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Tales From The Giraffe Pan

23rd July 2006

My Family and other animals…...

My brother came for visit the other day, one of those important visits. The last time I saw him I didn't know who he was any more, and it scared me. We have always been close but with us both needing to get educated, we drifted apart, geographically and spiritually you may say. We had not "hung out" for nigh on ten years, without the interference of spouses or various other family and friends.

This time it was just us. And this got me thinking, oddly about steenbok, but also other things you may see while driving around Africa.

You know of course that Steenbok pair off for life. You will always see two of them together. Leopards make it a lifetime commitment as well. But and it is a big but what about the poor old ugly Hyena. Having a face no-one could love, not even tree hugging conservationists. Which follows quite neatly I think to the Aardwolf. Not to be confused with the aardvark, as someone did the other day, like the baobab you never see a young one, maybe they do just fall down from heaven when they get too heavy and that is why they get planted upside down, or so the bushmen claim. But back to that aardwolf. A hyena in all but name, and all it eats is insects, an oddly designed and beautifully coloured, it is yellow(ish) with black wavy vertical stripes, and even here in paradise you hardly ever see them, not often enough because it really is quite special. Like cape foxes, I didn't even know they came this far north.

Baboons are another one. Saw them about a year ago, in a place where sure I had heard rumours but you don't have to believe the stories, I mean they are after all just stories to delight tourists and children. Likewise, I don't think people believe us about our winter visiting Elephants or Giraffe.

Kahn/a.

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