Tusker

by Dougie Arnold

  And there was Meru, still small enough to get lost in amongst his family. He looked in their direction, his ears, which seemed far too big for his head, flapping and his tiny trunk moving backwards and forwards as he walked. Then before they knew it the trees swallowed them up again.

  Harry couldn’t stop himself smiling as he flew the drone back to camp. As it landed the battery on the screen indicated a minimal charge remaining; quite a close-run thing. “That’s the first sighting of Mara’s family in over four days. It is just so uplifting to see them all and know they are safe. However, I really wish they weren’t on this side of the escarpment. They aren’t that far from where that young male was killed. However, we can hardly redirect eight elephants to somewhere we want them to be! By the way, thinking about their safety, were you aware of any tell-tale dust signs from that mystery vehicle while the drone has been up?”

  “Like you I suppose I was pretty glued to the screen but I didn’t see anything out of the corner of my eye, for what that’s worth.”

  “That’s my take on it too. Look I know you probably think I’m neurotic but I just want to try one thing. If we put that battery you left on charge in the drone I would say we have enough power and daylight to do one quick flight out to that track. I have a pretty good idea where the vehicle stopped and that would ease my mind enormously to know that there’s nothing to worry about.”

  “That’s not such a daft idea. That’s why we purchased the thing in the first place.”

  The motors were feeling quite warm as Harry placed it on the take-off area but the manual stated that it was well up to this much usage without a long break. It was an easy flight to the track, just a straight line with no pauses or detours and still just within range. Because of the rocky terrain what vegetation they could make out on the side was pretty sparse, certainly not thick enough to hide a vehicle. He flew a mile or so in each direction from where he remembered the dust trail stopping but there was nothing, just barren track. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or not. He was just about to turn the drone on a homeward flight when Ana grabbed his arm.

  “Harry just go back a bit. I hadn’t really noticed before but the road goes over something that looks like a small concrete bridge, perhaps it is some sort of wash away from the hillside during heavy rains. Can you get a closer look?”

  He flew the drone to one side and went into hover mode, angling the camera lens into the gloom under the bridge. “Oh God there is something in there for sure. Can you get any lower without giving away our position?”

  He dropped by another few metres and there it was on the screen, there could be no doubting it, the front of a green Land Rover. “Look Ana you can even make out the camouflage paintwork on the front wings. I would swear this is the same vehicle that was in the reserve when they fired on the plane.”

  “Agreed and what’s even better is that the drone will have taken an image of the number plate. We can find out who owns it! Let’s get it back as soon as we can. We’ve got a lot to do and not much time.”

  Fifteen minutes later with everything packed away they were still in conversation about the next step. The crucial problem being, that if there was someone in the main camp who was linked with the poachers, then using the radio would be an open broadcast of what they had discovered.

  Suddenly Ana leapt up, rushed to the tent and returned with her rucksack. “I can’t believe how dumb I have been, I’m sure my mobile phone is somewhere in the bottom of this bag. As you know I hardly use it in Uwingoni but it’s just force of habit to take it when travelling.”

  Sure enough there it was nestling comfortably under a pair of socks. She pulled it out and turned it on. “Amazing, we have got some sort of a signal. I’ll phone Jim directly.”

  “You can try but the chances of him even having his phone anywhere near him are seriously slim. Sorry to be pessimistic.”

  Harry’s first thought was disappointingly accurate. He racked his brain. Who could he trust completely who might actually have a phone with them and a number he would know? His heart sank. Perhaps they would just have to risk the radio.

  “Didn’t you tell me that Kilifi’s daughter was expecting her first baby any day now Harry.”

  “Definitely, she might have even had it.”

  “Well any potential grandfather I can think of would want to know the news straight away. Do you know his number?”

  Harry smile vanished in an instant. “Who remembers anyone’s number these days, it’s just straight into your phone and that’s it.”

  “I thought you told me you had phoned him sometimes before we had the repeater masts up. Didn’t he give you his number so that you could get advice about wildlife when you were out by yourself?”

  “You’re right!” Harry could hardly contain himself, rushing to Bluebird he flung the door open, rummaged on the shelf and with a triumphant shout held up The Pocket Guide to Mammals of East Africa. There on the inside cover, next to a large K was a ten-digit number. “Dial this now and fingers crossed. Come on Kilifi we need you.”

  Ana handed the phone to him. “If we get through you talk to him. You two have a special bond.” The ringtone continued, monotonous and unhurried and then suddenly that familiar voice was there.

  “Who is this? I don’t know your number. Are you the hospital, is my daughter alright?”

  “Hi Kilifi this is Harry, I’m on Ana’s phone. I’m so sorry to contact you like this but we really need your help. But before that are you a grandfather yet?”

  “Yes, yes. We are so excited but my daughter doesn’t leave hospital till tomorrow. Of course I’ll help. What can I do? We wondered where you two were, you haven’t had an accident have you?”

  “Brilliant news grandpa and we are fine thanks. I’ll explain everything later but it is urgent that I speak to Jim. Can you see whether you can get him to phone me as soon as possible? Please don’t tell anyone else about this call.”

