One of the biggest lessons when in the midst of the untamed world is the accurate interpretation of sites and sounds. The behavior of monkeys, birds, small animals and antelopes are mostly in reaction to occurrences to their immediate neighborhood.
Certain species of birds are known to be good in warning people in the forest of impending danger. It makes a sound mostly with a sense of urgency in it which one traveling in the forest should never ignore. Monkeys are among the best detectors of danger out there. They not only serve their own but other animals as well. A distress call on seeing a big cat will put antelopes in the vicinity on high alert, often making them flee in time before danger strikes.
A baboon for instance has a different warning call on seeing an ordinary human being from one on seeing a uniformed warden. The game park wardens often restrict the baboons' movements sometimes shooting the destructive ones. The animals therefore perceive wardens to be their ark enemies.
Gorilla trackers in the dense Congo forest talk of a certain species of bird that appears before the trackers to warn them of possible danger ahead. It makes a lot of noise in front them before leading the way in which the people should follow. In most cases the direction that the birds avoid will most likely have dangerous big game that could be disastrous to come face to face with people.
The presence of flies in a bush is always a warning not venture too closely. Big animals like buffaloes and black rhino love to hide in bushes camouflaging well enough not to be detected from a distance.
The hyena is one animal that is known to use the signs in the jungle to perfection. When vultures fly to a target destination, then there is a high possibility of finding some food. If an antelope passes in full flight, the hyena will just follow the likely destination. Since it most likely ends up as prey for the big cats, the hyena will weigh its chances of snatching the prey from them. A fight with lions is rare, but possible. The cheetah loses 30% of its entire catch to hyenas while almost every meal will be shared. The hyena rarely leaves empty handed.
Game trackers have extremely good abilities of interpreting signs and marks made by the wildlife. From a footprint, the trackers will tell you how long ago an animal was here. They are able to predict the most likely distance it could be from the scene. One tracker in a Kenyan park is respected for his ability to detect the position of snakes using of all senses, smell!
When travelers come to Africa, they find it astounding that an African can accurately tell the time of the day, by glancing at the sun. It is something that Africans learn from early in life mainly because, living not far from the equator, the sun occupies almost the same position overhead, throughout the year.
People who live in the forests like the pygmies of Congo or the East African Masai train their interpretations of their surrounding to perfection. It is a necessary ammunition of survival that anyone living in the untamed wild must possess.
James G. Kamweru is a tour operator and has been organizing and reporting on Vacation, Travel and Tours for years. For More Information Visit his site at Kenya I Will Also Highly Appreciate Your Comments Kenya Travel On My Blog Here Kenya
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