Safari na Mlinzi Tomas

Polly aliamka akiwa ameketi kwenye reli ya basi wakati jua lilipochomoza. Mwanaume mmoja aliyevaa sare za kahawia alikuwa akifungua ofisi ndogo upande wa pili wa uwanja. Jina lake lilikuwa limeandikwa T. RODRIGUEZ. Alimtazama na kutabasamu. "Unaweza kuja nami," alisema.

Polly woke up on the shuttle railing as the sun came up. A man in a brown uniform was unlocking a small office across the lot. His name patch said T. RODRIGUEZ. He looked at her and smiled. "You can ride with me," he said.

Hivyo ndivyo Polly alivyotumia asubuhi katika gari la mlinzi wa msitu.

That was how Polly spent the morning in a ranger's truck.

Tomas alikuwa mlinzi wa Yosemite kwa miaka kumi na nne. Alikuwa na kahawa kwenye Thermos, ubao wa kuandika, na redio iliyokuwa ikisikika kwa sauti ya kukoroma. Aliendesha gari polepole. Alisimama mara kwa mara.

Tomas had been a Yosemite ranger for fourteen years. He had coffee in a Thermos, a clipboard, and a radio that crackled. He drove slowly. He stopped often.

Kituo cha kwanza kilikuwa ni kwenye kijito chenye unyevunyevu. Tomas aliingia kwenye nyasi na kutafuta alama za uwepo wa dubu. "Mwezi wa sita, maua ya mahindi hukua hapa," alisema. "Dubu wanayapenda sana. Tunaweka alama kwenye vijito wanapokula."

The first stop was a wet meadow. Tomas walked into the grass and looked for signs that bears had been there. "In June, corn lilies grow here," he said. "Bears love them. We mark the meadows where they feed."

Polly aliruka hadi kwenye dirisha la gari lililokuwa wazi. Maua ya mahindi hayakuwa yamechipua bado. Yalikuwa tu mishale midogo ya kijani.

Polly hopped to the open truck window. The corn lilies were not up yet. They were just small green spears.

Barabara ilipanda. Hewa ilipoa. Katika kona moja, Tomas alisimama na kuonyesha. Mwewe wa peregrine alikuwa ameketi juu ya jiwe. Kichwa chekundu cha Polly kiliegemea. Mwewe aliwatizama, kisha aliruka kutoka kwenye jiwe na kutoweka chini ya sekunde moja.

The road climbed. The air cooled. At a switchback, Tomas stopped and pointed. A peregrine falcon was sitting on a rock. Polly's red head tilted. The falcon looked at them, then dropped off the rock and was gone in less than a second.

"Wanajenga viota kwenye miamba," Tomas alisema. "Tuna jozi sita katika bonde mwaka huu."

"They nest on the cliffs," Tomas said. "We have six pairs in the valley this year."

Polly alitazama jinsi mwewe alivyokunja mabawa yake. Alitaka kujaribu kuruka hivyo mwenyewe. Labda kesho.

Polly watched how the falcon had folded its wings. She wanted to try that drop herself. Maybe tomorrow.

Katika kituo kingine, Tomas aliingia msituni peke yake. Alirudi na silinda ya chuma. "Sanduku la chakula lisiloweza kufunguliwa na dubu ambalo mtu alijaribu kulizika," alisema. Aliweka kwenye sehemu ya nyuma ya gari.

At the next stop, Tomas walked into the woods alone. He came back with a metal cylinder. "Bear-proof food locker someone tried to bury," he said. He put it in the truck bed.

Mchana walifika Olmsted Point. Nchi ya juu ilifunguka mbele yao. Ziwa Tenaya chini mbali. Half Dome kutoka nyuma. Milima ya kijivu ikififia kwenye ukungu.

At noon they came to Olmsted Point. The high country opened in front of them. Tenaya Lake far below. Half Dome from behind. Grey peaks fading into haze.

"Hii," Tomas alisema, "ndiyo sehemu watu wengi hupita tu." Alimimina kahawa kwenye kifuniko cha Thermos na kuiweka kwenye dashibodi karibu na Polly. "Kaa kwa muda."

"This," Tomas said, "is the part most people drive past." He poured coffee into the lid of his Thermos and set it on the dashboard next to Polly. "Stay a while."