~ Wild Ways ~

by

Daphne Olivier

Jake was the first to spot the rhino. He halted in mid-stride, then turned and held up a cautionary hand. “Rhino!” he whispered. “There--under that tree. Everyone stand still. Don’t make a move.”

Alex stared, straining his eyes, but could see nothing except leafy branches and dappled shade. Then a twitch of an ear caught his eye, and a huge, grey shape materialised out of the shadows. It moved slowly, majestically, a few steps at a time, then in full sunshine, paused, head raised, ears pricked and alert.

Alex caught his breath. It was huge, far larger than he’d imagined, and quite magnificent! The wide, square jaw, set below the massive horn, told him it was a white, not a black rhino. That was one fact he’d absorbed in the past few days. There were other facts, and one by one, he called them to mind. Black rhinos are smaller but more aggressive. All rhinos have poor eyesight. Their range of vision is little more than thirty metres, but their sense of smell and hearing is acute.

The rhino stared about short-sightedly, then with slow, easy grace moved forward, and lowering its head, began to graze. And then, for the first time, the calf came into view. It was tiny, barely a few days old, but already steady on its legs--the cutest, roundest, most appealing creature Alex had ever seen.

Sarah gasped and pinched Alex’s arm. Her voice was a barely-heard whisper. “Look! Oh, look at that!”

Alex nodded and smiled. They stood watching as the small rhino trotted toward his mother, then slowed to stand pressed close to her side. They made a pretty picture--the mother, huge and grey and solid as a tank, the baby, a tiny replica, except for the small immature horn.

Somewhere, at the far end of the group, Ritchie reached for his camera. He lifted it to his eyes, twisted the zoom, then cursed as the rhino moved. It wasn’t more than a foot or two, but she’d swung to one side and quite spoiled the picture. Ritchie lowered the camera, lifted it again, then keeping it pressed to his eyes, took a step forward. One step… two… three…

A twig snapped under Ritchie’s foot, and Jake hissed urgently, “Stop! Don’t move. For God’s sake, stand still!”

Too late. Ritchie’s finger pressed down. As the click of the shutter broke the stillness, the rhino snorted. Head raised, small beady eyes staring balefully, she turned toward the sound, pawing the ground.

Ritchie lowered his camera, and for the first time, realized the danger he’d created. His mouth dropped and his eyes opened wide. As fear took control, the camera slipped from his nerveless hands and crashed to the ground.

After that, everything seemed to happen at once. Cold with horror, Alex watched the rhino drop her head and come hurtling towards Ritchie. Someone screamed. A shot rang out, deafeningly loud. A spurt of sand sprang up from the ground in front of the charging rhino, and for a moment, it seemed she would skid to a halt. Then, confused by the noise, the calf came racing, squealing towards her, and with added fury, she swung toward the man with the gun. A second shot rang out. Then there was no time, no time left at all. At the last moment, as the rhino thundered towards him, Jake stepped sideways. He almost made it. Almost, but not quite. There was a blur of movement, then a dull thud as the rhino caught him a glancing blow. It flung him sideways and left him sprawled, motionless on the ground. The rhino thundered on, then with amazing speed for so large an animal, swung around.

Ritchie screamed, a shrill, ear-piercing scream of terror. Then he ran, eyes wide with panic, not knowing, not caring, where he was going, what he was doing.

“Stop!” Zondi yelled. “Dodge behind a tree! Stand still! Stand still!” But Ritchie was quite obviously beyond listening, beyond reason. He ran on, chest heaving, arms wildly waving, screaming as he ran.

There was a muffled curse, and then someone else was moving, someone else running. Alex turned, and sick with shock, saw Zondi. The man ran smoothly, swiftly, directly into the path of the oncoming rhino. Then, without so much as a glance over his shoulder, he raced after Ritchie. The boy was sobbing, taking in great gulps of air, weaving unsteadily on shaky legs. As Alex watched, he stumbled, then regained his balance and ran on. And on. Chest heaving, calf muscles bunching, Zondi pounded behind him.

“Stop!” Zondi yelled again, a hoarse, desperate call, but for all the good it did he might as well have saved his breath. Then the two were running abreast. Suddenly Zondi’s arm shot out. His fist connected with Ritchie’s shoulder. The blow sent the boy flying out of the path of the charging rhino. He stopped screaming quite abruptly and dropped like a stone.

And then… and then Zondi was in the air. Alex watched in horror as the limp figure went tumbling, hurtling, high, higher, then with a sickening thud, came crashing to the ground.

The rhino gave the lifeless figure one last butt. Then, with the calf trotting at her heels, turned and went thundering away into the bush.