By: Abdool Aziz

CAMOUDI – VS – ALLIGATOR
IN front of our house was an abandoned trench, full of weeds, and the restless and perilous ‘home’ of the reptiles mainly camoudies and alligators, natural enemies. Each night a battle for supremacy goes on. The aftermath is blood, scattered flesh and ruffled wild lilies.

FATAL ENCOUNTER
For the better part of the evening, it was quiet. We sat on the verandah telling stories. There was no radio and the moonlight was bright. We could see the commotion. This was the mother of all battles – the 15-foot camoudi and the giant alligator were locked in combat. The alligator tried to sink it’s spike teeth into the serpent with no luck. That skin was like rubber. Then it lashed with its main weapon – its tail. The camoudi went on the defensive. Her only weapon was her body. She tried desperately to wrap herself around the scaly hide of the alligator, but the animal was evasive. That alligator could really maneuver her tough leather body, trying to get the snake’s head. The camoudi ensured it kept its head hidden.
STALKING BETS
Road stragglers began to spectate. They enjoyed the reptilian ‘Gladiators’ and they wagered on the victor. My parents bet on the serpent. I chose the alligator. The fight waged on. We were ordered to bed. I lay on the grass mattress imagining the horrors in that mossy canal. I can still hear the grunts of the gator and the hiss of the serpent. I fell asleep. Dawn saw us rushing to the verandah.
NO VICTOR
It was all quiet – the battleground was a mess and the alligator was trapped in the deadly coils of the camoudi. Its mouth exhibiting its spikes with the dark glossy eyes wide open. But where was the head of the camoudi? A shovel man on his way to work decided to poke the silent reptiles. No life. He dragged them to the shore – the head of the camoudi was fastened in the alligator’s mouth. Everyone lost their bets. The alpha heads fought to a deadly draw.
SKINS AS TROPHIES
It took workmen hours to uncoil the serpent and donated its skin to the museum. So. too, the alligator. Some peasants ate the meat. But the battle in the swampy waterway was continued by the young ones. It’s an age-old feud. The tail of the alligator and the drowning of its prey is its predatory skills. As to the serpent, its coils and its vulnerable spot is its head, not the skin. One prick into its head and the coils come a loose. Camoudis are deadly constrictors. Keep away from water edges and swamps. Do not walk your dog close by because that is prized meat from the cold-blooded monster.