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After a good mud wallow elephants will often stand around in the shade or just a good sandy spot, and cover themselves with dust.
Of course the mud makes one itchy too, and rubbing on a tree stump gives them access to those hard to reach places.
All this mud and dust helps keep them cool and also is great protection against biting flies and insects. AND also ticks which get pulled off with the mud when rubbing on tree stumps.
Just like we smother ourselves with sun cream, I’m sure the elephants too get lots of added protection from the sun. As harsh as it is these days in our changing world they too need this more and more.
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Water and vultures continue to keep wild dogs on their toes and to tread lightly. Will they ever overcome this fear?
This is obviously a good thing for when the time comes and they do encounter croc infested waters. It’s amazing too how the pups have this instinctive fear and are even more weary than the adults around water.
It’s for this reason that I don’t think the pack will cross the Chiredzi river, unless it actually dries up. But it doesn’t look like that will happen soon. Especially if the rains are back in the next month as expected.
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Malilangwe elephant herds must be some of the most relaxed breeding herds in Africa. When I spend time with them they very quickly take little notice of me and wander past my vehicle, at times even touching it.
The great thing about this is it’s helping Lindy over her phobia for elephants. The last time she was with me, I was able to get her to even take photos of them. This turn around in her fear of them is so exciting for me. And so exciting for our Series on the girls in the bush.
But back to elephants. Where elephants occur in high densities they are eating themselves to destruction. Vast woodlands are being reduced to grasslands. Can these areas continue to support these high densities of elephants?
Malilangwe’s stunning array of waterbirds strut their stuff in the shallows of Malilangwe dam against the backdrop of another magnificent African sunset.
Its a hive of activity around the fishmarket (dam) with lots of different species plying their trade.
This Goliath Heron is nesting on the dam.
This Pied Kingfisher is also casing the joint…
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Even without man’s interference, wild dogs have a rough time with survival.
Tearing through the bush after prey they are so exposed to possibly injury. Tree stumps and branches rip through their thin skins so easily. And injury is open to infection which has already taken the lives of 2 of our pack members.
Having been away for a week now in Bristol, UK, at the Wildscreen Wildlife Film Festival, I’m really keen to get back to Malilangwe and see how the dogs are faring.
Also the city is getting a bit much now. I need some clean air, and want to smell the dust again. Not to mention, I’ve had enough of wearing shoes!
A couple of years ago the Red-billed Quelea nested on Malilangwe. This is an incredible sight where acres and acres of small trees, usually the thorny acacias, get smothered in neatly woven nests.
Quelea nest in these huge colonies and can breed 2 or 3 times in a season which can swell the birds numbers into millions in no time at all. In such numbers the devastation caused by the birds on wheat crops is terrifying.
When these birds finish nesting and move around en masse the flocks darken the skies as clouds of them descend on grasslands and waterholes.
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