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.

【红霞译文】

        我一直喜爱动物，每次参观动物园，一呆就是大半天。不过，我再喜爱动物，也不至于发展到如痴如狂的程度，天未亮就得爬起来。没错儿，这正是我今天所做的头等大事。我们乘车沿高速公路兜了一小圈，即刻来到博茨瓦纳乔贝国家公园，这是该国第一家野生动物禁猎区，包括大片热带草甸、冲积平原以及柚木林地，不愧为野生动物栖息的天堂。

        这是我连续第二次凌晨五点钟驾车猎游乔贝国家公园，因为温度适宜，野生动物喜欢清早出来活动，因此要想观摩它们日常生活，早上是最理解、也是最关键的时刻。尽管事先我们无从知道究竟能看到哪些动物，但乔贝国家公园包罗万象，不仅含有非洲大陆上密度最集中的大象群，同时还有仅在乔贝国家公园才能见到的两种羚羊﹕瓦氏赤羚和乔贝薮羚，博茨瓦纳其它地方一概没有。

        首先我们看到了长颈鹿，其身上有黑斑，但非常浅，说明它很年轻。接下来一群大象拖家带口浩浩荡荡地朝我们走来，大家喜出望外。昨日我们曾经过此地，可除了发现大象脚印和到处散落的粪便之外，并未看到它们的身影。所以当与大象全家老少不期而遇时，车上一位正在给相机换电池的老先生顿时激动不已，不小心失手扔下电池，正想弯腰去捡，不料惹急了站在身边的小象家长，它一个箭步冲了上来，紧贴车前虎目圆睁，我甚至可以闻到它呼吸的气味，如果有谁需要薄荷爽口，这位彪形大汉应该成为首选。

        告别大象老少之后，我们驱车继续前行，一路开一路看，奇怪的是原本随处可见的黑斑羚不见了，它们到底跑到哪里去了呢﹖等我们来到乔贝河岸放眼望去，发现成百上千只黑斑羚正集结在草甸平原上，身边大群狒狒义务替它们站岗放哨，起到暗中保护作用。狒狒听觉敏锐动作灵活，容易发现天敌伺机来犯，无形之中成为黑斑羚最好的帮手。因此，有黑斑羚出没的地方，一般少不了狒狒相伴左右。

        我百思不得其解，非洲到处焦阳似火，为何仍有像乔贝国家公园这样的绿洲可以滋养生命，并使动物群体繁衍壮大经久不息，难道不正说明大自然奇异神秘吗﹖世人也许永远找不出答案。