LORI DUNN SCRATCHBOARD ART
promoting conservation through artistic efforts
The Eyes of Botswana
8 x 10
AVAILABLE
Chacma baboons were a relatively frequent sighting while on safari in Southern Africa. Their calls would alert the guides to the presence of various predators that may be nearby, whether leopards or high flying raptors. We often stopped under large expansive trees where a troop was foraging just to watch their antics. And while one often views these animals as comical, perhaps because they are so human like, there is the flip side to that as well.
While in Botswana, I had a chance to get to know our lead guide Edward Nko. A gentle giant of a man, he was soft spoken with a hearty laugh and a huge grin. Edward was a thoughtful, sensitive soul who answered my questions about his life with careful consideration. He had lost his mom when he was 6 months old. Despite the challenges he faced as a child, he grew up with a true reverence for nature and loves the land he calls home. He now has a family of his own and his favorite animal is the giraffe, due to their graceful way of walking.
What struck me as surprising about Edward, was that even though he was a safari guide who caters to people everyday who want to see wild Africa in its raw form, he himself, could not stomach the sight of a kill happening. When I asked what the worst thing was that he had seen on safari, he mentioned the time he witnessed a predator (I can’t recall if it was a lion or hyena) kill a young baboon, its family members screaming while trying to save it. I think the fact that as humans we are so closely linked to our primate relatives, we can relate to their familial ties and this struck a chord in his heart.
This juvenile baboon was posing perfectly out on a limb at sunset, the low light providing a bit of both backlighting and side light, catching the gleam in his young eyes perfectly. I hope I’ve done his portrait justice. Edwards story seemed like a fitting narrative for this piece.
