Animal Park

OK, I received the assignment that I was to write of our experience at an Animal Park outside of town near the President's home in Ziniare. It seems to be considered the President's park, Blaise Compaore, perhaps because of the closeness to his home and possibly because he is still popular. Normally visiting a wildlife reserve where most of the animals are confined wouldn't be much reason for blogging about. Yes there are lions, and tigers, elephants and giraffes, although many were in hiding during the heat of the day...and it was hot!!!! But interest wasn't so much in seeing the animals as in some of the connections between humans and other mammals.

The hippos are one example. It seems at least one of our crowd is particularly fond of the amazingly big creatures. One of the big fellas was coaxed out of his submerged cooler environment to munch some food. It helped us see why the connection was so important to this delegation member - it appears gentle, but behind that gentle facade is a powerhouse of a creature. There might be other similarities, but we'll leave it there for now.

But the exciting part of the day was the elephants. One of the younger ones, probably only weighed 3 tons or so, came to the edge of the fence and put its trunk over/through/ or under to try and check us out. A few of the braver ones tried to gently pet the powerful extension. Others, more shy or smarter, decided to forgo that option by having their backs turned to them for a photo with them in the background. An unidentified MSU Senior Advisor to the President managed to get a little affection from Elva (the elephant), so much so that she leaped about 36 inches vertically and about 6 ft forward with a sound that could only be of a non-human origin. Unfortunately all the shutterbugs had either lost all battery juice or had looked the other way, so you'll have to take my word that this is a fair and accurate description.

The  environment at the park was very dry and hot, even though as I type this we are having a heavy storm and downpour with strong winds, lightening and thunder. The animals we're seeking cover from the heat, but we saw hyenas, antelopes, tortoises, peacocks, ostriches, and other creatures undaunted by the heat. This storm is really hitting now. I'm signing off...