Elephants, Snakes and Everything In-Between
If you’ve seen my previous articles on ‘The Beautiful Wildlife of Costa Rica’ or ‘The Joy of Photographing Animals’, you’ll already be aware that I love seeing animals during my travels, making this month’s challenge one that is right up my street. In fact, next on my travel dream list is an African Safari, so watch this space for whenever I can make that happen!
For now though, I would like to share with you a few short stories about some of my favourite encounters with our fantastic animal friends during my travels so far…
Deer Spotting in the Scottish Highlands
I saw too many birds and highland cows to even count during a family road trip around the beautiful wilds of Scotland a few years back, but my most memorable encounter by far was with a hungry deer seeking out its dinner.
On Day 4 of our travels, we headed further West across the country towards Ardtoe Beach, a beautifully tranquil stretch of coastline. Along the way, however, we took another short stop at Castle Tiorem. Used in the film Highlander, from a distance the view of this island castle is impressive enough, without walking across the water to it for a closer look. It was here we also had the good fortune of encountering a wild deer.
We stopped dead in our tracks, too afraid to move as we approached a sea of tall ferns, gently swaying in the sea breeze. There was movement coming from within them. Moments later, a small head popped up, none other than a gorgeous deer chomping on some grass, the remnants sticking out of its mouth as it chewed, which was simply adorable. Thankfully I have a great zoom on my camera, meaning that despite the closeness of this shot, the actual deer remained unthreatened, at peace and completely alone for the few minutes we crouched down watching, before it finally bounded back into the forest.
Swimming with Elephants
Whilst on a Contiki trip in Thailand, we visited an elephant sanctuary in Kanchanaburi. Not only did I get to feed one of these majestic beasts — the rough force of its huge trunk gently grazing my tingling hand as it coiled around the appetising piece of melon on offer — but we also took a gentle walk with them down to the nearby riverside. It was fun to watch them enjoying their surroundings as they went, and comforting that they had the freedom to go wherever they wanted as well. They weaved and turned, came and went, one of the herd disappearing from us altogether. This was followed by a shrug from our guide to simply continue on without it as it clearly just ‘doesn’t want to play today’.
Once at the river, we finally had our moment. Dipping in the water alongside the elephants was magical, so much so that I was content to ignore the fact the rushing water was slightly brown in colour, and also functioned as their toilet. When sharing a bath with these wonderful animals, there are two key things you have to look out for.
- Errant fountains of spray raining down on you from their trunks as they play.
- Their tendency to roll over at will without checking if anyone is behind them! Though this meant some splashing around to escape in time, it was a fantastic experience indeed. And as our guide continually reminded us, probably at least a hundred times — “No worries”.
Monkeying Around
If you followed any of my stories from this February/March’s visit to Costa Rica, you’ll likely know that I encountered a lot of wild monkeys.
During a visit to Manuel Antonio National Park, our group found a shady spot on the beach by some trees and settled in for the morning, making sure to take a dip in the crystal clear waters — the warmest sea I’ve ever swum in. Here, we saw several monkeys surrounding us, one of which came close enough to swipe something from a stranger’s bag and shimmy up a tree with it — Making us even more aware of keeping an eye on our own belongings!
We were less fortunate wildlife-wise at the Hanging Bridges in Monteverde, where I can only recall seeing a single quetzal. However, this disappointment was soon remedied with an even more spectacular sighting of monkeys than in the National Park. A curious track beside our block of hotel rooms drew a few of us in, and the result was one of pure magic. Out of nowhere, we were suddenly surrounded by these same capuchin monkeys at every angle, some of them coming almost within touching distance. I’d like to say it was intimidating, but while there was naturally some trepidation, my overriding memory is the look I shared with one of the tiny primates. Oh, and there was even a baby among them!
The Hidden Reptile House
Ok, so this last one isn’t really dealing with wildlife or an open sanctuary, but it does involve animals or, more specifically, reptiles.
Visiting Konigswinter in Germany had been on my list for a long time, as it is my hometown’s twin town. When I finally arrived, I was so full of anticipation. I explored the small town a little, before making my way up the Drachenfels by tram to a beautiful Disney-esque castle, no less than you’d expect from Germany, especially around Christmas time.
Heading down, I decided instead to walk this time. Downhill is always easier than going up, and I was curious about what I might have missed on my way. One building along the road was a rather unassuming-looking ‘art gallery’. Figuring I might as well as do as much as I could before hopping back on the train to my hostel in Cologne, I entered. The main room was rather bare, though its scenic paintings lovely all the same. There was however also a small passageway that led outside past a gorgeously-sculpted dragon fountain into none other than a reptile house, accommodating all manner of snakes and lizards — a dream for someone like me who once had to fight really hard against myself to buy some pet geckos on a whim when I fell in love with them in a local pet shop.
Without exploring a little off the beaten track, I never would have known this place even existed. Which I suppose is a good habit for wildlife spotting too — always keep your eyes open.
More Globetrotter Stories about Wildlife:
This piece by Brad Yonaka on witnessing wild mountain gorillas is fascinating, and definitely an experience I would love to have myself someday!
And, after seeing some myself in Costa Rica back in March of this year, I couldn’t help smiling at the reference to Coatis as ‘Dog Monkeys’ in this piece by Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages!
