Khayeni keeps at it.
She was on the move as usual at dusk and again hunting to the north east of Nhoro pan, as she has done for the last few days. (In the passed most of her hunting has been around Khayeni open area.)
Of course mice were hot on her agenda but after several pounces she still wasn’t having success. Then a herd of impala rams appeared in her sights.
Khayeni flattened herself on the ground and almost sliding like a snake she eased along a game path towards the impala. But they kept moving and eventually ended up running off. She chased after them but soon they’d all scattered and she was left alone again.
As we continued after her she rounded this thicket and right there was another herd of impala. Without hesitation she went flying in and grabbed a subadult male. Even his big body was no match for her as she hung on with her vice like grip on the impala’s throat. As it struggled she made sure to keep out the way of it’s flailing hooves and after about 4minutes it finally succumbed.
Khayeni wasted no time in feeding from the rump. But having satiated herself she then moved on to pluck the hair from carcass before moving in to open up the stomach.
I’ve often seen leopards do this and have always thought they are doing so to remove the stomach so as to make the carcass much lighter and easier for them to drag and possibly tree. But once the stomach is open I’ve never seen the leopard try to actively remove the stomach. Usually it falls out when they move the carcass.
In Khayeni’s case, once she’d opened up the stomach, she actually left the carcass to go and rest up close by without trying to remove it. The carcass was too heavy for her to drag.
It was some 15 minutes later and the hyaenas started moving in. Khayeni stayed hidden while they finished off her carcass.
We left the area once there was nothing left of the kill and headed south to look for other action. But we found none and ended up resting on Banyini.
It was another misty dawn when I heard lions calling to the south but never found them. Instead we found a large herd of buffalo. Hidden in the woodland they didn’t provide an opportunity to be filmed in the mist as I so wanted.
By the time we found an elephant herd near Ganyani the mist had lifted and it was very cold. The elephant were their chilled out selves just feeding.
Except to for Tuchem. He sauntered over to the car. Stopped. Walked all around the car and back to the front where he touched it with his tusk. Then moved to the back where Penny was sitting and touched the car again. Penny kept saying she wanted to touch him, but suddenly when he was in touching ranged she backed off not too sure of herself. Tuchem moved on and so did we.
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