Real Experiences at the Nakavango Conservation Programme

My six weeks in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe were nothing short of amazing. The first day I arrived at the Nakavango Private Game Reserve, I saw several African elephants trumpeting not far off the two-track road we were traversing. I saw plentiful amounts of giraffe, zebra, impala, kudu (an African antelope), warthogs, hippos, crocs, baboons, bugs, birds, lizards, you name it. I absolutely loved each and every sighting. To be cliché, as Taylor Swift would put it based on her latest music video, while volunteering at Nakavango I saw all of my “wildest dreams” come to life. I was also particularly lucky to see the black rhino while at Nakavango, a creature that played a significant role in my decision to go to Zimbabwe in the first place. This reserve is a special place; it is the home of 8 black rhino when there are less than 300 remaining in all of Zimbabwe (a country about the size of Texas). That speaks wonders about this reserve. While volunteering here, I was grateful for the chance to do things that help protect these prehistoric-looking creatures from the evils of poaching. While I could write stories for days about my encounters with the black rhinoceros at Nakavango, for this program review, I am going to share an experience I had with another beloved African animal that I will never forget. Long story short, this animal encounter got my heart racing even faster than when I went sky diving in Hawaii the month before traveling to Africa.

Each day on the reserve, we went out in the safari cruiser and do different tasks to help the ecosystem here thrive. We did a morning job from about 7am-12am and an afternoon job from about 4pm-7pm (taking refuge and relaxing during the heat of the day). One night, we were out particularly late on the reserve removing invasive plant species (it’s very tough work digging up massive Lantana roots, by the way) until dark had almost fully set in around 7:30. As we drove back to HQ in the dark, only the outline of the trees were visible in the sky that was still dimly lit from the last remnants of sunlight over the horizon.  I was in the back left seat of the 12-person cruiser and the girl in the front left passenger seat next to our guide—remember, cars in Zimbabwe are English-style with the driver on the right side of the vehicle—had a spotlight, shining the trees beside the road as we drove. We all liked these dark drives home; it was fun to try to spot eyes staring back at us from the depths of the forest while in the safety of the cruiser.

We were cruising along and she was shining the right side of the road. But I was looking to the left for anything in the bushes, when we passed a HUGE bull (male) elephant on our side only about 5 meters from the road! I was the only one who saw it because it was so dark, but regardless how dark it was there was no way I could miss the outline of an animal that large and that close. As we passed, he moved back and I could hear him stepping on twigs over the roar of the cruiser motor. I quickly yelled “Dean (our guide), elephant on the left!” He quickly replied, “Nice” before stopping the vehicle, putting it in reverse, and backing up towards it. At that point, I was already kind of on edge because I knew how close the big guy was to the road and I didn’t think Dean did. But he backed up anyways until we were about 15 meters ahead of where I saw him on the road. Dean then stopped, cut the engine, and shut the lights out so we could sit there in the dark and just listen to him.

We all heard him making a ruckus behind us—breaking branches, grunting, stomping around—and I assumed he was about 20 yards off the road. I couldn’t see him but that made sense because I think he retreated into the forest a ways after we passed him. We all sat quietly in awe, listening to the incredible grunts he was making with his mouth and waiting for him to settle down/go back to feeding. He did settle down slightly, and started working his way through the woods, parallel to the road in our direction. He soon closed the gap and was only about 5 yards behind our car, but he was still out a ways to our left. We could hear he was close.

To me, it was clear that he knew we were still around and was coming closer on purpose. Remember, I was in the back left corner, the closest seat to the elephant with the best view from the elevated back row. It was very dark though and I still couldn’t see him, but I searched diligently nonetheless. There was a 2-meter-tall bush in front of me that I had to look around, but I finally saw his white ivory horn come into my view in the starlight. My heart was racing. I was so excited to see him and could now see the outline of his massive body again. I assumed he was just grazing and would continue along, although he was still making rather loud vocalizations, which was unusual. Soon though, it became apparent this was not his usual stroll through the forest to eat.

Quickly, he turned his tusks right at me and the truck, and started stomping towards us with a perfect line aiming at me in the back row. His grunting became louder and it was clear his temper was starting to flare again. He got close, uncomfortably close. Only three meters from me! We were still separated by the about 2-meter-tall bush on the ground, but he stood well above that exposing his large head to my view, with both of his big ears flapping wildly and both of his tusks above the bush that now looked small. His size alone was enough to make a 23-year-old man shake in his shoes. Then, he did something I never thought I’d see an animal do.

