Arlo and the law of opposites

Across the floodplains of the Zambezi River is Mana Pools. During dry season only a few water holes sustain life there, and large mud patches form where there were once lively lagoons. A twelve kilometre hike was included in Arlo’s daily schedule; he set out fresh and invigorated by the fantastic location. He walked at a good pace and watched around the bushes for any movement having been warned about potentially dangerous wildlife. He was feeling positive and energized having escaped the dreary routine of the city just before the lock down. It was the perfect excuse not to return home for a while, especially after ‘that’ painful conclusion. No more emotional battles, stress, lawyer bills, or depressing attitudes. He was now at leisure to enjoy Nature as long as he wanted. Euros lasted a long way outside of Europe after all.

Mana Pools is a wild and captivating place that has a special kind of magic. During drought the sky often remains cloudless casting a stunning glow of soft sunlight over the landscape, especially in the morning and at dusk. It was about ten when Arlo reached the border of a large mud pool in the park. Animal sighting had become easier as vegetation had thinned out during the drier months and their usual sheltered spots were exposed. He saw a dirty pigeon walking without sinking on the mud pool, there were bright, dry, yellow leaves scattered around and he was pecking for worms and insects. The landscape around the semi-dried pool was a subtle mix of dark grey tones, and the surface looked like broken moist tiles, the yellow leaves added a little color to an almost monochromatic surface. Arlo was enjoying the silence and the stillness of the landscape, they were extremely soothing and perfect to calm his natural anxiety. During rainy season the atmosphere around the pools would have been completely different since all kinds of animals came to bathe and drink. Arlo felt the sun beginning to heat up his hat, there was no escaping the heat at that time of the year with temperatures reaching sometimes above 45 C. After walking for forty minutes he began to feel as if he was carrying 100kg on his shoulders and every move he made felt like a slow motion swim through a thick slushy pool of gel.

Arlo believed himself to be a selfless and generous man. He could not think of any clear examples for these positive personal characteristics, but he felt sure about them. Someone particularly close to him had pointed out recently that his behavior was heartless and that he was devoid of real empathy. It was true that there were certain disturbing narcissistic traits about his personality, but these remarks had wounded him deeply, especially because they contradicted his own self-image. Attempting to shake off those uncomfortable thoughts he looked around and took a deep breath of the hot bush air, he felt proud of his appreciation and respect for the bush and for nature. How was it possible that no one could see that he was in fact a sensitive thoughtful man?

Many changes were taking place at Mana Pools, most of them related to human expansion. Cutting vegetation, developing infrastructure and other impacting activities were definitely not allowed at the park. The ‘Guidelines for the Management of Wilderness and Wild Areas in the Natura’ had been published by the European Commission just last August 2013. Arlo had familiarized himself with those guidelines before his trip, he knew that they were intended to protect natural habitats and processes from any external forms of intervention; however, he was still in the process of understanding to what extent these guidelines intersected with human ethical behaviors and values. ‘It is in fact beneficial to have rules regarding Conservation’, he thought, ‘the integrity of functioning ecosystems needs to be considered, however…’, Arlo felt unsettled when he thought about African locals not having a say on how things should be run in their own land. It was as if they have been considered as part the ecosystem itself, and not as part of the group of humans in charge of creating the guidelines. Despite his emotional limitations, Arlo felt ashamed for being part of the ‘European rule’, so he moved his thoughts towards less sensitive but more practical topics. He felt absolutely sure that there were two main vital truths: the rawness and beauty of Nature, and how urgent it was to preserve it.

With his thoughts now wondering unrestrained towards ideas of survival, struggle and adaptation, Arlo continued to walk bordering the mud pool. His attention was caught by a small hairy figure sticking up above the surface ahead of him, some five meters from the edge of the pool. It was a young Vervet monkey stuck from the waist down. Its expression looked exhausted and defeated, its eyes were wide open and fearful. ‘He must have been struggling for a while’. Arlo instinctively looked around for something long enough to reach the little fellow and help him. He found a sturdy long branch and dragged it towards the edge of the mud patch. With his right arm fully stretched he managed to maneuver the branch towards the young monkey, while at the same time taking photos with his phone on his left hand. It took a great amount of muscular control to keep the branch away from getting stuck in the mud, with only one arm. He could feel his shoulder straining as he reached the baboon. The little fellow was not quite sure what was happening or what to do with the branch; three, four, five times it put his little hands on it to then let it slide away when Arlo pulled it.

