Daily Archive for January 31st, 2007

Sunbird Feast: Video

It’s that time of year.

Trio
February and March are always tough times to be working in the bush. Our main rains fall over this period and the bush is just so thick we battle to find the game and then to stay with it.
I usually try and take some time off in this period because of it just not being very productive. And the last couple of days have proven just that, with it not looking like getting any better in a hurry.

Tall sunset
The elephants were still in the south in those clays that have me running scared. Did I say I was scared? No ways, tough guys don’t say that. Must have been the American.

Leopard Tortoise
But I was able to catch up with the lions and that wasn’t fun. They had placed themselves in some really horrible bush. Thick thick stuff! But after much crashing and twisting and turning I was able to locate them. No they weren’t on a kill, just sleeping and hardly visible. I waited a while with them in case I might have missed a kill in that thick bush, but nothing materialised and I bashed my way out of there.

Covered
Up in the hills the Sunbirds were having a feast on the Aloe Erythrina. This is a lovely big specimen of these rare trees. But they get heavily persecuted by elephants and only survive when hidden in the hills in inaccessible places.

Aloe Erythrina
On Banyini at sunset the quelea are back! They’re nesting in huge numbers in several places on the reserve but only have eggs at the moment. As soon as the chicks hatch the predators (eagles, storks snakes, etc.) will descend on them. But in such huge numbers the predators have little impact on the overall population.

They're back

Chinzwini No.8

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Chinzwini southern face

This is another set of paintings further round to the left.

Chinzwini 8A
These paintings are done with such detail although some seem to be over others. That ‘not so intricate’ elephant looks like it’s been drawn over. (We’ll get to that later). The layout looks like a hunter encountering a herd of giraffe. But the elephant seems to confuse that.
The detail in this giraffe is amazing. Stunning!

Chinzwini 8B

Tjololo 30th January 2000

The Tjololo Diaries

30th January 2000
We found Tjellers with a young kudu carcass that she probably killed earlier in the day. With lions in the area we decided to stay with her the whole night in case they ventured her way. If so they would surely have climbed the tree and stolen her carcass. A hyaena took up residence at the base of the tree, so Tjellers stayed in the tree all night. By dawn there was no sign of the lions. Tjellers was able to keep her prize.
Mala Mala rangers had Tjololo in the thicket with his kill. We didn’t pay him a visit.


At this rate my camera’s thinking of going into early retirement. I’ve got to keep it busy somehow but can’t just make things happen. I keep saying to myself “ be patient, it’s coming”. But when?