For a few hunters who venture to their chosen woodlots, swamps, brush cover, prairie or evergreen thickets, after the season, a site of encouragement and… yes, even heart stopping, adrenalin pumping excitement awaits. They are afforded the briefest of moments a glimpse of what ‘might have been, what yet could be’. The see ‘their deer’. The ‘big one’. And for the next 11 months they look forward to, ‘The Next Season’.
The old bull wrestled Mike for an exhausting 45 minutes before allowing himself to be subdued. Mike carefully hoisted the old ‘boy’ aboard. Snapping the requisite shots, Mike then carefully lowers him back into the briney world from whence he came.
The African elephant has been an inspiration since the first one was sighted by human eyes. Before that, unless it was another elephant the sighting most likely engendered fear. It does that well in the eyes of humans, too. We have the elevated capacity to wonder and admire beauty. The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) definitely inspires.