Wildcast

Another day of defying death. Well only against the heat that is.

My little elephant calf and family were again in much the same area as the day before but were now more mobile in the cooler early hours.

Our little calf is doing just fine and being so well looked after. Then today I saw him at a waterhole for the first time. Unfortunately with all those huge elephant bodies crowding the little seep at Lisililija, I lost sight of him. So what he was up to I’m not quite sure. But probably not much as he still has to discover what water and mud are all about.

His family soon took him into the hills where I couldn’t follow, but the rest of the herd headed east. Presumably heading to Nduna dam for a swim.

I got there before them to find this lioness waiting on the animal highway to the dam. Positioning myself between 2 trees so as to be as camouflaged as possible and not to disturb her hunting, I waited. And waited. Some impala came by, she was keen, but they weren’t close enough. More impala on a different route but still not good enough for an ambush. Eventually feeling really hot and bothered she headed for a cool spot in the hills.

And my elephants just never arrived. They really aren’t very good at reading my script.

Later though I did find this herd of elephant at the northern end of Malilangwe dam, the perfect spot for them on days like this. There’s plenty of sedge to feed on right next to the dam and when the heat gets a bit much its a brief stroll for a skinny dip. (a recipe I’m still trying to master, although I’m doing fine. It’s just my camera equipment I get concerned about. It gets so hot that I can’t actually handle it! I think a bunch of wet towels will have to be the answer)

Earlier in the morning I had a report from the game scouts that a pack of wild dogs was at the confluence of the Chiredzi and Chipimbi rivers. I couldn’t get there then as I was waiting with the lioness.

But it was a hot day and the dogs wouldn’t be mobile. Well I was wrong and there was no sign of them when I ventured into the area at dusk. Was it our dogs, or was it the other pack? We still don’t know.

But the trip wasn’t for nothing. Heading back to camp after dark a pair of eyes illuminated in front of me on the road. They darted closer towards me and stopped, looking south. A female leopard had her sights on a duiker less than 50m away. I stopped and she froze as the duiker stared in her direction. Had the duiker seen her? No. It carried on feeding, but then suddenly it sped off in the opposite direction. There was a brief change in wind direction that blew the leopard’s cover and the end of me possibly witnessing some great action.

Don’t forget your suggestions for a name for our little elephant calf.