Animals are Superheroes
My days in South Africa so far have been spent going on game drives, exploring the terrain, and searching for wildlife. On each drive, I am constantly amazed at how brilliant these African animals are, and I have come to this realization: animals are real life superheroes.
In The Incredibles, Dash is a young boy who has exceptional speed as his superpower. Similarly, cheetahs are the fastest land mammal in the world, reaching speeds of 110 kilometers per hour (70 mph). They have specially designed tails that flick side to side in order to turn quickly and it enables them to maintain their intense speed. In a single stride, they can bound seven meters (23 ft)! They might as well leap tall buildings in a single bound! With these incredible adaptations for speed, the cheetah is officially a superhero with the power of super-speed.
– a cheetah
One of the first female superheroes created by Marvel Comics, Invisible Woman has the power of, you guessed it, invisibility. Although no animal can quite master complete invisibility, leopards have constantly been named as the most elusive animal on an African safari. One of our guides noted that “seeing a leopard is complete luck because they choose if they want to be seen or not.” Leopards have perfected the art of stealth, and these cats spend most of their time wandering at night. Since we have been on safari for over two weeks now and still have yet to see one, the leopard is awarded the superpower of invisibility.
– a leopard
A popular superhero nowadays, thanks to the mesmerizing Robert Downey Jr., is Ironman, who has an incredible suit of armour. In the 1800’s, pangolin scales were used to make coats of armour for warriors of various cultures.The pangolin has almost been poached to extinction because its meat is considered an Asian food delicacy. To defend itself, the pangolin has beautiful keratin scales covering its body, and when threatened curls up in a tight ball with its sharp scales acting as extra protection. As the only mammal with a scaly coat, the pangolin deserves recognition as nature’s Ironman.
– a pangolin
The Hulk is known for having super-strength once aggravated, and elephants are surprisingly similar. They first appear as gentle giants, but if you get too close to a calf, the matriarch, weighing up to 7000kg (15,000 lbs), will charge at you, running over trees, bushes (literally anything) to scare you off. The elephant is known for its large size and extremely strong trunk. On our safari drives, we constantly see trees knocked over and immediately realize that it was the work of an elephant. These are very, very powerful creatures, and they have rightfully earned the power of super-strength.
– an African elephant
In superhero comics and movies, we respect and admire the special abilities of the heroes, that aid them in their quest for saving the world. These South African animals have the exact same special powers, and yet we are destroying their environment and poaching them for trophies and our never-ending consumption. How can we justify destroying these animals when they are so unbelievably adapted? We must change the way humans affect their surrounding environments in order to save these incredible species. It is time for society to step up as superheroes and protect the remaining superheroes of the African wild.
– Kennedy Holland