It took 8 hours, but I eventually got lucky!
My day started pretty normally searching for ‘about to pop’ impala does. Instead all I found was herds with lots of little ones. All the ones I had obviously missed.
Passing by the Lilac-breasted Roller nest I waited hoping to snap off a few more photos of the parents arriving at the nest with food. Well that was totally unsuccessful. The adults were around but in the half hour I was there didn’t come to feed the chicks at all. I think they’re probably all over-dosed on the flying ants that were out in force last night.
Moving on north of Banyini I bumped into 2 female impala on the one side of the road and a herd on the other but further away. The 2 females were just standing around and not feeding. Something told me to hang around.
I waited with them for about 20minutes when the one female moved off into the bush. I followed at a distance. Some time later she stopped all alone in the thick mopanie scrub. She seemed nervous looking around intently and stayed stationary in this one spot for about half an hour. It was these initial signs that made me persist and stay with her.
A young male then came to hassle her and she moved on west. They both joined up with another herd of impala. But soon my female managed to give the male the slip and was back into the thick bush on her own, now heading back east.
She then met up with a herd of young males and soon managed to move on only to join up with another herd of females. I was now lost trying to find her in the herd. But it wasn’t long and a female left the herd on her own heading east.
We moved into mopanie scrub/woodland and then into some Albizia country. While in here I disturbed another female in the throws of giving birth. The lamb’s head was already out. Jackpot! I abandoned my girl and followed the birth in progress, but the female was nervous and kept moving off and then ran off. I lost her, but now would I find my female and was it worth following her as she was still not showing any signs of going into labour, other than moving off on her own into thick bush.
Luckily I found her to the east, so continued to trailed her. For hours she kept moving slowly and then would stop and rest in the shade. On several occasions I lost her in the thickets but was luckily able to find her again. If I so much as lost my concentration for 10seconds she would disappear.
So it went on until about midday. Then I noticed her tail standing away from her body and she was stretching repeatedly. At last I was sure she was going in to labour.
She lay down several times and was happy with my presence. Eventually after about 2 ½ hours from the first contractions she lay down and went into true labour.
From the time that the first little sack of fluid appeared to the time the lamb was born was only some 10minutes.
When her waters broke she stood and drank what she could from the puddle in the sand. Then lay down again and pushed. It took only 3 pushes and the little fellow was born.
It was now that the 8 patient hours of following her paid off. She had got to trusting me that when I approached closer she carried on as if I wasn’t there, cleaning the lamb thoroughly. It was about 20minutes when the little fellow took his first steps, or rather very wobbly steps.
They moved on about 20m and then for the next hour she cleaned him while he wobbled around to and fro in the same area. What a bargain for me in this thick bush that they stayed in the same place.
And not even 30minutes after being born the little fellow was suckling. Amazing!
An hour and a half after being born the 2 moved off into thicker bush and I moved on as heavy clouds darkened the sky. I rushed down to the dam to film the dark skies against the sandstone ridges. It all looked rather threatening.
Before sunset the rains came and have just kept coming.
That poor little fellow has hardly made it into the world and will be spending his first night in the rain on his own when mom leaves him hidden somewhere in grass thicket.
Recent Comments