WILDLIFE COMMUNITY

"A long time ago, people and elephants were the best of friends. People played with "their" elephants, and elephants took care of "their" people. But drought came. Elephants had to walk further and further to find necessities. Eventually they started to steal food and firewood from other people. One day, the people they stole from cursed the elephants - making some of the stolen booty stick to their great mouths. What stuck became the elephants' tusks. When the villagers saw these strange teeth, they launched at the elephants. Angry and ashamed, the elephants skulked away to stay with their own kind. And people and elephants have lived separately - or in conflict - ever since."

- A folktale from Mwaluganje -