To anyone who is skeptical about
interspecies communication, consider the following.
I am lying in the grass just outside
Julie’s den filming the three cubs, one lion and two tigers
eating on a blesbuck carcass. I am capturing, on film, their
first ever taste of meat.
A huge Karoo storm is rolling in from the
north. Suddenly a bolt of lightning slams into the hill off
on the northwestern side of the boma, accompanied by a loud
thunder clap.
Two cubs panic and run away from the den
into tall grass. The third freezes with fear.
Heavy rain follows the thunder and
lightning. Julie calmly picks up the cub at hand in her
mouth and carries it into the den.
I abandon my policy of not touching the
cubs and go after the two terrified cubs. I find the one and, holding it by the
scruff of the neck, I bring it back to the den. The cub hangs
absolutely limp. Instinctively it knows it’s a time of
danger and it must co-operate totally.
I meet Julie at the entrance to the den.
Visibility is almost nil in the pouring rain.
I hold the cub in front of her, inviting
her to take it from me. Gently she raises her paw onto
my forearm pushing my arm gently onto the ground. I release
the cub.
Now she grips the cub in her
massive jaws and carries it back into the den.
I am wondering who the most intelligent
species is in this time of crisis.
I go after the third cub but am unable to
find it in the tall grass and blinding rain. I get down on
all fours, searching through the grass. Still nothing!.
Then I hear a chuffing sound behind me.
Julie is standing with the third cub in her mouth and she is
just letting me know she has the cub. She moves back to the
den, cub hanging limply in her mouth.
At the entrance to the den she pauses and
turns her head towards me and chuffs.
In the language of the tiger she says
“Thank you”.
I chuff back. In the language of human
beings I say “You are a clever, caring mother and you did
good”.
Love, Light and Peace
JV
