scientist, Jorge works in the construction part and Katy takes care of health education in the local communities. Like all successful ventures, this one includes the people who live around the park.
This morning's game drive was less than I hoped but better than I expected. The birding wasn't so great but we did see a sable antelope, our first ever.