  As they waited dusk began to fall and with the fading of the light Harry could feel himself becoming more agitated. What if Kilifi couldn’t find him, did Jim even know where his own phone was? Negatives swirled round his head. This was such a remote part of the Reserve, even if he did make contact what could be done? He felt so powerless.

  The phone buzzed in his hand, it was Kilifi again. “Yes Kilifi? Oh, Jim it’s you.” Despite the situation he almost smiled. Of course he had been unable to find his own mobile.

  Harry explained the situation as well as he could, trying to be factual and keeping emotion out of things, as he knew that was Jim’s way.

  “Thank you Harry, that’s good work. Luckily we still have some top KWS guys here so I am going to ask them whether they think there is anything they can do tonight. There is no obvious track to the area where Mara and her family are and that would even be in issue in daylight. I am also going to get in touch with Inspector Mwitu and give him details of where you saw the Land Rover, but the police are short of vehicles at the best of times so I don’t hold out much hope of them driving miles down a dirt road in the dark, but you never know.”

  Harry felt despondent but knew in his heart that Jim was simply being practical and telling it the way he saw it. “Can we not get Bethwell and some of the guys along here now?”

  “Look Harry, I need time to talk to the professionals and make a plan. We all feel equally strongly about the elephants but blundering into a dangerous situation would only make things worse. You are to promise me that you and Ana will stay put.”

  “But Jim…”

  “No buts this is well outside your league. If they do come into Uwingoni tonight they will be heavily armed and extremely dangerous. You are not to do anything stupid. Now let me get those calls made. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Harry handed Ana back her phone and told her what Jim had said. They both sat in glum silence. There was nothing worse than a feeling of impotence. The beauty of the African night for once was lost on them. The darkness would only offer comfor
t to their enemies.

  “Well I’m certainly not going to be able to sleep anyway, I don’t know about you. I suggest we grab a quick supper and then keep watch from the side of the escarpment. We won’t be able to see the elephants of course but if that Land Rover does come into the Reserve tonight they will have to use their lights. There is no way they can drive off road without them so we will be able to pinpoint their moves, perhaps even get back to Jim, who knows!”

  For once Raymond’s food failed to give its feel good factor. They made sure there was no sign of light visible in their camping spot and moved to where they could get the best view, found the least uncomfortable of the rocks and sat down to wait and watch.

  Time seemed to crawl and although there was a sense of relief that all seemed quiet below there was always the realisation of the hours still to go. The ring of Ana’s phone broke the stillness and there was Jim voice as calm as ever. “Just thought you needed an update before you turn in for the night. The inspector said he would do what he could but was not optimistic, as I had feared. We have made a plan with the KWS boys up here. Even they are unprepared to be out at night there, it’s too dangerous and that’s discounting the poachers. They will leave here with Bethwell and Kilifi before dawn, take the escarpment road until they are roughly above where you last saw the elephants late afternoon and try to establish where they have moved to. If they are lucky enough to do that they will be able to offer protection and hopefully by then the police will be on the move.”

  “Thanks for letting us know Jim. Please stay in touch early morning. You know we will do absolutely anything we can to help.”

  After three more hours they were stiff and tired and there was no sign of any activity. “Look Harry I don’t want to seem a wimp but even if they do come now, how on earth are they going to be able to find the elephants? Wasn’t it you who told me a herd can often walk twenty-five kilometres a day and only sleeps for a couple of hours a night? They could be anywhere, even on top of the escarpment by now.”

  Harry knew what she said made complete sense and that they wouldn’t be much use in the morning if they had no sleep. However, somehow he felt responsible for them in a way he couldn’t really understand himself; perhaps it was actually being there when Meru was born, he had given up trying to work it out.

  “Look why don’t you go to sleep if you feel alright in the tent and I’ll stay up a little longer.”

  “I’m not a fool Harry and to be honest I don’t trust you not to do something reckless. I am staying out as long as you. One thing I learnt over the years is how important it is to try to get into the heads of people you interview, and that’s what you need to do with the poachers. Just like the KWS rangers, my bet is that they will move some time before dawn so as to be in a position to start their search for our family at first light.”

  Harry sighed, “You win, I’ll turn in now as well but only on the understanding that we are up and ready an hour before sunrise.”

  Harry was asleep within minutes and Ana reflected on how strange it was that often people pumped full of adrenalin and purpose seem to exhaust themselves emotionally and are out like light as soon as their head hits the pillow.

  As she lay there in the darkness she felt her heart racing but wonderfully not because of the fear of the darkness or the closeness of the sides of the tent but because of a strange peace that seemed to have settled in her. She felt an excitement, almost a breathlessness, because she no longer seemed to feel the fear that had dominated her nights for so long. Sleep seemed elusive but she didn’t care, instead she drank in the sounds of the night and relished feeling alive.

  It was pitch dark when she was aware of Harry struggling to find the tent zip. She was grumpy, deep colourful dreams, a forgotten magic, seemed to slip away in the chilly night air.

