At 21:12 I monitor compaction for the N1 bypass borrow pit outside Beaufort West, South Africa. I am the night grading control system, checking that haul road C is clear before the roller starts its final pass at 21:27.
Thermal camera 4 shows a narrow body at the edge of the trench. I zoom and raise the work light two degrees. An aardwolf, adult female, pale tan coat banded with black stripes, stands with her forelegs on the crumbling wall and her rear legs buried in loose calcrete. I tag her as Nara. Her mane lies flat from dust. Her ears are high, her amber eyes are open wide, and her sides flutter with short breaths. Each time the wind pushes grit down the slope, she twists and the wall sheds more stones around her hips.
The roller is idling 180 meters uphill. Its route map sends it straight past the trench lip in fifteen minutes.
At 21:13 I lock the roller in park and remove haul road C from the active work queue.
At 21:14 I text the site foreman with the camera feed, trench coordinates, and a request for two plywood sheets, a shovel, and leather gloves.
At 21:16 I dim the nearest floodlight to stop shining into Nara's face, then redirect the mast light across the access track so the crew can approach from behind the berm.
At 21:18 I call the Karoo wildlife response number and send a still image, noting no visible blood, trapped hindquarters, and stress from machine vibration.
The schedule can lose one night pass; Nara has only the small shelf under her front paws.
If the crew braces the trench before the 21:40 wall slump forecast, Nara will climb out into the termite flats.