The Elephants of Thula Thula by Françoise Malby-Anthony

Author:Françoise Malby-Anthony
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

19

Big Plans for Big Cats

We have three leopards at Thula Thula, although they are seldom seen. Leopards are solitary rather than social animals. They come and go as they please, and they keep to themselves, lurking in dense riverine bush or rocky areas, coming out in the evening to hunt. If we are lucky, we catch sight of them on the trail cameras that are set up around the reserve as part of our anti-poaching strategy. It is always a thrill when I get a message on my phone at night and open it to see a picture of one of these magnificent beasts prowling through our bush. They are very strong and agile – a leopard can climb a tree carrying an antelope in its mouth. They are good jumpers and good swimmers, too.

These trail cameras offer some amusing glimpses of life in the bush. The giraffes sometimes find these mysterious metal blobs high up on a pole and come to investigate, giving us a curious view of an enormous eyeball fringed with magnificent lashes, or an inquisitive whiskery nose. We also spot nocturnal animals out and about in the day, and diurnal animals going for a stroll at night – they always look a bit sneaky, like kids skipping school to go and explore where they’re not allowed.

Larry sent me a message one day:

Françoise, we have lost 3 cameras this past month. Broken by poachers.

Three? That is shocking.

Yes. They must be getting inside info. Someone is telling them where the cameras are set up.

That’s not good Larry. Who could it be?

I will find out, I promise.

Two weeks later, Larry sent me another message.

Re the cameras. I’ve found the culprit.

There followed a photo – an extreme close up of an elephant’s trunk reaching out to the camera. It was an elephant selfie – or should I say selephie? Either way, it was a very funny sight. Who needs TV, when you’ve got trail cameras?

Leopards are elusive and are usually only seen in brief appearances on the trail cams, but cheetahs tend to stay in a home range which the males mark out with urine. We didn’t have cheetahs at Thula Thula, but I’d always admired these graceful, athletic animals – the fastest land animals – and harboured the hope of having them one day.

In 2019, Chantal Rischard and Stephan Illenberger had visited Thula Thula. When Christiaan mentioned to me that they had started the Ashia Cheetah Conservation in Paarl, near Cape Town, I was eager to meet them and hear about their work. I went to introduce myself and welcome them, and discovered that Chantal had read my book and they had come to Thula Thula to celebrate Stephan’s birthday.

These were two remarkably passionate and visionary people. Their life plan was to work hard in Europe in the financial sector, make money, retire early, move to South Africa and be involved in cheetah conservation. They had followed their dream to a tee! They now dedicate their lives to saving

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