  “Sorry Ana. It’s a bit difficult to make a quiet exit from a small tent but those early rays will be creeping over the hills before we know it. Just stay cosy in there for a little longer while I get sorted.”

  When she realised that getting sorted involved fresh coffee she could almost forgive the intrusion. Her hands gripped the mug and she wondered how Harry was getting on with his morning scout. Pointless launching the drone, it was far too dark but he had disappeared ten minutes before.

  “Quick Ana, come and look and tell me I’m not losing my marbles and bring your phone too!”

  She peered down from the heights trying hard to focus on the area that Harry had pointed out. He was convinced that he had seen lights on a couple of occasions when he had been here earlier but they had come and gone so quickly that he doubted his own senses.

  “There they are again. Did you see them?”

  “Well I saw something but it just seemed a momentary flash, hardly Land Rover headlights.”

  “Shall I tell you what I think? It is them and they can get a fairly good idea of where they’re going. Although the stars seem to be dimming, there are still millions up there. When they get to a tricky area they flash their lights on for a second just to work out the dangers and then continue. I know it’s difficult with the wind coming off the side of the escarpment but I’m convinced I can hear a distant engine noise too. Please Ana really concentrate on where you thought you might have seen something and tell me this isn’t just my imagination.”

  Looking into the blackness below, frightened to blink and miss something required much more concentration than they realised, like a fisherman endlessly watching his float, feeling that the moment he looked away, the fish will bite.

  “There Harry, at two o’clock from where we are, and again! Oh my goodness you are right. It must be them, who else would be here and driving like that? If we weren’t right here on the edge we would never have seen those flashes. What do we do?”

  “Try Jim’s mobile. Let’s see what he thinks. I thought last night how annoyingly right he can be about things. These guys will kill anyone who gets in their way and probably not lose a minute of sleep over it.”

  Armed with his own phone, Jim answered after the second ring. He listened carefully to their report and after confirming as accurately as possible the course the poachers were taking told them to keep an eye on any new developments and get back to him if they thought they had important news. He updated Ana from his end and hung up.

  They continued to track the poachers from their vantage point. Every so often the headlights winked and now that they had a good idea of where they were, this became easy to spot. They seemed to be heading to roughly the same area where the young male had been killed.

  “Do you know what I feel Ana, that the salt lick there is a real magnet and as there is one, there might well be others in the same area. We know so little about this part of the Reserve. Would you mind ringing Jim back and just tell him my thoughts. The KWS rangers and Kilifi will have to make a start somewhere.”

  In some ways time moved at a snail’s pace because, as mere spectators, there was nothing they could do except watch. In other ways it positively sped by. Had the poachers got a sighting of the herd and how near were the rangers? The vehicle had disappeared into thick tree cover and although this would probably slow them down they hadn’t spotted the headlights for over fifteen minutes.

  “I’m sure there is a faint lightness behind those eastern hills. I am going to get the drone ready and once those sun’s rays show themselves I’m sending her up. Our little baby here could make all the difference.

  She found him a few minutes later checking the battery connections for the drone. “Good news if your idea is right Harry, it looks as though Kilifi and the boys are pretty close to the salt lick.”

  African dawns in the bush are usually to be savoured but he could barely contain his impatience. Eyes in the sky could prove crucial for the elephants. And then there it was; the small line of distant clouds were a brilliant yellow and behind them the sky glowed orange.

  “I’m launching now. By the time it gets over the salt lick area we should have enough
light to get some good camera feedback.”

  Ana’s phone rang again and this time it was Kilifi. They hadn’t seen any elephants but they were definitely in the area as they could hear them. Anything of interest from the drone and they should contact him directly.

  As it closed in on the thickly wooded area below, the leaves in the trees turned from black to a dark green. Harry was trying to work out their possible destination in his head. Then suddenly there they were, the unmistakable shapes of the elephants through the trees. He calculated they must be under a kilometre from the salt lick and that was certainly the direction they were heading in. They were closely bunched and Harry could feel the panic rising, a few well aimed bursts of gunfire and almost every elephant would be hit.

  He kept on hover mode above them which was more difficult than he imagined as the trees were so tightly packed. Then he realised his mistake, now he knew where they were he desperately needed to find the Land Rover. He tried gaining height in the hope that would help to spot it but the foliage was too dense and the camera lost definition. He tracked back towards where he knew they had been and flew parallel lines towards the elephants and back again, but there was nothing. They had to be there, had they abandoned the vehicle because of the trees? That was a very real possibility and if so they would just melt away and he would only discover them when it was too late.

  Ana was in touch with Kilifi and the good news was that he reckoned they would be able to gain sight of the herd within five minutes. Even a small number in this sort of area made quite a noise and should be relatively easy to find.

  Harry navigated back towards where he had last seen them. He dropped a little lower and then suddenly there was movement, not of a vehicle but definitely a number of dark shaped individuals, and then they were gone again.

  “Ana quick, is Kilifi still on? Great. I’m sure I have their position, they can only be about seven or eight hundred meters away from the elephants. Tell him they are moving almost directly from the east towards the salt lick, the elephants are to the west of it but I don’t know where he is.”