Most people have never seen a Knysna elephant, but a lucky few have had close encounters. Dave Reynell, a retired Forestry Department official, is one of them, and contacted me after the recent Stoep Chat on the demise of the Knysna elephants.
Trained as a forester at Saasveld, Dave worked in the department’s indigenous forestry planning section and has walked the length and breath of the Tsitsikamma forest. He saw elephants several times. In the late 80s he became “obsessed” with photographing the last surviving individuals, and for months “bounced around the tracks in Harkerville forest in my Mini.” December 6th 1968 was his lucky day. He had cleaned his camera before driving down the Graspad track in Harkerville forest. As he rounded a bend an elephant was about 100m ahead, walking away from him. Dave was thrilled. He decided to follow it on foot in case the sound of the vehicle scared it. “I had gone about 70m when I heard a crackling noise behind me. Turning, I saw his mate stepping onto the track about 30m on the far side of my vehicle. What now?” Stuck between two ellies, he opted to run the 70m back to his car – which meant sprinting directly towards the elephant. “She had probably never had anyone run towards her and stood her ground, waving her trunk about, no doubt trying to get a scent of this odd-looking monkey galloping towards her. When I reached my trusty old Mini I started firing away with my old Pentax camera.” She watched him calmly, walking towards him, then stepped off the track into the forest. He got back into the car, and with no sign of the bull elephant, drove to a turning point a kilometre ahead. Then, as he drove back, the bull elephant appeared again, about 100m ahead. “I stopped, got out slowly and stood watching this wonderful animal move, one slow step at a time, towards me. As he advanced I kept squeezing the shutter button and with every ‘clunk’ of the Pentax the old boy would stop and gaze in my direction. He advanced until about 30m from me then stepped off the track into the forest. I could hardly believe my luck.” Well, sure to be prize-winning shots! Sadly, not. As Dave packed away his camera, he saw the lens was misted over. He realised moisture must have been left on the lens after he had cleaned the camera. With the camera on his lap as he drove, his body heat must have caused the lens to mist over. “I was absolutely shattered. Months of searching for these elusive animals, finally finding them, then blowing it, had me in tears,” Dave said. “What would have been mind-blowing shots of the bull, head-on 20m from me, were gone.” Just one image survived: the female, standing with her trunk to the side, looking directly at him. It is a little hazy, with scratch marks on the film, but it captures one of the moments in his life he will never forget.
