In the food chain

Day 109 of the project,
Swakopmund, Namibia

It is the amazing the amount of information that can be gathered from a pile of rhinoceros shit. Obviously, you can learn about their diet and digestive process. Rhinos only have one stomach (unlike other large herbivores) and cannot fully process their roughage...meaning the pile of poop actually looks like an explosion of half chewed twigs. Less obvious is that a dominant male will drop in his territory; other males will pass by and drop on the perimeter of his poop, which alerts him about guests in his area. It is like a message board for the rhino community. However, when a female rhino wants to get the male's attention, she will poop directly on top of his pile. Initially this will piss him off, until he realizes who left the message.

However, the most important thing you can learn from the dung is proximity to the animal. So when the pile belongs to the less social and more aggressive black rhino and is relatively fresh, your park rangers on the guided morning walk tend to get a little nervous. A bad encounter between the locals and foreign tourists is not exactly great PR.

In my normal life, I have never taken any interest in rhino shit. These creatures were an abstraction--something seen from the comfort of my living room on National Geographic. I never dreamed I would be in such close physical proximity.

Do not mistake me. These majestic animals are beyond incredible. Words don't really seem to do them justice...the sense of awe and wonderment at the sheer size, grace and beauty of the "Big Five" or the elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards and buffalo. Hippos and crocodiles and the many species of antelope are impressive. The smaller creatures are just as amazing; the numerous birds with flashy colors and interesting lifestyles (the ones that live on the backs of other animals consuming bugs are fascinating). And the slight strangeness of human features on monkeys and baboons.

But perhaps the most incredible feeling is the awareness of being part of the food chain. It is a strange and visceral vulnerability...knowing that there is another living non-human creature that can easily kill you. And a few that would actively hunt you as prey. It is a deep-seated and primal fear, something left over from our days in the caves.

It is not often that the average San Franciscan is hunted by anything other than a MUNI bus. Sure, there are bears in California, but most are interested in the contents of your cooler or bear canister...not in eating you. But this is Africa. This potential danger is the reason there are steep fines for any idiot who leaves the car outside of designated areas. Lions are an obvious concern, but the large herbivores can be dangerous too. An adult elephant that feels threatened can stampede. In our case, the very shy black rhinos will charge if confronted and leave your carcass in his wake for the scavengers.

Our planned route was quickly modified. We did not see any other large creatures until we returned to the Jeep. A family of elephants decided to shade themselves in the trees next to our vehicle. Once again, the route changed as one guide loaded his very large gauge shotgun and the other made a wide, quiet circle around the car. He managed to slip in without notice and collected our group.

After returning safely to camp, it was time to leave for more urbanized adventures along the Garden Route. However, feelings from our walk on the wild side will linger for a lifetime.