South Africa 2016: Gangsta Game (And Other Unbothered Animals Who Just Don’t Give A…)

When it comes to wildlife, South Africa deserves a round of applause. In fact, give it up for the entire African continent because it seems that in every nook and cranny, you’ll find unique, colorful creatures, big and small, freely living life like its golden.

However, for some of them, “golden” means “gangsta.”

Hood.

Trill, if you will. 

During a recent trip to parts of Cape Town and the Limpopo province, I observed some seemingly cool characters, who in reality, are proudly living out their days on Earth as straight thugs. Their goal is to make it as easy for themselves as possible in this struggle we all call “life.” And if that includes stealing, keeping up unnecessary noise, begging, and other forms of  disrespect for their fellow kingdom cronies, or better yet, humans, then so be it.

Here are the top five who, for me, put the “wild” in wildlife.

South Africa 2016: Stepping Outside of My Inside Comfort Zone

If you know me, you know I am not an outdoorsy person.

I'm what the kids like to call "bougie." I refuse to walk outside with bare feet to be “one with nature.” I don’t camp or fish. I roll my eyes at the word "hike." And don't tell me I'm sweating. I glisten.

South Africa 2016: Visits to Robben Island and Langa Township

I love cultural tours, whether in the U.S. or abroad. So, I was excited to get the opportunity to visit two culturally rich spots in Cape Town. One was already on my “to see” list; the other was a welcome surprise.

South Africa 2016: Adventures with Elephants

Moments before I hopped on a plane to South Africa, I smiled as my mom ended our phone conversation with this warning-

“Don’t go over there feeding somethin' with a mouth bigger than your head, 'cause I hear those rusty-a** elephants over there are somethin' else.”

Sage advice. (And when I think about it, elephants do look like they could use a few coats of Vaseline Intensive Care.)

So, I heeded her words - at least, for three days. However, on the fourth day, things changed. That's when I was made aware of the elephants in the room - or in this case, the elephants in the neighborhood. They were part of the Adventures with Elephants program, located in Bela Bela, which is about two hours outside of Johannesburg.