15 September 2009, 18:35
JudgeGTwo fun pictures from Deka
After my sixth or seventh night and day of getting up at 3:45 a.m, driving out to a leopard blind, freezing my butt off, hunting other stuff all day (and sweating my butt off, then getting back to camp late for supper, understandably, I was a bit tired.If one goes to a really wild area of Africa, they are often blessed to hear wonderful night sounds. I've heard hippos quarreling, elephants screaming about this or that, a bushbuck's bark and the King of the Jungle doing the MGM thing. But on the night referenced above, I thought nothing could awaken me. I was lights out about 2 seconds after hitting the bed.
I was wrong. Somethings get your attention.
About 2:00 a.m., I was snapped awake by the damdest and scariest noise I've hever heard. At first, I thought it inside my tent. I don't know anyway else to describe the sound, except one of terror. I sounded like a whole school bus of 9 year-old girls going off of a cliff... infinitely high pitched and infinitely loud. It happened twice, about 10 seconds apart.
I lay there and wondered what the hell I was going to do about the scream. Honestly, I rolled over, said "Karibou Africa", out loud and went back to sleep. I told you I was tired.
The next morning, returning for breakfast after a fruitless stay in the blind, I about crapped when I looked just 25 steps from the front of my tent, I saw blood and gore in the sand of the dry river.
I got Lou and after following tracks we found only a chewed-upon impala shoulder blade and lots of hyena tracks.
Yes, Karibou Africa, for sure.
And for the fans of Dr. Dolittle, I give you two Pushme-Pullyou giraffes.
Keep them coming.
