These notes come from a conversation I had with Dr. Ian Player

In the 1600's according to a White Ranger - Malmesbury Sandwalkers (Hottontotos as they were called) tracked the Elephant and Hippos paths that followed the contours up a mountain exactly - the Sandwalkers then adapted these paths to go to places that they needed to camp. Their main path followed the Elephant.

The mammoth is the African Elephant that became adapted to the cold. So its absolutely right to assume that humans followed the mammoth across the world. Indeed it would be the only practical way to get through the forest.

Man would have used some of the Mammoth’s feeding grounds to grow his crops and would have hunted the Mammoth for food and clothing.

Today in Hluhlewe Forests the only way through is to follow the Elephant , the Hippo and the Rhino - the 3 major engineers. They're followed by lots of other species: Wilderbeast, Zebra, impala and the like.

That man originated in Africa appears clear. Where we are not so sure. Sterkfonetin is the site of a recent find of a 4 million year old skeleton. It is just on the edge of Johannesburg next to an iron ore site.

The Mammoth is the story is of the inter dependence of man an animal. In the same way, as early as man followed mammoths, iron age man made it possible for the expansion of the antelope by cutting the forest and creating the savannah country which favoured the grass eater.

Animals are the only live (creature) that we humans can measure ourselves against.

Everyone has a pioneer stage. Think of Mammoths as pioneers.

Man needs to get back to the landscape and animal.

Gospel according to St Thomas: Christ is quoted as saying if you want to enter through the Kingdome of heaven you must follow the birds and the animals.

Arnold Joseph Toynbee wrote Mankind and Mother which tells of how we made marvellous technical progress but this has not been matched with the progress of the spirit.

Ian knew an old Zulu who had fantastic relationship with wild animals. This was common in the past. There was time when man and animal spoke some telepathic understanding. You can see it when the lion is hunting and there is a quite when the antelopes know. And after the antelope also know there is no problem being close to the lion.

Look at the Horse Whisperer. Changed the way of training horses from force to telepathy.

Ian's rangers (like Ian) first just want animals as trophies but after relating to the animals they can no longer kill them. There is a North Indian saying: "I used to hunt and then I grew up." Ian used to live for fishing. Now he couldn't do it.

Mans fascination for space is an escape. We need to look back.

We have come to the end of our mammoth journey and now have to go back and understand how important that journey was for us. We have to go back and see how we were interdependent with the mammoth

Up until a certain time (industrial revolution) we lived in communication with the wild. We have now become afraid of the wild. Now our clarion call is to TAME everything in site. And if it can't or won't be tamed than we kill it.

The bushman said. "Where we went the animal eye was upon us" Ian adds "and when this ceased we became sick"

Freud and Jung both knew the value of the dream. Ian's life has been to listen to his dreams. As Jung would say dreams will tell you what the million year old man inside you says.