The soap opera of the African night

Last night a friend asked me what the nights were like in Africa. It is yet the best question I have been asked about my favorite travel destination.

Nights in the so called civilized world can be scary because the human predators come out. Turn on any city news in the morning and you hear who was robbed, killed, car jacked, stabbed or shot the night before.

When sun sets in the Okavango Delta, Kruger National Park or the Serengeti, the predators also come out; predators of a different kind entirely. I find it eerily soothing to hear the huffing sound of a pride of lion defining their territory vocally to other wandering feline as the sun sets. Or in pitch black hearing the distinct short changing pitch coming from hyena calling reinforcements to a potential meal. And once you get familiar with the sounds you can sit, listen and know with almost certainty what soap opera is playing out in front of you like a blind man reading braille.

The scene is dead quiet except for the cooing of a dove in the near tree and the crackling of what's left of the fire over which you cooked your evening meal. A short distance away a baboon barks a loud warning to his troop, but not in time.  One of his family has been caught by a leopard; the whole troop is screaming in defiance and in fear.  Then scrambling noises can be heard as the surviving members reposition in the tree. To the left of the original struggle the sound of heavy claws on bark as the leopard takes his kill up into a different tree to keep it safe.  It's quiet for a moment but I know the leopard has begun to eat the primate; first plucking the hair which falls to the base of the tree leaving clues. What are the rest of the baboons doing now? The night does not divulge their fear and longing for their troop mate. It is only imagined.

The local clan of hyena have heard the commotion and now smell the blood of the dead baboon. They call in a very distinct hum that starts at one pitch and ends in another; much higher. The sound travels great distances in the night like the crack of thunder and lightening heard from the far off storm. The hyena could be very far, but your imagination hears them only an arm’s length away.  Hyenas from miles around stop what they were doing to head to the scene to help try intimidate the leopard into dropping her meal.  At the thought of food a mother hyena puts her babies safely back into the den and moves off hurriedly.  If you listen close you can hear them coming from all directions. As they gather, they attempt to gang up on the leopard.  But hyena don't climb and leopards aren't easily intimidated so her meal is safe.  As the minutes pass all goes quiet again.

What drama will play out next in this dark night with more stars shining down on the scene than spotlights on a Hollywood movie set?  It's the mystery of the African night. And even though these  predators could include you in their meal plan, the thought is not as scary as the human predators of the night in the civilized world. 

Oh how I long to hear the next episode of the African nightly soap opera.