The rains lifted last night leaving us with clear skies which meant a very chilly morning.
The baboons were all sunning in the Acacia tortilis woodland not keen to do much else but try and get some warmth into those bones. The impala’s coats were all fluffed as they tried to keep away the cold.
I was careful to drive ultra slow keeping the wind-chill factor down.
For the last few days now I’ve noticed these Hooded Vultures on Banyini. For some reason they’re roosting here and then at dawn will go and lie in the short grass around the pan sunning themselves. Why here?
Mandlovu was with her herd near Bandama pan. Aunt still had a small entourage of bulls. Spud and Brutus weren’t there. Although Aunt spent the whole day with the bulls, occasionally joining Mandlovu to suckle her calf, she wasn’t mating today. I think her cycle is now over and the last few bulls are dreaming that she might just by some miracle come into oestrus in a hurry again.
Snorkel seems to have found himself a boyfriend and on several occasions mounted him. Is he really gay?
It was cool all morning and so much so that Chipfongwe and the other calf passed out sleeping in the direct sunlight.
Mandlovu and her herd kept mingling and leaving other herds all in the area around Bandama. This meant too there was constant traffic to the pan to wallow.
About 3m from the muddy edge of the pan a Blacksmith Plover had her nest in a scraping on the ground. There was nothing to protect it, but she did have it next to a few sizeable stones, which was a good strategy for elephants. The elephant herds were all around and over her, but she put up an impressive display to keep them away almost being trodden on herself. How the elephants didn’t stand on her nest is a miracle but is partly due to her aggressive displays as well as the positioning of the nest. Elephants obviously don’t like standing on small rocks, although this would be of little protection against a herd of buffalo.
By the time the elephant had moved off, the nest was still in good shape with its one egg, but how much longer can she keep it that way?
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