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Kittibon and Lunar Photo courtesy www.bigfivevolunteer.com |
My first
animal encounter at the South African game reserve was with an elephant named
Kittibon. Kittibon is Xhosa for 'I have seen' and she has seen more than anyone
should ever have to.
Kittibon
came to the reserve after poachers slaughtered her herd; miraculously she was
left behind. Her mate is Selati, another orphaned elephant from a different
herd. They are the quintessential couple; never more than a few feet apart,
their bond is inseparable. They take mud baths together and afterwards Selati
lies on the bank of the pit with Kittibon standing over top of him, although he
is much larger and stronger than her, she is the protective one.
Kittibon sees
into the soul of every human being she comes into contact with and she saw
right through me on day one.
She saw my
weakness, my fears and my grief and each and every day she tried to slap it out
of me with her long and powerful trunk. If you've read my book you remember our
ongoing battles and no doubt that elephant holds a place in your heart as well.
Kittibon and Selati (left) after we made peace |
Over time on
that tiny Game Reserve in Africa I was forced to overcome fears and take
chances and that gave me the courage to slay the abominable demons of guilt and
grief over my mother's death.
When that
finally happened, no armor was needed when I was with Kittibon for she could
see there were no more weak emotions that needed 'slapping out'. She was a
changing force for me of such great magnitude - far greater in fact than the
collective mass of a thousand elephants.
In July of
this year under the brightness of a full African moon Kittibon and Selati
welcomed their first baby - a female named Lunar. How thrilling that Kittibon,
after all her struggles would now be a mother. But staff soon realized something
was wrong. Kittibon, natural protector and nurturer wouldn't allow Lunar to
nurse; she even began to gently push the baby away. A few hours later Kittibon
died.
An autopsy
showed the cause of death to be uterine prolapse during birth and complications
resulting from that. The dedicated staff at the game reserve took excellent
care of Lunar but sadly a few weeks later she also died. She was buried
beside her mother.
Kittibon was
alongside me every step of my journey of the loss of my mother, it is brutally
ironic that she should lose her life just hours after becoming a mother
herself.
Animals
can have just as much impact on us than people. And that was one
of the main messages of Learning to play with a Lion's Testicles and now, three
years later, she is still teaching me.
This is my 100th post on this blog and it is for you Kittibon. Farewell
dear friend I give you the piece of my heart that you once gave back to me.
Roger of the Expedition Project in South Africa recently wrote,
"Elephants
mourn the loss of a herd member so I can't imagine how confusing this must be
for Selati. Seeing Selati all alone in the field is heartbreaking."
For you, Mum
And for you, Kittibon. They say
elephants never forget but it is me who will never forget you. Farewell dear
friend.
So sad to hear about Kittibon.
ReplyDeleteShe had such a large presence in your book figuratively and emotionally.