For more than 2 years I have been contributing back page articles to this magazine and I have also completed a couple of online courses with them.
My biggest Wildlife Campus achievement to date?
Probably the fact that I started a course with them about 20 years ago…and I have yet to complete it! FGASA Level1. I started it so long ago that the course has changed its name!
A version of this article first appeared in The Wildlife Campus magazine in March 2021.
Having spent a few days at a lodge in one of my favourite reserves, I was longing to hear this sound that had eluded me up until that point on the trip.
Pull up a seat, make yourself comfortable and I will share my tale of potential stupidity with you…
For me, there are several iconic vocalizations that define the African bush and its inhabitants.
The haunting call of an African Fish Eagle…
The howl of a jackal as the sun starts to set and the night slowly creeps across the plains…
Even the often overwhelming croaking of various frog and toad species adds to the overall cacophony that often assails the ears of those not used to the sounds in the bush after dark.
And how could I leave out the maniacal cackling of the spotted hyena as it goes off to search for prey or scavenge from another predator?
If you are close to a river or body of water, then the grunting of hippos, if you have never heard them before can be somewhat daunting.
The trumpeting or deep rumbling of a feeding elephant herd are all part of the audio landscape that entertains guests while they are enjoying their time at a lodge in any of the reserves in South Africa.
But for me, the guttural sound from this apex predator still causes the hair on the back of my neck to rise and my adrenaline levels to increase.
Did you know that the roar of a lion can be heard from as far away as 8km?
At about 1m, the roar can reach 114 decibels, which is similar to a rock concert or the noise of a leaf blower.
After a busy day, which culminated in an afternoon drive filled with wonderful sightings I returned to find this large herd of impala at the waterhole in front of the lodge. All that was left to do for the day was to enjoy the spectacular dinner waiting in the open-air boma.
But I digress…
For me, when in the bush, I do not so much drift off as crash into sleep. The comfortable bed, the delicious meal, and the exciting sightings all combined to make certain that I was asleep faster than I could name the Big5.
However, my sleep was rudely interrupted in the early hours of the morning, not by the guide telling me it was time for the morning game drive, but by the incredibly loud vocalization of a lion from what sounded like right outside my bedroom window.
I had left a recording device on the nightstand just in case this opportunity presented itself and I grabbed for that in the darkness as I headed for the veranda door to record the call for an article I was working on.
As I opened the sliding door and focused on the levels on the recording device, I became aware of two important facts;
1] I was naked
2] I had no idea where the lions were as a second roar had joined in harmony with the first.
But being the intrepid writer that I am, did I let either of these facts stop me? Of course not!
It turned out that I had left a torch out on the deck and although at this point, I decided that discretion was the better part of valour, I need to retrieve it to scan the open ground in front of the chalet.
My persistence finally paid off when a set of eyes reflected in the torchlight, not too far away from me. I am uncertain who was the more surprised, him or me.
It turned out that he was more intent on meeting up with his brother than worrying about a pale, naked human with a microphone thrust in his general direction.
We were all winners that night. I got the recording and he got to head off into the darkness with his brother.
Knowing that I was in no danger, I remained in the darkness listening to the two as their grunting roars faded slowly into the distance.
Just another night in Africa!
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