As a photographic volunteer for The Wildlife Act, we were scouting the Zimanga Game Reserve, near Mkuze, South Africa, for wild dogs. Wild dogs are now on the endangered species list and our mission was to track and document their behaviors. We had been on the rocky trail for only a few hours when we identified a pack of six. We quickly noticed that two of the six were injured. Both injured dogs had a limp in their front quarter that was clearly hampering their ability to keep up with the rest of the pack.
We followed the dogs for quite a long period of time as they trotted down a long, straight, two-track road. As the alpha male stopped to assess the variety of smells along the way, the injured dogs took every chance they could to lie down and rest. We took these opportunities to photograph the injured dogs and tried to identify the possible source of their injury.
Over the course of the next half hour, we followed the dogs as they strategically made their way along the road, and adrift the sickle brush, in a formation that is indicative of hunting.
Eventually the dogs emerged from the thicket only to find themselves face to face with a herd of elephants. There were approximately fifteen of them and they weren’t pleased that the pack of wayward dogs had entered their area. The dominant “tusker” took the lead and gathered the others into a group. The adult elephants placed the adolescent elephants between themselves and proceeded to cross their trunks, much like a web, in order to create a barrier and defend the little ones.
The dogs meandered as if they had no concerns, but the elephants were none too pleased with the dog’s presence. The dominant male elephant presented his ears and started to charge the dogs with the rest of the elephants in tow. Due to their immense size, the elephants gave the illusion that they were moving in slow motion, but let’s not be mistaken, these elephants were hauling ass!
The dogs casually paced away from the giants, remaining just out of danger from the charging pack. After a short period of time the dogs stopped running and preceded to rest, seemingly, a safe distance from the angry elephants. It was almost as if they were taunting the elephants.
As we sat and watched, fascinated, we realized that the elephants were obviously not satisfied with their effort to dispatch the dogs. Again the elephants banded together and proceeded to charge the dogs for a second time! Much to our amazement, the alpha male dog immediately identified the vehicle, from which we were taking pictures, as safe barrier and led the rest of the dogs to take refuge behind it. It was truly a testament to the decision-making ability of this very young alpha male. At a mere year and a half old, this dog is wise beyond his years.
It was all very interesting until we realized… wait a minute, what? WE were the barrier! The hostile elephants charged, and trumpeted, and stomped and threw sand into the air with their trunks. It was actually terrifying once we realized the gravity of the situation. One elephant alone could easily topple a full size vehicle, but a dozen or more?!?! We were in big trouble!
Our driver and guide, uncharacteristically stumbling over his words, warned us not to move a muscle. Complete silence and no movement was imperative. Since I was standing in the bed of the pickup truck I was forced to stay standing, far too exposed to whatever may happen next. There have been many times in my career when I have put myself into some pretty risky situations but this felt the most dire at the time.
The elephants would ebb and flow in relation to the truck, much like the waves on the seashore reach for your feet when you’re trying not to get them wet. After what felt to be an eternity, the standoff came to an end. The dogs steered themselves in a direction that kept the truck between them and the elephants until they finally slipped off in the distance. Once the dogs were out of sight the elephants calmed down and slowly moved off. It all seemed to end as quickly as it began.
Elephants are truly amazing to watch. It’s hard to imagine how a poacher or big game hunter can face this scene and still want to pull the trigger. Both wild dogs and elephants are now on the endangered species list. Neither need any help to further their plight. In this case, both parties worked things out without hurting one another, all the while showing us the respect and power of mother nature. The only harm done was to the guides underwear, which had to be changed immediately after the encounter.
By: Byron Goggin, Director of Photography/Photojournalist
“Saying no to an adventure is like saying no to life”