19th December 2000
The hyaena cubs were out milling around soon after sunset. We’re still a little battled as to what happened to the other 2 cubs. Been no sign of them for some time now. It’s possible they’ve been moved to another den, but this is unlikely as hyaenas tend to use the same den. It’s also odd that no other hyaenas are coming to the den except the mother of the 2 cubs. We probably need to spend more time there to see what it’s all about.
Once the cubs had suckled we left and found Tjololo near his kill panting away and hugely well fed. That was him out for the rest of the night and at dawn after finishing the carcass he headed east into Kruger.
It just doesn’t stop. From about 9pm until now it’s been raining. And it doesn’t look like letting up.
I was hoping to check up on the lions and buffalo bull at dawn but the rain just wasn’t letting up.
It was only in the early afternoon that Penny and I managed to venture out in a slight drizzle. We worked the area I’d left the lions in last night but there was no sign, as all tracks had been washed out by the rain.
I then got a radio call to meet someone on the airstrip just to the north of where I was searching. We were chatting when the same calls I heard yesterday came to us from the west.
The 2 lions had again downed the buffalo bull. He was lying on his chest while the lions tore away at his rump. With our approach the nervous male moved off. The other lion continued to feed.
It was now 22 hours after the lions had first caught the bull last night and he was still alive.
When the pain got too much the bull rallied and only just managed to get to his feet with the one male lion still hanging on his tail. Realising he wasn’t getting anywhere the lion suddenly released his hold and went for the bull’s Achilles tendon downing the bull.
For the next 20minutes so the lion had the bull on his side while he ripped away at its front leg. He then rolled the bull onto his side and was going for the stranglehold on the throat but the bull got the better of him and managed to get up and see the lion off.
The bull was in a bad way and soon lay down again. The lions too lay down about 40m away. Both parties were exhausted.
But the lions knew this guy wasn’t going to get away and were prepared to wait. 2 hours later they were still waiting and we left them be.
I wonder now if the bull will survive another 22 hours?
18th December 2000
Temperatures are soaring, 36 degrees C, and the rain still stays away. The bush is still very green and grass very long but at least it’s dry that we can get around wherever Tjololo goes, although in the next few days I think we can expect a major storm.
Still well fed Tjololo was lying up on Kapen Rocks. He did eventually move east. Picking up the scent of another leopard he was calling, meowing and chuffling moving back and forth on the scent trail. I expect it was the scent of the White Cloth female and her cubs.
Tjololo eventually gave up and headed on east. Lining up on 2 young male impala he wasn’t able to stalk the last few meters as he ran out of cover. With the impala standing there chewing the cud Tjololo lay down and waited. But after some 10 minutes he lost his nerve and dashed in. The impala were quick off the mark and got away until in the panic of the moment one of them crashed through a bush. Tjololo was quick to take advantage of its mistake and soon had killed it. He treed it down in a donga.
Already well fed he had a few mouthfuls and rested up in the donga for the rest of the night.
The rains just keep coming.
I had planned on getting out at dawn but the heavens opened around 4am and it rained for about an hour really soaking the place again.
It was pointless trying to drive around on the soggy soils so Penny and I took a walk around the Malilangwe dam. It just feels so free and magical walking in those shallow waters and Penny was all about collecting feathers.
Feeding in these same shallows were flocks of White-faced Ducks and plenty Egyptian Geese. The adults took off across the water doing their ‘broken wing’ display giving their many little ones time to get away from the ‘danger’.
I later went kayaking around the dam. I so love the solitude of being on the water, although it wasn’t so peaceful as I had to keep a watchful eye on the hippos. I haven’t paddled on the dam in summer, it’s usually been winter. So I was pleased to see how relaxed the hippo were with me paddling on by. I thought it must be that the dam is now a lot fuller and they have plenty of grazing and so were chilled out.
That was the case until I passed the last hippo. He launched himself out the water and came straight towards me ducking under the bow wave he’d caused. Although he was underwater I could see he was still beaming down on me as his body produced a bow wave on top of the water. Luckily I was able to paddle away and he soon lost interest.
It was only after the sun had been out several hours that I chanced it and took to the roads. Many were still flowing but had a firm base. That was so long as I stuck to the hills.
This puffadder was dead when I found it and had almost been washed over by the rains as a beautiful butterfly alighted briefly on its body.
With not having filmed anything all day I decided to roll the camera on another beautiful African sunset with frogs going wild in Banyini pan.
While filming I heard the distress calls of a buffalo bull in the distance. About a kilometre away I found this male lion had downed a huge buffalo bull. Actually I had just seen this bull when on my way to Banyini. As the bull struggled another male lion joined in and went straight for the stranglehold. He was soon muffling the bull’s distress calls.
As I approached closer the one lion ran off obviously nervous of the vehicle. He returned a few minutes later.
But when I moved a second time and the lion moved off the buffalo regained his feet shaking off the other lion. Already the first lion had chewed through the tendons on his front leg and the bull could only hobble but even so he managed to keep the lions at bay.
Then the stalemate. The lions watched as the bull stood there. An hour later there was no change.
All this time I had to film using my spotlight as Darryl wasn’t around with his lights. This was hardly adequate and the bush was thick. Added to this the lions were nervous and a storm was approaching, so I left the scene. No doubt the lions will down the bull in the night and I should find them at dawn if they are successful.
These are the same lions that gave Nduna a hiding a couple of months ago. They seem to be moving further east onto the reserve, which means they will soon come into contact with Nduna again. Will they take over the pride? Or will they form a new pride with Manyari and the youngsters she seems to have broken away with?
17th December 2000
We eventually picked up on Tjololo on his way north again in the Sand river doing his usual boundary patrol. He was a little lean and later in the night headed east hunting.
A young duiker was on offer on the menu and with one pounce Tjololo was onto it. He then proceeded to make sure he consumed the whole carcass at one sitting. His full belly this time didn’t lay him low and he continued on his boundary patrol north.
Soon after sunrise after having reached his northern extremities he moved on southeast. Suddenly he fell to the ground. 3 lionesses were ambushing him on three sides. Taking no chances and making a fast discussion he took the gap and sped out of there. The lions didn’t follow.
It’s back to a new look Malilangwe.
With all the rain over the last 10 days or so I arrived back to a much greener Malilangwe. The grasses are already a foot taller and the bush somewhat thicker. This is going to make conditions that much harder to work in, although that wasn’t really on my mind as I was just happy to be back.
Venturing out this afternoon I was hoping to pick up on the elephants in the hills but there was no sign of them there.
There were a whole bunch of lion tracks near Ganyani but they were several days old. (We did see Manyari and 6 youngsters on the Binya road when driving in last night. They were a lot further north than I’d seen them before.)
With storm clouds surrounding me I moved out into the open on Banyini. The landscape here was a brilliant green with pockets of game scattered all over.
Impala rams were displaying and rubbing their foreheads on bushes, and then roaring and chasing each other around. This is typical rutting behaviour but very much out of season. Whatever it was it kept them entertained.
The wildebeest with their calves were running like the clowns of the bushveld that they are.
Zebra, wildebeest and impala were mixing freely across the plains. And luckily for all there was no sign of any predators.
I ducked off home with dark skies booming down on me, but it didn’t happen as the rain past by to the north.
Recent Comments