Garden Safari: "Hello, Mr. Warthog."

The line from the post's title comes from a walking safari I participated in at Hwange NP. As we rounded a corner in the trail we were suddenly confronted by a Warthog approaching us from the direction we were walk toward. Our guide calmly turned to us and said, "Don't move. Stay calm."

Then he turned to the warthog and said, "Hello, Mr. Warthog." To wit the warthog stopped and lifted his snout to get a good smell of the air around him. The guide continued in his gentle African lilt on the English language, "How are you, Mr. Warthog? How is your family today? Fine I trust. Are you heading off to see them?" As he spoke the warthog calmly continued on his way through the midst of us and out of sight. 

Once he was gone, the guide explained that Warthogs are not particularly aggressive as long as they are comfortable with their surroundings. The thing that works against them is that they have horrible eyesight. So they must trust their senses of smell and hearing to alert them to the presence and deportment of other creatures around them. A sudden movement could be interpreted as threatening and provoke an attack. By remaining calm "Mr. Warthog" quickly ascertained that we were of no particularly interest. "Good day, Mr. Warthog."