Last night we followed the Lions from Banyini into the thickets of the Mopane forest – somewhere you don’t want to be. Kylie raised her alarm at going in, but testosterone once again sent out the battle cry, “we’re going in!” Manyari was keeping up a steady pace, I think she was “miff-kid” about losing out on a kill earlier in the day.

Dozer, the Toyota Hi-lux 4 x 4 I drive, has no roof and bullbars all around it. This is not always a good thing, because we push a few small trees over in our path and all the living world of insects in the forest land up in our laps! So that was that, we got out of there, and Manyari succeeded in losing her tail.

All was not lost, we got up early and found two Hyenas at Sosigi Dam again, two young adults taking it easy on the cracked earth where the mud had dried up. This was their turf and no one was going to tell them otherwise. Especially when a herd of Eland, with a massive bull, decided they wanted in.

The one hyena scampered off, but the other was quite resilient and he was not giving in that easily. Anyway, it was great to watch and I captured as much as I could on video in a two part series. Oh yes, it’s like that – to be continued…

There were no flies on us this morning, we were up at the crackers. I had abandoned our search for the lions last night to get back in time to post the site. Knowing more or less where they were, we shot through to get some early footage. This was not to be, but we ended up following a Black-backed Jackal as it was hunting Guinea Fowl. This guy was not that comfortable with us around, but normally they are a little more skittish. It was a great watch and then we let him be.

After searching 10 km South of Banyini all morning, there the lion were back at the pan! We are making a habit of running into the pride – I’m not complaining. They were hungry and looking at every opportunity to stalk any unsuspecting prey, but in the end I think there was so much choice that Manyari couldn’t decide on which animal to focus on.

It probably didn’t help that Sjambok just lay in the shade while all the action was going on, I guess he figures he will always get the lions share regardless of how much work he does. That is where we left them; in their indecision and lethargy.

After getting the herd of Buffalo at Nduna Dam yesterday, we thought a stakeout was in order. There were some very interesting lizards, a water monitor and a Goliath Heron hanging around when we arrived.

The baboons were having a tea party on the side of the dam and impala seemed to be participating. Not as fruitful as we had hoped but great to get into the little cracks in the rocks. At the end of the day the Hippo gave us a bit of a show and just to see the sunset at Nduna makes the drive worthwhile.

The lions had been hanging around Banyini pan for a few days now, but last night they headed south. I’ve just come in from a drive down to Hwata pan where they drank and headed further south. Manyari is more affectionate than ever; in fact, one of the field guides reported seeing Manyari and Sjambok mating - down boy! Magwaza is still missing in action so hopefully we will see these lionesses delivering some offspring in a few months. Tomorrow morning I plan to catch up with Lion to see what their plan is.

Just before sunset we arrived at Nduna dam for the last of the days shooting -  and a sundowner of course. I had my eye on an Elephant bull pulling a few branches down and rubbing himself on a tree. He led me up the road to a herd of Buffalo hiding in the shadows.

They were making their way down to the water, so I was quicker on the draw this time and set up for the approach of the Buffalo troops. We enjoyed watching these guys for an hour or so as they waded through the water. A lonely giraffe was not phased by their great number and imposing distance.

We left Nduna in search of Manyari to find them on the move. Sjambok and Chahwihwi were looking a little under nourished and, I’m sure, were only too happy to have Manyari back leading the hunt. We didn’t stay long, but Manyari pounced on a Francolin that flew “towards the light.” This was all the cat like behaviour we needed to sustain us for the evening.

We are now well into summer and many Impala are with newborn foals, they don’t take any chances with their young and do not stick around for the photo session. Every now and then you get a group of impala who are in it for the glory. Anyway, I like these little guys, they bring a little cheer to the bush and of course when there is nothing else to see – they’re everywhere.

I thought I would check up on Manyari and their ongoing saga; to my surprise, my thirst for something to see was quenched when I saw a Cheetah running south from Banyini Pan. I knew I had recognized that light footed trot and I followed him for a minute or two before he dashed into the Mopane trees. What a moment! This is Mark loving it; when he is on the attack! I’ll quit speaking about myself in the third person. Unfortunately no Photo, I wasn’t quick enough on the draw. Oh, Manyari and the pride have been taking it easy for all those working too hard in the blazing sun. I hope to see some action later.

A few days ago Kim and I went up in his microlight to get some aerial shots, it was quite a bumpy ride with the wind blowing and it left me feeling a little queasy. This was sorted out when Kim dipped into the river bed to strut his low flying ability. Check out the video clip, the buffalo we flew over did not know what kind of bird, eagle, dragon or… UFO was trying to take on a buff.

As the sun was beginning to set I saw some Spotted Hyenas on the road. It wasn’t long and I was lying on the gravel taking photos and interacting with the creatures. They have some real personality, that is until the lady of the clan staggers out the bush, then its time to fall in line.

They dashed off into the bush and I drove to Sosigi dam nearby – there they were not wasting any time, wallowing in the water.

What I found interesting was that a different clan of Hyena arrived from the opposite side of the dam and there was no interaction - or defending of territory. It was like a neutral ground agreement. After watching them clown around, the sun set and the mood changed – it was time to hunt. There were two impala close by totally oblivious to the Hyena being there. The hunt was on and I tried to get on film what I could.

This morning the scandal had ended when I tracked down our Lion pride. It was time for a heart to heart, put the past behind us, kiss and make up for Manyari and Sjambok.

I was up early and hoping to find the Wild Dogs to see their progress. Thankfully they returned onto the property after crossing the Chiredzi river 2 weeks ago. However, again it was not to be. At Banyini pan we ran into Manyari drinking, obviously she has still been at that zebra carcass. It was like we had arranged a meeting time and as usual she was not phased by us always in her hair. During the window of her drinking and moving into the shade, a jackall came trotting along not knowing Manyari was around.

He was a little skittish about us being there and he was distracted. On seeing Manyari he stopped dead in his tracks, wondering how to tackle this problem of a lion being in his path. Not to take any chances, he swiftly took the long way round with Manyari giving him an unfriendly glare. When I first arrived on the park I would often do the same when we were heading for the lion, although, this was because Kim had taken a shortcut before I could see him take the turn. So there Mark would go driving along with Kim on the radio, “why you at Banyini?” “Are the lion Banyini?”

Well thankfully now this is a less often occurance. We took a long drive to Nduna dam on the east of Malilangwe with only a few unhappy buffalo to show for it. On Nyari pan a little visitor popped his head up, which is the first time I’ve seen a turtle in any of the pans. It is kind of difficult to tell what type he is as there are over 250 different types of turtles and terrapins in the world. Enough time for one picture and he eased his way back into the pan.

The warthog were also at Nyari lined up like three little pigs. They were brave enough to wallow for a little while with us being nearby. All in all, a quiet day in the wild, but I’m hoping to find the Dogs soon and catch up on the breading heard of Elephant.

At dusk we bashed away through some really dense mopanie eventually come into a clearing where Manyari was panting away and with her stomach huge. She must have a kill.
Searching around we found the zebra. It was still fresh and probably only killed a few hours before we got there. No doubt the zebra had stumbled onto the lions in the dense mopanie.

Manyari and Magwaza fed on and off through the night, while in the distance the males called to the west. The girls weren’t responding. They plan to keep this kill to themselves.

We left them at dawn as I’ve got piles to do in the office before leaving later today to South Africa.
Mark Van Der Merwe, my new assistant, will be sure to keep Wildcast going in my absence.