South Africa, 3

In the light of a new day - January 19, 2013

The sun has just risen over the eastern horizon of the Addo Game reserve, bathing the park in hues of pink that gradually yet ever so tranquilly migrated from the deepest majentas.  Such a tranquil moment indeed but the final hours of this night have been anything but calm.

With the speed of those first rays of dawn, news has already spread across the valley that a pride of lions have captured their morning breakfast.

That magnificent kudu had lived a remarkable life: born on these plains, he had himself mated and raised his family, but despite his years and his wisdom (or perhaps because of them) he knew with a certainty beyond reason even before he heard them coming that his turn had come.  Every life lived eventually must yield and feed the new life that replaces it.

The lions will feast on their prize for the better part of the day, only giving way to the jackals and the smaller predators once they have gorged themselves and slaked their hunger.

The celebration among the pride is accompanied by a buzz of whispers that have spread throughout the kudu herds.  Some of the old buck's immediate family will spend their day grieving privately (or at least attempting to do so) but no animal on the plain can afford to let his guard down for too long because as surely as one pride of lions will be busy making short work of today's kill, there will almost certainly be another lion on the hunt.  All the animals know this truth and consequently they must always be on guard.

Meanwhile, in another corner of the park, a male elephant has lost his way.

Perhaps he's had an argument and been temporarily banished from the herd, or perhaps he has finally discovered the location of his parents' skull bones.  They died gallantly so many years ago, those two who virtually ruled this valley.  Perhaps it is fitting that the old matriarch and her favorite mate should continue to welcome those human visitors who come every day to see this animal kingdom.

The young male elephant can still call to mind the lessons his parents taught him while they were alive.  They are lessons that he once whined about, yet he knows that their wisdom will guide him and he knows that in time he will teach these same lessons to his own children.  This period of mourning has allowed him to realize this truth.  Now he sets his sights on rejoining the herd.  There are still many years left in him and many lessons that must be passed on to the others.  Wisdom is like that - it must be shared.

Come then, friends and visitors alike.  Gather at the watering hole if you dare, and learn the wisdom of the ages.  The sun has just risen.  What new lessons will be taught today?