Finding a New Home

"Get up. we're leaving," Mama told Liz. Liz was only six months old but she could walk.

           Liz opened her sleepy eyes to look at her mother. "Come on we are leaving now," her mother repeated.

           Liz looked around and discovered the rest of the family was starting to move. She got to her feet and started walking as fast as she could. Members of her family parted so Liz was surrounded by adults.

           "Why are we leaving?" Liz asked while she continued to walk. She knew that stopping would make everyone stop. "This is a nice place."

 Her mother gently touched her trunk and answered.  "This is the only place where you've lived. It's natural for you to think it's a nice place but you'll see that there are other nice places. We will find a place with more water. The water here is starting to dry out and the lions are starting to look for weak members."

           Liz sniffed the air and was rewarded with different smells. She could smell the unique scent of her mother walking next to her and the smell of dirt as the family kicked up the dust. There! She could smell the unique scent of wild cats that she knew belonged to lions. "Yes, I can smell the lions. Are we safe?" Liz wasn't really worried because she knew her mother and the other adults would protect her.

           "We are safe right now. The lions are not desperate enough to attack a herd of elephants, but you need to stay close. Lions are always looking for an opportunity to strike. Do you remember when your cousin Elbert got stuck in the mud?"

           Liz would always remember how scared she was for Elbert and the rest of the herd. Elbert had wandered into a muddy part of the river to cover himself with the refreshing mud. Liz thought about joining him because the mud looked so cool and soothing. The sensitive skin on her back felt scratchy and the thick mud would stop the itching. Then she remembered her mother telling her to stay away from that part of the river.

 Elbert was enjoying himself and lifted his trunk to call out his pleasure. His mother became alarmed and called him to the bank. That's when Elbert realized he was stuck. As he became more and more panicked he sank deeper and deeper into the treacherous mud. The family matriarch took cautious steps to reach him. Liz thought the pushing and tugging that followed would never end.

           Liz stood close to her mother as she joined the other elephants to form a shield around Elbert and the matriarch.  Liz remembered the strong odor of the lions as they started inching closer to her family. Liz shared everyone's relief when Elbert finally climbed out of the mud and the lions backed away.

           "I remember," Liz told her mother. "Will our new home have dangerous mud and lions?"

           "Our matriarch remembers a place that was safe. She hopes that it hasn't changed." Liz noticed that Mama sounded worried.

           It had been two years since the herd migrated to the spot they were leaving. Liz's mother remembered they migrated because there hadn't been enough room for all the elephants. Now they were heading in that direction.

           The elephants traveled all day. Liz became very tired even though they stopped every two hours to let the young ones rest. Finally, they stopped so the adults could sleep.

 The next day the elephants passed a watering hole. "Drink up!" The matriarch told everyone. "We won't find more water for two more days."

 Liz and her mother drank and splashed with the rest of the herd. When it was time to go, Mama told Liz, "hold as much water in your trunk as you can. We'll have to walk without water for a while." Liz filled her truck with as much water as she could hold.

           "I can go four days without water, but my baby is still little. I don't know if she can last if we don't find more water in two days," Mama told herself. She filled her trunk with two gallons of water. It was as much as she could hold.

The next day they traveled. It was hot and dusty. The wind blew the dirt into their eyes, making it difficult to see. The matriarch stopped so the little ones could rest and everyone drank the water stored in their trunks. Liz's mother only drank half of her water. She saved the other half in case Liz needed it later.

           The following day, Liz became so thirsty that her footsteps slowed. She even stumbled once. Mama gave Liz the rest of the water in her trunk. "I hope we reach the next watering hole soon." Mama thought.

           Everyone was disappointed when the matriarch stopped. The water hole was filled with cracking mud. One by one they started using their trunks to dig holes in the dirt.

 "I found water!" One of the elephants shouted. Encouraged, they all started digging faster. Eventually, all the elephants had enough water to quench their thirst and fill their trunks.

It took another day to come to the place Mama remembered. It was even more crowded than it was two years ago. Mama looked around to see more Humans living in the area. The matriarch shook her head to let them know they would not stay. They moved on after drinking their fill.

 The elephants walked through the dry ground for another week. They found places with enough water and food for shortstops but not enough to support a herd of elephants.

One day Mama stopped and raised her trunk. She was sniffing the air. Another elephant raised his trunk so he could trumpet loudly. Others followed until so much noise filled the air that Liz turned her ears to block out some of the sounds.

           "Rain, We smell rain!" Mama told her. Liz also smelled the precious scent.

           The promise of rain encouraged the elephants to move quickly. "It won't be much longer," the matriarch told the herd.

Sure enough, the next day the elephants found a river. Its banks could barely contain the freshwater flowing downstream. The elephants followed the river until it turned sharply. The sharp turn created a large pool where the water remained still. Trees, grass, and flowers surrounded the pool.

 Cape buffalo, gemsbok, and zebras were grazing on the lush grass. Liz saw a few hippopotami enjoying the freshwater in the river.

           Liz touched her mother to get her attention. "This is a very nice place!"