The Art of Play: Video

It was a very chilly morning after yesterdays cold and no wonder……… Apparently snow has fallen in South Africa and we get the aftermath. Thankfully we don’t get snow here.
I was up flying at dawn as I haven’t flown for ages. Just magical up there on an especially cold calm morning. Actually it’s warmer up there than on the ground.

Flying over the areas that had recently been burnt the ‘carcasses’ of trees litter the veld in their ashen state. Like white skeletons the trees were perfect in their shape.

I checked on the wild dogs after flying and of course they were resting up. It looked like they hadn’t fed as they rested up against a baobab tree, one of the ones they used a few days ago.
I left them to see what was happening at Hwata pan and arrived just when this white rhino cow and calf came in to drink and wallow. And just as I was taking pictures my camera packed up on me. Totally out of action. I think the shutter mechanism has packed in. So I’m not a happy camper and will have to resort to using my very very old camera until I can get this one fixed. Of course Canon don’t operate in the shop just around the corner!

Back with the dogs in the afternoon and the pups were wildly at play. The cool afternoon has got them going. Then it was time to hunt and they were off after the adults.
The adults were now hunting up against the fenceline as it was getting dark. Suddenly they gave chase. The pups tried for the first couple of hundred meters but just couldn’t keep up.
It wasn’t long and Puzzles was back with the pups, unsuccessful. Where was dad? I followed up and found him running along the fence and then my biggest nightmare…….! He ducked through a hole in the fence. That is dangerous territory, especially as far as rabies goes. Domestic dogs out there haven’t been vaccinated for years and rabies is rife.
Thankfully the male was soon back on our side of the fence and I lost the pack moving away in the dark.
Tomorrow’s mission will be to have the fence fixed!