The jeep waited.
Two keepers watched the larger presence beside it.
Eli’s pencil reached the water before the jeep did.
He drew a dotted line across the map, joining the outer track to the wetland overlook. Beside him, Samir rested the binoculars against his chest.
“A possible shortcut,” Eli said.
Samir looked across the dry grass. A rhinoceros was approaching the patch the pencil had just crossed.
“Let’s see what uses it first.”
An Unmarked Space
They had stopped on the outer track at Wadi Nara, above a shallow sweep of water. Flamingos stood among the reeds. Beyond them, trees made broken reflections, and a breeze carried the damp smell of the bank toward the jeep.
Eli was new to this part of the sanctuary. He had been asked to check a possible patrol route, and had brought a survey map, a notebook, and two pencils. Both pencils had arrived sharper than the route.
The proposed crossing lay in an unmarked space between a low shrub and a stand of grass. On paper, it offered a convenient way toward the overlook.
The rhinoceros came along the bank, head low. Eli followed it through his binoculars, then checked the map.
“I thought it was heading for the water.”
“It may be,” Samir said.
The animal turned away from the reeds. It stopped beside the shrub and lowered its muzzle almost to the ground.
Eli wrote the time, then began a second line.
“Change of direction.”
Samir glanced at the page. “Keep watching that spot.”
Beside the Track
From where they stood, the shrub hid the ground beneath the rhino’s head. They returned to the jeep, and Samir reversed along the track to a more distant bend with a clearer view. He stopped the engine.
The binoculars revealed a low heap of dung, some dry and pale, some darker. Around it, the earth had been scraped and pressed with overlapping footprints. A narrow trail entered from the reeds; another curved through the grass.
Eli lowered the glasses and drew a small circle on his map.
“A midden?”
Samir nodded. “They leave their scent here. Other rhinos come and investigate.”
The rhinoceros moved its muzzle along the edge of the heap. One ear turned toward the water while the other remained angled toward the grass.
“Can you tell what it’s found?”
“I can tell you where it’s looking.”
Eli put the binoculars down long enough to add the two trails. He drew them lightly, leaving room to check their course on another visit.
“I nearly put our route through the middle.”
“We haven’t put it anywhere yet.”
Eli looked at the dotted shortcut. He crossed it out with one fine stroke, keeping the original line visible, and marked the existing outer track for their next inspection.
Samir held the loose edge of the map when the breeze lifted it. Eli added the shrub, the time, and a note to return tomorrow.
One More Entry
The rhino raised its head. For a moment, its broad body filled the view beyond the windscreen. Dried mud sat in the folds above its foreleg. A small insect settled near one ear and was flicked away without disturbing the rest of the animal.
Eli made a final note about their observation point. They could see the site from this bend without driving across either trail.
“We’ll check it from here again,” he said.
Samir nodded and folded the map along its old crease. Eli capped his pencil and closed the notebook. On the water, a flamingo lifted one foot and tucked it out of sight.
The rhinoceros shifted beside the heap and left a fresh addition.
Eli watched, then uncapped the pencil.
“Another observation?” Samir asked.
“An update.”
He opened the notebook again.
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