Dzanga Bai The Village of the Elephants

Andrea Turkalo
had this feeling
about forest Elephants
and how they live
how they came to Dzanga Bai
a clearing
and in fact just why
a clearing in a forest
makes them vulnerable for they
are open to the poachers
who certainly make them pay

Forest Elephants are MUCH smaller
with tusks of a pinkish hue
they know about wild alchemy
and what minerals do
and in these pools and in this mud
the minerals are there
and so they come to root them out
for of course they are aware

the toxins in some of the food they
forage on, contains
chemicals that upset them
certain specific strains
they can cause poor digestion
well these elephants they know
that by drinking mineral water
the symptoms tend to go

and so mostly at night they come
from all around the place
families a sort of get together
its something that they face
off against each other
a kind of meeting place
where relatives can socialize
and vocalize and chase

for 20 years this women
has watched them every day
listening to their varied sounds
and observing what they say
she identifies them easily and knows
their voices too
this is dedication
and great love from her to do

this kind of dedication to a task
which is beyond
most of us, but clearly
she is very very fond
of elephants and how they tick
and has built her library
its practical its personal
its wonderful to see

their secret lives are special
and the Ba Aka pygmies do
help her with her studies
though they are clueless too
but as for the surrounding habitat
they have knowledge they do share
which really holds her in good stead
and probably why
she is still there

For when she first came over
she was dead scared of the dark
and wasn’t keen on insects
in the forest it is stark
no natural light to speak of
and a great spectrum of sound
but she has got use to it all
and now appears spellbound