Khayeni had a break from us.
Stephen wasn’t able to help this evening so I didn’t follow up on Khayeni and decided to leave her for the night.
I was out all day yesterday, having been out the whole night too. In the afternoon this rhino cow and calf came to drink at Hwata pan. It sure is already proving a popular waterhole.
I was happy to get around the reserve again and not to just be concentrating on Khayeni’s territory.
The general game were all out and about but nothing too special.
Well actually, it’s all special I have to keep reminding myself. One just can’t take this stuff for granted even if it is on my doorstep every day. It only takes a few hours in the city to remind me where I should be.
24th June 2000
Weight for weight I always knew hyaenas to be the biggest and fastest of meat eaters in the African bush, but after Tjololo’s feat of yesterday I think he has to win having consumed a subadult female impala weighing 30-35kgs in less than 24 hours.
When he tried to move on at sunset he would stagger and sway only getting some 100m before collapsing. This activity he resumed for a couple of hours before getting going and headed south. Even that didn’t last when he rested up around 22h00 and only moved on again at 03h00.
He now had a bit more pace heading south to the Sand river and then at dawn west along the river.
Khayeni stayed under cover.
Khayeni was being rather elusive for most of the night. She fed briefly at sunset before resting up in the thickets close by for several hours.
In the middle of the night she went on a walk about to Khayeni pan and then south resting up again in the thickets till shortly before dawn.
I wasn’t complaining as it meant time to catch up on sleep.
At dawn she was milling around in the thickets to the south of Khayeni and eventually rested up here.
Crashing around in that thick bush I had a little companion. A Fork-tailed Drongo was dashing in catching insects that I disturbed in the bush. He even landed on my dashboard to grab some insect.
I ventured on south, down to Banyini, Chekwa pan and the new pan Hwata. Brutus had already discovered this pan.
Further south close to the Mahande river a small herd of elephant were frantically grazing on what looked like very very dry grass. But on looking closer there was some evidence of greenery still there.
A herd of buffalo were resting on Banyini but were then suddenly spooked by something and took off into the woodland. No it wasn’t me!
23rd June 2000
Mala Mala rangers had Tjololo on the move around sunset. We picked him up a while later moving east marking. His sudden move south could only mean prey in the area. But we saw no sign of any animals until he disappeared into a thicket and came out with a female impala. He fed before treeing the carcass.
The thunderstorm that was threatening in the west luckily never got to us but a light shower had our covers up for several hours.
At dawn Tjololo took his carcass out the tree and into a donga where he consumed and stuffed an incomprehensible amount of meat into his gut. We’re continuously amazed at the quantities he can devour and have not seen any other leopard come close to his capabilities of consumption.
Cool weather had Khayeni on the move early.
I’d left Khayeni resting on the eastern side of Khayeni open area, but when I arrived there in the afternoon she was already right in the west.
Often in cool weather like we had today, leopards will move around hunting. But she hadn’t had success and was on the prowl when I picked her up.
Soon after dark she was stalking some impala on the edge of the open area. Being wise the impala stayed in the open and then suddenly they spooked as one of them saw her. That sent the herd in two directions. Khayeni didn’t give up and kept herself under cover keeping to the bush.
The impala were milling around nervously and then for some reason the herd male moved into the bush. Bad idea! Khayeni was onto him. We didn’t see the actual kill but the impala’s death cries told us she’d done the deed.
Deep in the thick undergrowth we found her strangling the impala. This animal was huge. At least 3 times her weight! And I was amazed at how quickly she dispatched of it in 3 to 4 minutes with a suffocation hold around its mouth.
She fed and rested up somewhere in that mess of bush. We moved out.
Through the night I heard what sounded like a male leopard calling to the west and he seemed to be coming closer.
At dawn we found the kill had been treed. It’s unlikely this was the work of little Khayeni. There was another leopard in the area but I wasn’t able to see it clearly. Could this have been the male? And could he have treed the impala? Whatever the case more than one leopard had fed on the carcass.
Khayeni fed at dawn but kept looking over her shoulder. Looking out for the other leopard?
She fed well and again went to rest up in the thickets. We headed back to camp.
You might be wondering who the royal “We” is I keep writing about? Barend is editing the Series we’re doing on my daughters, so Stephen Warth, is helping out in his place driving the lighting vehicle.
22nd June 2000
We were surprised to find Tjololo still in the same area we’d left him early last night. But then we bumped into Tjellers resting in a tree not far off. I’m sure it wasn’t a coincidence they were in the same area but they never got together after we arrived. I wonder what it was that kept Tjololo there all day. Did he finish off the remains of a kill Tjellers had?
Shortly after our arrival an adult male lion suddenly scaled the tree Tjellers was in. She retreated into the upper most branches well out of reach. The lion soon gave up finding no sign of any food and moved on.
Tjellers left hunting. She caught an adult male impala, but as soon as it seemed to get over being winded when she caught it, it regained strength and after about a minute it struggled itself to freedom. This animal would be almost double her weight.
With Tjellers resting up in a dense thicket, we left her to follow up on Tjololo who had already walked a long way north. He was marking keenly, but once in the upper extremities of his territory he slowed down moving around in circles. Only at dawn did he move into the Sand river to rest.
We lost out seriously on any sleep last night after not obeying the little golden rule – “sleep when Tjololo sleeps”. Having left him sleeping early in the evening to follow up on other activity meant he was active for the rest of the night as we battled away pushing the limits to stay with him.
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