By Sam Christopher, University of Vermont
When I think of my backyard I see chipmunks jumping from chair to chair on my patio. Squirrels attempting to get any amount of food that they can out of the bird feeder. Dark-eyed Juncos and Mourning Doves sifting through the grass for bird seed that has fallen to the ground, while Cardinals and Blue Jays fight for the food inside of the bird feeder itself.
Tau Camp, meaning Lion Camp in Setswana, is our first campsite in NG18. Although we didn’t have any lion sightings in NG18, we had plenty of other animals to distract us. During our morning transects we see anything from baboons to giraffes; however, we don’t only see animals on our transects. Living out in the bush means that we are surrounded by wildlife every second of every day.
On our first morning we woke up to see Hippos in the distance grazing in the grassland outside of our cabin window. Frogs create a chorus of sound as we fall asleep and a multitude of bird calls keep us company during the day.
The only time I’ve ever heard close to silence was when two gorgeous elephants walked right into our backyard. All of us immediately stopped talking and stood up enraptured. We watched at the edge of the lounge and took pictures of the beautiful creatures that we typically only see briefly on transects. Both crossed the grassland behind our camp and started using their trunks to suck up water and then toss it onto their backs to cool themselves down on this extremely hot afternoon. After what seemed like only minutes, the elephants headed back the way they came. Flapping their ears, they trundled back across the grass. All of us edged over as far as we could in the lounge until they were both out of sight.
The students watching the elephants in the distance from the lounge at Camp Tau.
The two elephants splashing themselves with water.
At first I was disappointed to lose sight of the elephants, but Kaggie and Samara led us over to the bridge on the edge of our campsite to get a few more moments with our neighbors. All of us lined up on the bridge quietly and watched the elephants graze for at least half an hour more. Through our binoculars we watched them pick up huge chunks of food and deliver it to their mouths with their trunks. We could see all of the details including their wrinkly skin, a crooked tusk, torn ears, and the ridges on their long trunks. I can’t speak for everyone, but it was an unforgettable moment that will hopefully be just one of many to come during our semester.
Bull Elephant grazing around Camp Tau.
Recently we moved to our new campsite in NG19. After unpacking we met some of our new neighbors. Sixteen drove Caroline, Paige, and I right into a pride of lionesses and their cubs. This moment was just as breathtaking as our backyard elephants. Two cubs sat on a log playing with a stick on our left while three or four lionesses lounged in a pile of sand on our right. We were probably less than ten feet away from them. This was another unforgettable moment that truly reminded me that I am in Botswana surrounded by amazing creatures.
Two lion cubs playing on a log.