The Leopard
BOTSWANA
July 2001
We are in a wildlife park.
There are 20 of us. Our tents are
set up and we will spend the night in this park. Our guide will sleep on top of our truck and
be on the lookout for any wild animals that may wander in to our campsite. We are assured there is very little
possibility that this will happen. While
the smell of food may allure them, our noises will scare them off. We have should
have no worries.
But to be cautious, we are instructed to go in groups to the
latrine or go just outside out tents. So
five or six of us decide to go and check out the latrine. We heard there might be a sink and I would
love the opportunity to wash my hands.
As we are walking back, out guide becomes very quiet. He
stops and sternly tells us, “Everyone is to be very quiet now. You are to walk briskly but do not run. We will go back to our campsite right now.
Everyone!” So off we went, panic surging
through us.
When we get back he tell us that we had come into eyeshot of
a pack of lions. They were feeding so
they hadn’t noticed us. Adrenaline rushes through my body and I feel as though
I am going to throw up.
“Do you want to take the truck and go find them?” our guide
asks. Yes, we all want to do that. So we pile in the truck and take off. We don’t
go far before we hit a road with a downed bridge. That proves to be a challenge for the
driver. As he looks around for an
alternative passage, he roars laughing, “Look, look who is watching us.” Sitting ten feet away, in the bushes, is a
leopard. We are mesmerized. And all of
the sudden, I realize that I am on the end, in a truck with no doors, sitting
closest to this animal that could take me out in 3 seconds or less.
