There are places where life seems like a daily miracle, and then there are days when man reminds you how capable he is of ruining everything, and other men try to fix things, but cannot get to the root of the problem.
 
Six lions in the Oleisukut reserve, Maasai Mara, have been poisoned.
It is not the first time, and it is not clear by whom or why, but the result is the same: pain, confusion, a pride moving like sleepy ghosts through the golden grass. The Kenya Wildlife Service rushed to the rescue, with veterinarians who seem like mythical figures, administering emergency care and transferring the lions to safe places, while two of them still remain suspended between life and the night of poison. Four are back on their feet as if nothing had happened, but it is never the same: every step brings with it the memory of what man can inflict.
The poison remains a mystery, as always happens when stupidity and malice hide behind the simplicity of the savannah. Men investigate, but Africa does not wait: rivers flow, lions rise again, and tourists continue to cause damage, perhaps without really meaning to, perhaps only with that bizarre combination of enthusiasm and recklessness that distinguishes us. Just a month ago, the wildebeest migration was interrupted by tourists who forgot their vans and the rules, running among the animals and forcing them to take refuge in the crocodiles of the Mara River. It took just a moment – a minute, according to the authorities – to turn the miracle into a small human chaos, justified by denials and bureaucratic clarifications.
And so we continue, helpless observers: men promise protection, the authorities talk of solemn commitments, and we know that the real wonder is the patience of nature. Africa endures, again and again, with a silent love for every creature, every river, every step of a gazelle or lion walking between poison and survival. We are only spectators, laughing bitterly at our own inability, aware that, no matter how hard we try, the great savannah will continue to live without us.