Night settled on the bushveld. At the Tamboti Hills Game Lodge, Dr Michael Thornton prepared for dinner. On the face of it, it was an evening much like any other. The animals of the bush changed shift. The creatures of the day sought shelter while the hunters of the night flexed their muscles.

Deep within the reserve, near the isolated veterinary clinic, stood a Tamboti Tree, the very tree for which the lodge was named. It was an innocuous tree, for the most part, offering shade from the blistering sun, but the locals called it the Poison-Tree, the deadly purveyor of toxic fumes when set ablaze. On this night, the tree would stand witness to a tragic event.

Forked lightning split the sky, illuminating an enclosure known as the boma. Jabulani, a young bull elephant, swayed from side to side, never taking his eyes off the man he’d once trusted. Before the first drops of rain fell, blood would soak the compacted soil of the boma. The events of the night would place Jabulani on borrowed time.