Meet "The Leopards" ... and last night the coach got chased by a wild elephant...

Maybe Anjel was the only football coach on the planet who had a scary encounter with a wild bull elephant last night. My post on Facebook last night which I updated this morning led into this but a series of events and mishaps led to Anjel having a lucky escape on the property next door. Strangely, last night while I was down by the river and the team was having a kick round I was thinking about a phone meeting I would have to have today, getting updates from the District Forest Office in Baitaidi regarding leopard attacks. Those of you who follow my posts will know that Baitaidi had a horrific spate of leopards killing children, kids just like the ones in the photo. I thought of that while the boys played. As I described in the post I saw the elephant in the distance and before I left Anjel and I were discussing the team and our plan for them as leopard ambassadors. Anjel has a passion for leopards and wildlife in general, yet a few hours later her life was under threat, the elephant had entered the property, heard her open her door and then charged.

I guess there's some synchronicity in that I live in a village where the kid's football team is called The Leopards. They're a really good bunch of boys, they chat about wildlife, they're proud to be called The Leopards. Good kids, living with wildlife, they all know other kids who have lost their lives to wildlife.

So it's this balance, this tolerance, this rawness and realism. Anjel does not think badly of the elephant yet he has killed people. As I worked with the rehab leopard today it was this ongoing dynamic where she would gladly take my face off, yet I am doing my best for her to live wild again.

It's hard to describe. The tolerance does not exist everywhere and sometimes the tragedies stretch things to the limit. It's awful to think what could have happened to Anjel. It's awful to think what has happened to children just like these boys. But life goes on, we need these animals and the challenges of human-wildlife coexistence are only going to become greater. How we manage them from this point is of vital importance...
These posts (and other updates) are at Facebook if you wish to comment.