Fare la guida di safari non è
solo un lavoro, è una scelta di vita.
Sembra essere banalmente
percepibile come scontato agli occhi di chi non ha fatto questa scelta, ma
occorre essere consapevoli, non è una fuga, non è un rifiuto, non è nemmeno un’avventura
fine a sé stessa, è un progetto.
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| Dik Dik - Madoqua Kirkii - Ruaha National Park - Tanzania - ©Andrea Pompele All Rights Reserved |
Comporta sacrifici e tanto tanto
studio, sappiatelo.
Sono una guida professionista
certificata AFGA, African Field Guide Association, e imparo tutti i giorni qualcosa di nuovo. Ho intrapreso
questa strada perché ho capito che nella vita bisogna fare quello che ci piace,
non quello che gli altri si aspettano da noi. O peggio, quello che noi
aspettiamo da noi stessi, proiettando aspettative erronee e fuorvianti per la
nostra personale realizzazione e felicità.
Ok, fin qui tutto bene, ve l’ho
già spiegato in altri articoli e momenti.
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| Yellow Baboon - Ruaha National Park - Tanzania - ©Andrea Pompele All Rights Reserved |
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| Lion's cub - Ruaha National Park - Tanzania - ©Andrea Pompele All Rights Reserved |
Tuttavia onestamente, è la migliore
scelta che abbia fatto in vita mia. Ho imparato ed imparo tuttora un sacco di
cose. Ogni giorno è diverso e mi regala esperienze incredibili. Ho superato
alcuni limiti che avevo anche dopo essere diventato guida certificata e
miglioro la mia conoscenza naturalistica in maniera concreta. Giro scalzo per
il campo, all’inizio ero titubante e parecchio indispettito nel farlo, ma poi
ho osservato, capito e fatto mia questa abitudine che ha il mio Boss.
Ovviamente ci sono molte controindicazioni nel farlo: spine, sabbia, terra,
polvere e insetti fastidiosi, ma superato il limite, basta prestare attenzione
a quello che si fa e tutto risulta naturale. Cammino nel bush come se l’avessi
sempre fatto, tra l’erba alta 4 metri circa, l’elephant grass (Pennistum purpureum),
che si chiama così perché nasconde persino gli elefanti, con una certa
attenzione a dove metto i piedi e a quello che si muove intorno a me. Non è
difficile, non è pericoloso, se sai quello che fai e nello stesso tempo è
incredibile se ci pensi su un attimo.
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| Me and an Elephant @ Mdonya Old River Camp - Ruaha National Park - Tanzania - ©Andrea Pompele All Rights Reserved |
Ho imparato a gestire gli elefanti. A piedi. Il campo è pieno di elefanti, entrano ed escono a loro piacimento giorno e notte, per brucare l’erba, strappare le foglie degli alberi e smuovere i tronchi per far cadere i frutti di Acacia tortilis di cui sono ghiotti. Spesso spaccano i rami e scorticano i tronchi, ogni tanto fanno cadere anche gli alberi. Si avvicinano e si possono osservare benissimo. Li stiamo identificando uno per uno e costruiamo loro una carte di identità da condividere con i ricercatori dello STEP (Southern Tanzania Elephant Project), abbiamo dato loro anche un nome per ciascuno ed è stupendo salutarli la mattina, il pomeriggio o la notte quando decidono di venire a trovarci. Ho imparato a non avere paura di loro e a reagire correttamente ad una mock charge anche a piedi. I maschi adulti sono più semplici perché quando non sono in Musth, stato particolare di eccitazione sessuale il cui il testosterone aumenta vertiginosamente causando un’alterazione comportamentale significativa, “eccolo che ricomincia a sproloquiare in termini incomprensibili”, diventando molto aggressivi e pericolosi, sono calmi e rilassati, basta non bloccare loro la strada e lasciar loro lo spazio necessario per muoversi e puoi star loro anche a distanza ravvicinata.
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| Elephant @ Mdonya Old River Camp - Ruaha National Park - Tanzania - ©Andrea Pompele All Rights Reserved |
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| Elephant @ Mdonya Old River Camp - Ruaha National Park - Tanzania - ©Andrea Pompele All Rights Reserved |
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| Me and an Elephant - Ruaha National Park - Tanzania - ©Andrea Pompele All Rights Reserved |
Se vi è piaciuto questo articolo allora potreste essere interessati a lasciare un commento, oppure a leggere anche questi altri:
LE NOTTI SILENZIOSE SONO LE NOTTI MIGLIORI
I LEONI RUGGISCONO DI NOTTE
IL VIAGGIO
LE NOTTI SILENZIOSE SONO LE NOTTI MIGLIORI
I LEONI RUGGISCONO DI NOTTE
IL VIAGGIO
ENGLISH VERSION
Being a safari guide is not just
a job, it’s a lifestyle
It seems to be perceived as
trivially obvious for those who have not made this choice, but you must be
aware it is not an escape, it is not a denial, it's not even an adventure in
itself, it’s a project
.
It involves sacrifices and so
much study, this has to be known.
I am a professional safari guide
certified AFGA, African Field Guide Association, and I learn something new every day. I started this project
because I realized that in life you have to do what you like, not what the
others expect by you. Or worse, what we expect of ourselves, projecting erroneus
expectations which become misleading for our personal fulfillment and
happiness.
