Elephants wallow in relays: Video

It was great to be out in the bush for most of the day again.
Stuck in an office is such a false experience even if it is in the bush. Being out in the field in that heat and dust and just feeling it is what it’s all about. Golly, but I’m spoilt!!!
The elephant herds seem to be split up right across the property. There was fresh evidence of a fair number of them at Nduna dam.

At Bandama, which has all but dried up now, a couple of bulls were sucking up the last remains while being careful not to get themselves stuck in the mud.

And then I was lucky to find Mandlovu and her family at Chekwa pan. They’re all well. Chipfongwe is such a little dude. It wasn’t hot enough for them to go wild in the pan but they spent quite some time quenching their thirst.

The Quelea were at it again at the little pan in their huge numbers. And several Hammerkops have taken up residence at the pan too as it dries up. They’re taking advantage of the frogs and other little water creatures that become concentrated in the last remaining water.

At Nduna dam I was watching flocks of Quelea coming in to drink. A Fish Eagle came swooping down towards a flock, but they dashed out the way long before the eagle got near them. It wasn’t after the flock. A straggler that had got waterlogged while hovering and trying to drink was scooped up in the eagle’s talons.