When I first got to the dam a few days ago the hippo were already back from their night jaunts in bush and lying in the dam swallowing the early morning steam rising off the water.
But with the light from the front it all looked rather bland.
It was only when I gave up on the hippo and looked east to the rising sun that I was struck by the beauty of the rising steam and birds patrolling the waters.
But that all seems so far away from where I am right now in the big smoke of the city of Johannesburg. And what a shock it was arriving here yesterday evening to hit Jo’burg rush hour traffic. Ahhhhhh…………………!!!!!!!!!!!!
24th August 2000
The fires continue on Mala Mala. Although the area near where Tjololo has his kill was burnt a couple of days ago, the rest of it got burnt this afternoon. Probably started by a smouldering log and a breeze helping it on again. In wild unmanaged areas fires can carry on burning like this for weeks, dying down at night and starting up again in the day when the winds pick up.
Tjololo showed no concern towards the fire as it approached him. When some 50 meters away he ambled towards it, found a gap where it wasn’t burning and strolled through walking in the already burnt area. It’s comforting to know that he is fully aware of fire and seems to be totally in control.
Having moved away from the fire he rested up until midnight before returning to feed. He was lucky he meal hadn’t been cooked, the fire not getting into the thicket.
At dawn a different unknown female leopard arrived on the scene. Tjololo wasn’t impressed chasing her into a tree. The terrified cat yeowled from the top of the tree as Tjololo made his stand scraping at the base.
The stand off lasted nearly an hour until Tjololo moved on back to the kill and the female left the area. There was to be no sharing of his kill.
Shololwane was back in his mother’s territory this morning.
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