Ndofu!

For the past two nights in a row Josephine, Sarah, and I have been working in the classroom at around 8:30 (planning to stay until 9 or 10) and have been interrupted by the entrance of one of the Mpala Research Center guards. The guards, dressed all in green khaki with radios and flashlights, generally don’t speak much English, which is usually a problem since we don’t speak much Swahili. However there are a few words you pick up very quickly here, and all they have to say is “Ndofu!” for us to understand what's happening. We dutifully pack up our bags and are escorted back to our rooms, our eyes peeled for the cause of our relocation: the mighty ndofu, the African Elephant.

The largest of the African mammals, ndofu have an interesting place in Kenyan society. They are smart, charismatic animals, highly sought after by tourists, but often feared or disliked by locals. They can be incredibly destructive – knocking down trees and raiding croplands, and they represent a very real danger to people (which is the reason Mpala requires we be escorted back to our rooms when they are near). The Kenyan brewing company “Tusker” carries their picture on every bottle as well as the explanation “named after the elephant that killed one of the brewery’s founders”. Although I wasn’t looking to get quite that friendly with them, a brush with an elephant (at a safe distance) was definitely on my wish list for this trip.

Last night that wish was granted. Once in our rooms we settled back in to our work, until loud cracking noises drew our attention to the window. We turned off all of the lights in the room, and clustered around the little one and a half foot tall opening. Illuminated by the light of the almost full moon we saw a medium sized elephant chomping away at the tree only 10 or 15 feet from our room. A movement to the right diverted our attention – another elephant, the same size, and then another – a baby. Finally from behind a tree came the real deal – a 12 foot tall full size adult elephant, twelve feet away, with only a concrete wall and window separating us. The family moved about outside our banda, browsing on the trees, digging up the garden, and relieving themselves on the grass outside. Meanwhile we ran back and forth between our two rooms, following them through our tiny windows, flashlights and cameras at the ready. Josephine remarked that it was kind of like a reverse zoo: us in the cage and them free to roam about. Eventually the novelty wore off and the elephants moved on, but all the same it was an incredible (and unforgettable) experience.

Note: We did manage to get some (very low quality) pictures of the encounter, however they're still being edited, and will be posted as soon as possible (I promise).