Ok, so far so good, I have
already explained this in other articles and posts.
Let's move on to the practical
part: how the hell did you transform your life in this direction? Aside from
the motivation that prompted me, well first of all I had to overcome a lot to
find the solution. I informed myself, I wrote emails, contacted people and
found some training that gave me the direction. The AIEA, Associazione Italiana Esperti d'Africa, has given me the
perspective of the training courses that they would in future given me the opportunity to access this kind of
life. Although I have a degree in ecological biology with orientation in ethology (behaviour
biology) and a degree in Ecology, it was not easy to pass exams, theoretical
and practical, you can safely say that I
was put through my paces! And thank goodness! Why only after working in the
field I realized how my preparation was necessary and essential. With great
surprise I found myself better than others, more ready, more competent and
better able to handle the various situations that can happen, both from the
naturalistic point of view and from that organization, hospitality, guest
management and other challenges. I'm a genius? Yes I admit I'm better than all
of you and I’d kick your butt if you dare challenge me. But please, that
idiocy, no, I'm just like you, only I’m prepared and motivated and that makes the
difference. Obviously I have a lot to learn and grow professionally but I have
evolved a bit. I’m a manager of a tented
camp and I’m responsible for guides and drivers, plus I became a trainer. Cool yes?
But certainly not easy indeed. First you need to know to understand what it's
about. This is not an easy life (LIONS ARE ROARING AT NIGHT).
However, honestly, it is the best
choice I've made in my life. I learned and I’m still learning a lot of things.
Every day is different and gives me incredible experiences. I passed some
limits that I had even after becoming certified guide and improve my knowledge
of nature in a concrete way. I walk around barefoot into the camp, at first I
was hesitant to do so and quite worried, but then I have observed, understood
and made my habit that my Boss normally do. Obviously there are many drawbacks
in doing so: thorns, sand, soil, dust and annoying insects, but crossed the
line, just pay attention to what you do and everything is natural. I walk in
the bush as if I had always done, in the tall grass about 4 meters, the
elephant grass (Pennistum purpureum), which is so called because it hides even the
elephants, with some attention to my steps and what moving around me. It’s not
difficult, it’s not dangerous, if you know what you do and at the same time
it's amazing if you think about it for a moment.
I learned how to manage
elephants. On foot. The camp is full of elephants, moving in and out at will
day and night to graze the grass, tearing the leaves of the trees and move the
logs to bring down the fruits of Acacia tortilis which are greedly eaten. Often
they split branches and strip out the trunks, sometimes they brake even trees. They
can be approached and can be observed very well. We are identifying them one by
one and we create identity cards to share with researchers of STEP (Southern Tanzania Elephant Project), we gave a name to each one of them and it is
wonderful to greet them in the morning, afternoon or night when they decide to
come visit us. I learned not to be afraid of them and react properly to a mock
charge on foot. Adult males are easy because when they are not in Musth, a particular
state of sexual excitement where testosterone increases dramatically causing
significant behavioral alterations, "here he begins to rant in incomprehensible
terms", becoming very aggressive and dangerous, they are calm and relaxed,
just without blocking them off and leave them enough space to move around and
can keep up with them even at close range. I learned from the Maasai how to
move and absolutely not run away, without showing fear and standing still and
straight, if they charge, they often do so just to put you away so you have to
make two or three steps back so quiet and it ends there.
Another important
thing is to put a barrier between us and them, like a log, and the situation is
safe. Obvoiusly you should always evaluate the context and the animal that is
in front of you, they have their own character and there are those very calm
and quiet and other more nervous. Mad Max is one of these ones, we called him
so because of his mistrust and a certain tendency to nervousness. With him around
you have to move in a prudent manner. Charlie, Louis and Sikiu Mbovu are much
friendlier, especially the latter one that fluffy decided to split the water
pipes to drink straight clean water, with some sympathy for my shower. Every
day more or less he comes and makes some troubles. But it is one to which I can
approach more easily, one day while we were filming him with the phone he has
touched the screen with his trunk, just to remind us that he doesn’t care if we
scold him, he does what he wants, he is an adult pachyderm weighing 6 tons, do
you think he could be impressed by a 2 meters tall "little man"? With
young males is a bit different, they are less confident and more nervous, we
have Kino and Mitz around, the first is
an adult and has his personality whilst the second is younger and is learning
from others. I like to have them in camp, I called them with the names of my
two brothers, well family first.
I am particularly happy to have
some groups of elephants who come to visit us with little calves of different
ages, it’s a good thing and it's always nice to see these calves play and try
to charge impalas, francolins and monkeys to show that they are capable too despite
being very funny to watch, especially when they stumble or get scared when
francolins take off and look around hoping not to be seen because they have
been made a fool of and take refuge between the legs of the mothers. With
females in camp, however, it’s a different thing. You do not mess with them at
all, they protect their calves from everything, including us, and they really charge,
without stopping. The older sisters are no different, so much better to be
careful.
If you like this post maybe you can read also these ones:
SILENT NIGHTS ARE THE BEST NIGHTS
LIONS ARE ROARING AT NIGHT
THE TRIP
THE END OF AN ADVENTURE
If you like this post maybe you can read also these ones:
SILENT NIGHTS ARE THE BEST NIGHTS
LIONS ARE ROARING AT NIGHT
THE TRIP
THE END OF AN ADVENTURE