Sweat was now dripping heavily from Arlo’s forehead, along his arms and his spine, but he continued to push the branch forward again and again. Only a week ago, he had heard about a baby elephant and his mother dying trapped in the mud. They had struggled for a whole day until they were exhausted. Hyenas had circled them and had waited patiently till it was time to pounce. The ‘no external intervention’ guidelines had paralyzed attempts to do anything much about it. Onlookers just stood and watched ‘letting Nature take its course’. Both elephants were completely helpless, especially the baby buried up to his eye balls in the mud. It became a morbid spectacle to watch without being able to do anything about it, the area was too secluded. The baby elephant’s eyes had fear written all over them. After waiting for hours, the Hyenas began to bite and dismember the younger prey while the mother and by standers watched in horror. ‘Why didn’t anyone do something? Anything?’ Arlo wondered as his arm trembled on another attempt to reach the monkey. There was outrage posted on social media when photographs were published along creepy sensationalist articles. Ethical controversy aroused about the limits imposed on human intervention by the park’s guidelines. Observers stated that people should still be allowed to exercise their moral and ethical judgement on certain situations, despite the rules. It was clear that the ‘passive policy’ had been adopted too easily by those who could not be bothered helping or getting involved in any controversy. It was obvious that there were special circumstances which allowed for ‘breaking the rules’. Witnessing something as beautiful and majestic as an elephant die so cruelly was too shocking for anyone to remain passive. Nature had taken its course but ‘human laws’ needed to be adjusted.

As Arlo recalled this story, the young monkey was beginning to understand that maybe there was a chance to change his sticky situation if he cooperated a little, maybe Nature would take a break and he would have another opportunity to eat fruits in the company of his clan. The heat became almost unbearable, Arlo had stopped taking pictures and he kept holding the branch out to the monkey, alternating arms from left to right. The task had become frustrating and very uncomfortable; he was tired and wanted everything over fast! He had never been fond of ‘big’ efforts unless there was some sort of immediate and convenient reward afterwards, so this situation was definitely pushing his limits. It had been a nice-selfless idea to rescue the monkey, but now, all the discomfort was making him think twice if the story was worth it. While weighing the odds, he then began to imagine how he was going to relate this little adventure to his acquaintances back at the camp? Would every one congratulate him for his effort? Will there be some sort of nice dinner invitation to celebrate the rescue? The discomfort in his shoulder became unbearable and he was about to give up and leave the little fellow to his own fate; he realized that his most genuine thoughts always came whenever he experienced great stress or physical pain, he felt a bit embarrassed, so he held the branch out for a little longer. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the dirty pigeon still standing on the mud surrounded by yellow leaves. Suddenly, the monkey leaned on top of the branch exhausted, and Arlo managed to pick it up by the belly. Finally! Arlo’s suffering was over; he pulled the creature towards the edge. Using his water canister he gave it a rinse. Success!

The monkey ran towards the trees and Arlo was very satisfied with his performance. Looking at his muddy boots he wanted to take another picture as proof of his adventure, so he wiped his hands. The park guidelines came back to his mind, it was definitely sometimes impossible not to ‘break them’. The pigeon, who had been watching the rescue the whole time, flapped its wings and flew away in a jump startled by something. The yellow leaves were blown up with the air, but two of them, which were now facing Arlo and gleaming under the sun. In a fraction of a second a large mass of mud charged towards him with so much power and speed that there was no out running it. The mud-mass opened a large mouth full of teeth and grabbed Arlo by the leg, then it rolled, twisted and shook violently from side to side; mud was splattering in all directions.

Story by Iliana Loppez-Lomeli

Photograph by Iliana Lopez-Lomeli