Page 65 - Dark Matter Women Witnessing

Early on, a very young bull came to the side of the car and put his trunk up to

Cyndie and almost touched her, another one examined the front of the car and

another the rear. Each day, the elephants permitted us to observe the activities

of the herds as if we were being introduced to their culture, the complexities of

their relationships and, particularly, their appetite for play.

On our last day, we drove down a sand river and were met by Henry, a bull

elephant whom Eric, the guide, had seen born fourteen years earlier. A gentle

elephant, he allowed Eric to park the truck next to him under the tree. Such a

greeting, like all the other encounters, appeared both purposive and

happenstance. In ways we had not experienced ever before, we found ourselves

amidst dozens of elephants engaged in every possible elephant activity. An

older bull and a younger one were tousling – the younger one being chastened.

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