Week two was a stark contrast from week one as the reserve had visitors from the states. They were here planning for a show at The London Fashion Week which the Lawrence Anthony Foundation is sponsoring. They were also here to film some footage for a short video that will be shown on Virgin Airlines. On their first day I joined them on a trip to the local village for a visit to the creche and the Sangoma (witch doctor). It was a great day full of culture shocks and on the way home I told them I was into photography and wanted to be a wildlife film maker. Luckily for me they hadn't organised anyone to film for them on this trip and I was immediately volunteered for the role.
As the week went by I was their trusty camera man and assistant, mainly filming interviews and meetings. It all got interesting however when there was news that a young zebra had been spotted with an injured leg and covered in cuts and ticks. The general consensus was that if we didn't do something then the hyenas would. A rescue mission was organised and it was decided this should be caught on film. All the troops were rallied, a vet was called and the search for the zebra began. It was my job to catch it all on camera but with one strict instruction - stay out of the way!
The usual procedure for capturing an animal as large as zebra (even a baby one) would be to use a dart gun. However time was running out and there was no gun available so it was time to revert to the old school. We arrived at the area where the zebra was last seen and everyone split up to find him. After 10 minutes or so the radios started going off and his location was determined. I ran into the bush in the direction of the commotion, using only my ears for guidance as the bush was so thick. I ran for 50 yards or so and stopped to listen again. The noise had completely changed direction. I ran towards it once more dodging the thorny acacia trees, stopped, listened and now I was close by but still couldn't see a thing. I made another dash towards the sound of rangers chasing a baby zebra (you know, that sound you hear all the time in England) and finally found them. They had already caught the zebra and I had missed all the action. At least I had stuck to my one and only order - stay out of the way!
Just after the capture |
Dylan, David and Wessel carrying Impi back to the truck |
Impi being treated |
Sadly, he didn't. The news came just a few hours after we left. The shock had set in and the adrenaline had worn off and it was all too much for poor Impi. Everyone was gutted. Especially Alyson and Marissa as they had planned to stay with him through the night and were also there when he died. There was a sombre mood that evening with the inevitable hindsight debates. Some people thinking we should never have interfered and others thinking we did the right thing. The one thing no one argued about was that we gave it our best shot and our intentions were in Impi's best interests.
RIP Impi.