Day 6 - Rest of the Night in the Jungle

It was all a blur. And how much time had passed? The big bear was still only slightly off overhead: she could see from the gaps in their fortification.

She was learning a lot today. Time of action is not as long as it feels. The time of the aftermath is not as slow as it feels. An elephant calf likes being rubbed behind the ears. And wolves are very intelligent and patient .

She had jumped off towards the howl. It is not often in life that she will do that. And she had covered a very large (and wet) ground pretty fast for herself to reach the calf, before he reached the "ambush point." This was the point where the guiding wolves were suppose to lead the prey, where the stronger jawed and larger, more senior members of the pack had reached and were waiting according to the game plan. Wolves live a very balanced life: they don't separate work and play.

The recollection was very graphic. Now that her heart had stopped pounding, her mind was adding, perhaps made up, details to her memory. She jumped on the baby elephant's back and tugged, pulled, bit to make it change its course. That changed the plans for the wolves and bought her some time. Wolves were unbeatable, but there was a chance that if she could steer the baby - hah! the tonne of muscles and no brain - to move into the space between the rocks near the waterfall, she maybe able to close the small entrance with large rocks.

It had all worked well, except for that one wolf. She was forced to face her with a pachyderm trumpeting at her back. Staring at a wolf was not a good idea, but she had nothing to do while she was reaching for her weapon rolled in her waist line. It was a sharpened piece of wood, palm sized. She carried a large stick, to dissuade others from thinking about attacking her. The small ones were for when they stopped thinking.

The wolf will not survive that wound in the neck. The trumpeting after the blow actually caused the wolf to wince as she retreated a few steps. She will die in a few days, a slow rotting death, all alone abandoned by the pack. But right now Lajwanti could feel her calculating gaze, watching them from a safe distance, as she felt for the cave, worked to get the calf in, tugging at its ear to direct, and covered the entrance with a few large rocks.

The baby elephant was not all that thick in the brain after all and was trying to help and at least not trying to run away like he was before. The face off had won his trust. 

They heard the rest of the pack arrive in small groups. And now they were all out there. Smelling fear. And waiting for their prey to give up to hunger. Or hopelessness.

Wolves had killer jaws and claws, but they were no good at moving rocks. It may be partly because they tried using their muzzle.

There wasn't a lot of space but enough for both of them to recline. She moved a little further to rest. She did not know if elephants turned in sleep. She did not want to find out the hard way. 

Wasn't it impossible to get elephants to get into enclosed places as this one. What was she thinking? What was he thinking? At least he did not snore like mother.