King of the Castle: Video

All I seem to be seeing of the wild dogs is them playing.
They were on the move when I found them at dawn but really just milling around. The adults were with them but then the male disappeared. Puzzles was resting up a short ways off while the pups ran around playing.

Sometime later the male returned bloodstained and regurgitated meat for pups. And then again he just rested up, not taking the pups to the kill. This should be instinctive to him but he doesn’t get it. Maybe he’s too exhausted to go all the way back there?
And again it shows how capable these dogs are at killing on their own. Something I’m seeing so much more of in this thick bushveld.

What is Puzzles doing about feeding? She’s not getting any meat from the male and not even trying to follow up on his trail to see where he came from. Are they maybe also killing at night with the moon really bright now?
With the pups chasing each other around over the anthill for an hour they were soon passed out for the day.
Heading down the Chiredzi River I found male lion tracks heading south. This must have been the dude I heard calling yesterday. He was still calling this morning but I didn’t get to see him.

I found this massive nest in a very tall Rain Tree. And just peeping out the very top I could see the face of a Giant Eagle Owl. But the nest was huge, about 1.5m high and 1m wide. Must be the biggest nest I’ve ever seen. And perched at the top of the tree was a White-backed Vulture in its relatively tiny nest.

A herd of buffalo were feeding in the Acacia woodlands along the river and of course curious or nervous with my approach.

I searched for Manyari today but didn’t pick up a signal in the hills. She could be out hunting.
Zebra were taking advantage of the green flush in the middle of Banyini pan, but when I arrived they panicked about being caught in the mud and bolted out of there.

Now it was time to get back to the dogs. As I drove in to where they were resting the pups came running to the car. They seem to be doing this every afternoon. It just feels so good when they do this. Almost like coming home to the dogs.
Actually that’s next. Some day I hope to walk and even run with the pack. I know I won’t keep up on the hunt when they’re at full sprint, but when they’re jogging it’ll be brilliant to jog alongside them.
This afternoon the pups played and adults lay around.
As the full moon rose they all settled down.