In one motion, he violently ripped a large branch off the tree next to him and threw it on the ground as he quickly lunged in and out of the bush between us before standing his ground. I couldn’t believe my eyes! He flinched at us in an attempt to scare us away, similar to what a bully would do to the small kid on the playground. And oh did it work. This was not your average, chubby neighborhood bully. This this was a 6-ton bull elephant with ivory tusks thicker than my arms and a trunk that could knock me unconscious with one flick. Unlucky for me as the closest one to him, it was like I had drawn the short straw and was the main target of this bully’s abuse!

After he flinched at us, my heart was beating faster than I can remember it beating in years. My friend Owen from Maine, who was in the middle seat of the back row next to me, grabbed my hip unconsciously and pulled me back towards the middle of the vehicle. Everyone was moving back in their seats. The scene was unbelievable! My mind was scattered, full of excitement and fear as he continued to make a lot of noise, break branches, and flinch at us to intimidate us. I imagined that this guy could flip our truck with one quick swipe of his tusks if he wanted to. Finally, Dean (a well known guide in Victoria Falls who has been at it for 25 years and really knows his stuff about elephant behavior and everything about this environment better than the back of his hand) decided to call it quits and started up the car to drive off. This startled the elephant; he grunted before scurrying off as if to say “That’s right.” We drove off unharmed, but not without a skipped heartbeat here and there.

As intimidating as this display was, I loved every second. We all did. Of course it helps that no one got hurt, but we all were beyond amazed by such a unique encounter. We talked about it the rest of the night. Dean thinks that the elephant was in musth, a mating time where their hormone levels (like testosterone in humans) are raised and they are more aggressive. He obviously didn’t like when we backed up close to him, stopped there, and stood our ground. It didn’t help that it was at night in the dark forest, a place he felt should be his at that time. For this, I don’t blame him one bit. He was a wild creature that deserved having space away from humans when it is night time and time for him to eat or mate in peace. All in all, it was incredible experience, one that I am glad happened without a doubt. We had seen elephants roaming gracefully many times, but it takes an experience like this to gain a true appreciation and respect for the massive, wild, unique creature that he was.

There was an operation on the edge of the reserve there called ‘The Elephant Experience’ that allows tourists to come in and ride elephants. There are many ethical arguments about such operations, including how the elephants got there, how they are treated, and how they cope psychologically with being held captive. In addition, the captive elephants (that are allowed to roam the reserve under supervision) have destroyed the native ecosystem in the area they are limited to, which has stressed the rest of the reserve—which is only 30 square kilometers—as a result. It is us volunteers and the staff at the reserve that are left to clean up the mess that these contained elephants cause. That is why it is so important for volunteers to visit the reserve and do things like plant native trees, remove invasive trees, protect trees from elephants (which I learned are programmed to be sometimes volatile), work to combat soil erosion, and do several other things on the reserve to try to boost the ecology of that ecosystem to be in the best balance it can.

Regardless of these ethical and environmental issues, many people still partake in these rides, and many really love their experiences. I even met a tourist in town that claimed their elephant experience was life changing, and helped him appreciate the true size and beauty of African elephants. But is that the best way to really observe the complexity and awesomeness of an African elephant? Can that man’s staged “horseback-riding-like” experience on a tamed, African elephant even be compared in the same light as my wild elephant experience?

My answer is absolutely not. I would take my elephant experience over theirs 100 times out of 100. My glimpse at that elephant in its natural, free environment was more authentic than any elephant ride could ever be. Never again will I be that close to an animal so large, so territorial, so powerful, so in control, so beautiful. It was clear that he should have the right to stroll the dark forest at night as he pleases. We did nothing to intentionally disturb that creature, and Dean knew when to call it quits before the situation crossed the line. He waited just long enough for us all to have an experience that made us learn to admire that and respect these magnificent creatures for what they are.

As appealing as it sounds to go somewhere simply as a tourist and ride an elephant, I think more meaningful experiences are possible while volunteering in a program like IVHQ’s in Victoria Falls. More meaningful, real elephant experiences that take place under real circumstances in their real environment. Experiences like that are how the true personality of these amazing beasts can be understood. How their actions can make a lasting impact on someone. How one’s love for this symbolic African animal can take new meaning.

Trust me, I know.