:

Outdoors

« Dik-diks pool resources against elephants

Mary and I had left the Arctic
Coast, where we had been engaged

a a study of the Reproductive

ehaviour of Willow Ptarmigan, to
spend a year in East Africa.

By late December, we found
ourselves spending Christmas
with teeming thousands of ante-
lope, the “reindeer” of the African
plains and forests.

Africa has a more varied wealth
of antelope than any other place in
the world. Millions of them run-
ning wild and free!

The vast assemblage was some-
what bewildering at first but
before long we had begun to sort
out many of them. Watching these
graceful creatures holds a fascina-
tion totally unparalleled anywhere
else on our planet.

Herds of often many hundreds of

¥ attractive Thomson’s gazelle

crossed the trail in front of our
Landrover whenever we were in
open country. -

We noted the fine features, the
upright horns, the brilliant dark
flash along the sides and the
constantly wagging, small black
tail

We watched them bound away at
break-neck speed, often besting an
incredibly-swift, pursuing cheetah.
Should an individual fail in vigi-
lance or speed, he would surely
die.

‘We noted the fine
features, the
upright horns, the
brilliant dark flash
along the sides
and the constantly
wagging, small
black tail’

The taller, browsing, Grant’s
gazelle were similar but paler and
adomed with longer curving horns
and a prominent white area
extending well above the base of
the tail.

They often fled before a predator
with a peculiar stiff-legged ‘stot-
ting’ gait, tail and head held high.

Herds of handsome, glistening-
coated impala seemed with us
most of the way from Nairobi in

~ Kenya to Keekorok to Kichwa

Tembo to the famed Serengeti and
on to Ngorongoro Crater in Tanza-
nia.

Startled, they often leaped
across the road in 20-foot bounds
or rose high in the air to clear their
brethren, tall shrubs, or great trees
which had been fallen by foraging
elephants.

Dominant male impala guarded :

their three-score harems of
females jealously, driving away all
contenders with vigorous deter-
mination. The herds of bachelor
males seemed resigned to their
loveless lot.

In the wooded areas, what could

® possibly be more captivating than

the diminutive 12-inch suni or
slightly larger cousin, the dik-dik
which: stood but 15 inches high
and weighed about the same as a
north American jackrabbit!

The newly bom fawns, weighing
about a pound, soon stood to nurse
on legs the size of a lead pencil!

Camped in an area for several
days, it soon became evident that a
number of the dik-diks there
tended to squat and leave their

DO A NUMBER ON YOUR GARBAGE
INGREATER VANCOUVER CaLl’

RECYCLE

pS 4821
British Columbia —
with care

Handle

Ministry of Emcrronment’ Hon. Joan RevnolZs Minesie- |

droppings on the same small mid-
den-pile.

We later had the opportunity of
asking a native warden if this is
common.

“Oh.yes. And it came about in a
CuriOUS way.”

“Curious?”

“Yes. Once a dik-dik, fleeing
from a leopard, tripped over a
great pile of elephant dung and
barely escaped. Concerned about
the near tragedy, the dik-dik called
in all his neighbours to consider
what they might do about this
serious hazard.”

shopping was a pleasure!

YOU'LL FIND THE GIFTS
YOU'RE LOOKING FOR!

®
° More than any mall! Sidney By-The-Sea combines a
© — wide variety of independent shops and services with un-
° matched convenience and atmosphere. You'll find 8 art
° dealers featuring everything from local originals to cre-
° _ atively framed limited edition international prints.

: Twenty different clothing stores, Five Jewellers, Six Craft
« shops, Three Hardware Stores, Bookstores, and much
« _ much more. With over 200 shopping opportunities you're
= _ Sure to find the perfect gift for everyone on your shopping

list!

Sidney By-The-Sea has plenty of Free Parking!

ee 23

YOU'LL FIND
FRIENDLY SERVICE IN SIDNEY!

Sidney By-The-Sea rekindles the Spirit of Christmas past
by providing a level of service thatonly asmall seaside town
can. Join in the Christmas in Sidney Spiritas you stroll down
Beacon Avenue and remember a time when Christmas

SHOP SIDNEY ON SUNDAY!

For your convenience, stores in Sidney will remain open
on the last two Sundays before Christmas - December 16"

Santa House Hours

DecemBer 8 = 22
WEEKDAYS | P.m.°4 P.M.
SATURDAYS 10 = NOON © 2 = 4 p.m,
CLOSED SUNDAYS

“What did they come up with?”

“Well, the majority decided that
they ought to treat the nasty ele-
phants in the same way that the
elephants treated them. But one
dik-dik was uncertain, saying:
“But we are so small and our
droppings are so tiny! We will
never be able to trip up a huge
elephant! ’.”

“Not illogical, eh?”

“But an older dik-dik replied,
saying: “You forget that we have
numbers. We need only pool our
efforts’.””

“And that’s the way this pattern
began?”

“You guessed it,” the warden
said solemnly. “And they’ve been
pooling their efforts ever since.”

Mary reminds me that I have left
out golden oribis and reedbucks, a
half-dozen duikers, waterbucks,
bushbucks, kudus, sables, roans,
oryxes, klipspringers, bongos,
steinbok, topi, kongoni, giant one-
ton elands, a million gnus, and
Many more.

Shucks! Have a very Merry
Christmas! At this time of year our
thoughts always seem to swing to
East Africa with its well over a
thousand species of colorful birds
and millions of exciting mammals.

Set a day or two aside
and experience a
Christmas Shopping
that is without equal!

©S.A.M. Sidney Association of Merchants

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TheReview Wednesday, December 19,1990 — A17

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CY HAMPSON photo