Velikih pet / The big five

Pravijo, da je cilj vsakega pravega lovca na divje živali, da ulovi velikih pet: lev, leopard, slon, nosorog in bivol. To so živali, za katere velja, da so najnevarnejše in torej najtežje za ulovit. V sodobnem času je lov na divje živali strogo omejen oziroma večinoma kar prepovedan, kar velja vsaj v Južnoafriški republiki. Na lov na divje živali pa se menda lahko še vedno hodi v Zimbabve, kjer je zaradi politične krize in korupcije mogoče tudi to, kar je sicer prepovedano. Če že lov na divje živali v sodobnem času ni več tako popularen, kakor je bil včasih, pa je postal cilj vsakega pravega turista, da hodi toliko časa v safarije in naravne rezervate, dokler v živo ne vidi vseh pet najnevarnejših živali.

They say that the goal of every wild animal hunter is to hunt the big five: lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo. These animals are the most dangerous and therefore the most difficult to hunt. In modern times hunting wild animals is very limited and mostly prohibited, at least in South Africa. It might be possible to go hunting in Zimbabwe where the political crisis and corruption can cloud the illegal aspect of hunting wild animals. Since hunting wild animals is not popular in modern times, it has become the goal of every tourist to visit safaris and national parks until they at least see all five of the most dangerous animals.

Izmed velikih pet sem doslej v safarijih videla in fotografirala leva, slona in nosoroga. Bivola in leoparda pa zaenkrat le v živalskem vrtu, tako da še nisem dosegla kvote videti vseh pet v divjini. Fotografije sem posnela tako, da sem odprla okno v avtu za nekaj centimetrov, toliko, da sem skozi potisnila fotoaparat in uporabila zoom, zato so živali videti precej blizu, a so bile kar na varni razdalji.

Among the big five I have so far seen and photographed the lion, elephant and rhinoceros in safaris. I have only seen the buffalo and leopard in zoos which doesn't count. I took the photographs by opening the window on our car just a crack, enough to be able to squeeze the camera through and used the zoom to make the animals seem closer although they were quite a safe distance away.

Enega izmed levov sem srečala tudi iz oči v oči, saj se je sprehodil mimo našega avta v safariju. Takega kralja živali sigurno ne bi hotela srečati v divjini, je tako velik, da je z glavo segel do višine moje glave, ko sem sedela v avtu. Čeprav levi v safariju večinoma izgledajo kot nekakšne ogromne muce, ki lenobno poležavajo v senci, se je pred kratkim v enem izmed bližnjih naravnih rezervatov zgodilo, da so levinje pojedle lastnika. Prav zares, najbrž je tudi lastnik mislil, da je varno in je stopil iz avtomobila, pa so se levinje odločile, da je čas za malico. Zelo hitro so sicer pridrveli na pomoč reševalci, varnostniki in policija, a so bili na žalost nemočni, saj je bilo težko razgnati pet lačnih levinj pri jedi.

I met one of the lions eye to eye when he walked by our car in a safari. I certainly wouldn't want to meet such a lion king in the wild. He was so large that his head came up to my head when I was sitting in the car. Although the lions in safaris look like huge tame kitty cats that lie lazily in the shade, they can be really dangerous. The lionesses ate their owner in one of the nearby safaris recently. It's a true story, the owner probably thought he was safe and he exited his car, but the lionesses had other plans. The paramedics, security guards and police arrived very quickly but they weren't able to help as it proved impossible to save a human from five hungry lionesses.

Razen velikih pet je v safarijih mogoče videti seveda še mnoge druge živali, recimo zebre, žirafe, divje svinje, pa številne različne vrste antilop, ki imajo tu vsaka svoje ime, na primer springbok, gemsbok, blesbok, eland, impala, hartebeest, wildebeest, kudu, itd. Potem so tu še številne vrste ptičev, od katerih prav nobenega ne prepoznam.

In addition to the big five, there are many other animals that can be seen in safaris, for example zebras, giraffe, wild boars, and many different species of antelope, each with its own name, such as springbok, gemsbok, blesbok, eland, impala, hartebeest, wildebeest, kudu, etc. Then there are the countless species of birds that I'm not familiar with.

Ugibam, da antilope večinoma ne sodijo med ogrožene vrste živali, saj se nekatere med njimi pojavljajo na jedilnih listih v restavracijah (zebrini zrezki, springbokov carpaccio, posušeno meso kuduja, itd.).

I'm guessing that antelope aren't protected species of animals because they can be found on menus in restaurants (zebra steak, springbook carpaccio, dried kudu meat, etc.).