2014-01-09

【Aiden in English】

        I always loved animals. At the zoo, I would spend hours looking at the large animals. But when I meant love, I didn't mean waking-up-at-the-crack-of-dawn-love. Even so, that's exactly what we did. It started with a short ride on the highway to Chobe National Park, the first park established in Botswana covered with dry savannah, floodplains, and teak woodlands that became ideal animal habitats.

        I embarked on another morning game drive to the park as early as 5 am. It seemed to be an ideal and a crucial time to view wildlife, as it was cooler and the animals were more active. While there was no telling what we would observe, the reserve was home to countless animals, including the largest concentration of elephants on the African continent. Chobe was also home to 2 antelopes that weren't encountered anywhere else in Botswana, the puku and the Chobe bushbuck.

        The first animal of a giraffe came in sight. It had black spots, and was really pale. That meant it was a young offspring. Next, our safari vehicle stopped to see a parade of elephants with calves. Everyone was so excited because yesterday only the elephant’s tracks and dung could be seen when we came to search for them in the morning game drive at the same place. The people were so hyper that one gentleman even dropped his battery off his camera. That's when the huge beast noticed us. He began walking towards us and came so close that we could smell his breath. If someone needed a mint, it was him.

        We continued on and something strange hit us. There was little impala today. Yesterday, you couldn't turn the corner without stopping for the impalas. However, today was extremely silent from then. The question was solved when we drove by the Chobe River. The lush green bank was covered with a herd of impalas. Hundreds, even thousands were gathered along with a grazing congress of baboons. The baboons advanced in their sensitive hearing and incredible agility, which helped the impalas stay away from any vicious predators.

        I am pondering how Chobe National Park has such lavish vegetation to nurture abundant animals survived from the brutally hot Africa. Is Nature a mystery for life? The world may never know.

【紅霞譯文】

        我一直喜愛動物，每次參觀動物園，一呆就是大半天。不過，我再喜愛動物，也不至於發展到如痴如狂的程度，天未亮就得爬起來。沒錯兒，這正是我今天所做的頭等大事。我們乘車沿高速公路兜了一小圈，即刻來到博茨瓦納喬貝國家公園，這是該國第一家野生動物禁獵區，包括大片熱帶草甸、沖積平原以及柚木林地，不愧為野生動物棲息的天堂。

        這是我連續第二次凌晨五點鐘駕車獵游喬貝國家公園，因為溫度適宜，野生動物喜歡清早出來活動，因此要想觀摩它們日常生活，早上是最理解、也是最關鍵的時刻。儘管事先我們無從知道究竟能看到哪些動物，但喬貝國家公園包羅萬象，不僅含有非洲大陸上密度最集中的大象群，同時還有僅在喬貝國家公園才能見到的兩種羚羊﹕瓦氏赤羚和喬貝藪羚，博茨瓦納其它地方一概沒有。

        首先我們看到了長頸鹿，其身上有黑斑，但非常淺，說明它很年輕。接下來一群大象拖家帶口浩浩蕩蕩地朝我們走來，大家喜出望外。昨日我們曾經過此地，可除了發現大象腳印和到處散落的糞便之外，並未看到它們的身影。所以當與大象全家老少不期而遇時，車上一位正在給相機換電池的老先生頓時激動不已，不小心失手扔下電池，正想彎腰去撿，不料惹急了站在身邊的小象家長，它一個箭步沖了上來，緊貼車前虎目圓睜，我甚至可以聞到它呼吸的氣味，如果有誰需要薄荷爽口，這位彪形大漢應該成為首選。

        告別大象老少之後，我們驅車繼續前行，一路開一路看，奇怪的是原本隨處可見的黑斑羚不見了，它們到底跑到哪裡去了呢﹖等我們來到喬貝河岸放眼望去，發現成百上千隻黑斑羚正集結在草甸平原上，身邊大群狒狒義務替它們站崗放哨，起到暗中保護作用。狒狒聽覺敏銳動作靈活，容易發現天敵伺機來犯，無形之中成為黑斑羚最好的幫手。因此，有黑斑羚出沒的地方，一般少不了狒狒相伴左右。

        我百思不得其解，非洲到處焦陽似火，為何仍有像喬貝國家公園這樣的綠洲可以滋養生命，並使動物群體繁衍壯大經久不息，難道不正說明大自然奇異神秘嗎﹖世人也許永遠找不出答案。