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I don’t know what got into the dogs today but they sure planned on doing some mileage.
At dawn they struck out heading west at a steady pace and by the time they’d reached the Runde River they still hadn’t found any prey, but did cross through the fence several times. Thankfully the river here is too wide and so I doubt they’d try and cross.
For a while there were some dogs on one side of the fence desperate to get back the others. If only they’d learn what trouble fences cause them.
Puzzles and Jiggy ignored the pup’s going on along the fence and lay down to watch a herd of wildebeest.
When the pups arrived, suddenly there was much interest from the wildebeest as they advanced on the pups. Then Zip led the charge straight at the herd. This got them to scatter, which meant play time for the pups as they chased and got chased. For at least half an hour they went on with their antics until the wildebeest slowly sauntered off.
The day was but a puppy for the dogs and they continued on north across the Mahande River.
Eventually in the open areas near Machurini impala were chased but it was futile and now eventually as it was hot, the dogs chilled out in the shade all rather exhausted. I stayed with them a couple of hours, leaving them in the heat of the day.
But I was back early again only to find they’d moved a long way further north and looking like they’d fed. I can only presume the impala had come through their resting area and they’d given chase.
Still with piles of energy the pack were off north again at 5h30. This time they kept to the road most of the way with Puzzles leading, way ahead of the pack.
It was when they left the road after about 3kms that I managed to ramp myself and land squarely on top of a tree stump. The dogs didn’t wait for me as I jacked myself off, but by now it was sunset and pretty futile me carrying on after them.
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This morning the rain was more intense that yesterday and kept me at bay till midday.
I’m not sure how much rain we had but around the house it looked pretty serious. So when I ventured south to look for the dogs I was really concerned about getting stuck in those clays.
Thankfully not much rain had fallen in the south and although conditions were soft, it wasn’t a problem.
I found the dogs to the south east of Chiloveka dam, all still looking rather lean, presumably not having killed this morning.
In the cool weather they were soon on the move and didn’t have to go far before encountering impala. The herd bomb-shelled as the dogs bomb-shelled after them. It wasn’t long and I’d lost sight of them all.
Jiggy being the good hunter that he is, was a prime candidate to follow, but more especially as he’s the only dude with a collar.
He ran a long way west and when I found him, he was already heading back east. No kill! He was soon joined by Puzzles and 4 pups, all being unsuccessful.
10mins later the calls came from the 5 other pups. Without hesitation the pack took off to join them amongst many squeals of excitement. These other pups had killed on their own. After their little greeting ceremony and the hungry pups trying to get their siblings to regurgitate for them, they were all then led back to the kill, a young female impala. It had already been reduced to skin and bone by the 5 pups, but the hungry pack then settled in to slowly devour the rest of the carcass. Well as much as they could, but they just don’t have the jaw strength that hyaenas have to devour the whole carcass. The bigger leg bones and skull they just can’t crunch through.
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Dawn was greeted with a gentle drizzle and enough to scare me not to venture out for a couple of hours.
But I did eventually pick up the dogs quite a ways south of where I’d left them yesterday. They were all tucked up in the shade of some mopanie thickets with visibility of them down to zero. No point in me hanging around, but I suddenly found I didn’t have much option. I’d gotten myself stuck! Thankfully just a little digging and I was out.
The grass cover these days is incredibly dense, making spotting animals a big deal and when you do, all you tend to see is ears. Banyini with all its herds of animals a month ago is now totally empty. Where do they go?
Back with the dogs in the afternoon I found them surrounded by elephants. AND Mandlovu, Chip and family were all there. The elephant seemed agitated with the scent of the dogs in the thicket but let them be and the dogs just weren’t phased with the huge beasts all around them.
The elephant soon moved off and the dogs moved out into the grasslands where in the cool afternoon they rested. Except for this one pup that was intent on eating flowers. Maybe this was her way onto steroids or was it cocaine?
It was fun hunting with the dogs this afternoon. The area was fairly open the ground firm and the grass fairly short. And when some Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest came into view the pups were after them. They’re one of the fastest antelope but didn’t take off at full speed with the pups hot on their tails. But the hartebeest were just playing the game and the pups soon came running back looking for mom and dad.
The pack continued south, but now they were in the bad lands. The black cotton soils and grass nearly 6ft high. The dogs couldn’t see a thing except for the grass wall in front of them. But they kept their direction heading south. All I could follow was the moving grass and at times nearly drove over them.
And to make it worse for me, elephant bulls had been through the area when it was wet leaving these deep caverns of their footprints to really hamper my progress. And as much as I cursed them it didn’t make it any better.
The dogs were still heading south undercover at sunset. No point in me hanging in there with them.
Nearly home I bumped into Sjambok. He was HUGE! I don’t know what he’s been eating. Of course I had to follow the dude and he soon met up with his brother Chahwihwi. They rolled all over each other and in the darkness I left them passed out together.
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It was tough going trying to pick up the wild dogs this morning. I had the signal good and strong but the area they were in is devoid of any roads over a large area and to get to them I had to bash through thick mopanie scrub.
When I did eventually make it and was just about on them, this female impala came tearing past me. She was tired! She almost ran into my vehicle and in her face I could see the fear. She was exhausted and must have known her time was about to come and now only some miracle could save her.
A couple of seconds later Jiggy came racing past. He wasn’t tired and was now moving it up at full speed.
When I did eventually catch up to Jiggy I found him on an impala kill and one of the pups was with him. How they got to meet up in this bush is always a mystery. And I actually suspect the pup might have brought this impala down.
They fed well and on leaving the pup started his calling. Although the call sounds so mournful, this time it was for a ‘happy’ reason.
Eventually about half an hour later the pack arrived to feed and soon they’d all had enough. Puzzles and Jiggy were allowed to feed a while and then the pups pushed them off. But more and more they’re being allowed to take part in the pup’s feeding ceremony.
With the dogs all stoked and resting as it got hot, I found some unlikely customers to be on the move in this heat. Manyari, Sjambok and Chahwihwi were near Nyari pan. But Manyari seemed restless and kept moving from shade to shade. The boys of course kept following but eventually around midday they gave up and stayed put.
I had the same idea and let them be.
On the way back home I dropped in at Pamushana Lodge to see this little Klipspringer lamb hidden away waiting for mom to come and suckle it. It’s only a few days old and ever so cute.
The dogs, with their full tummies, had little plans for the evening and lazied around a pan into the sunset. The pups played a little but were soon too lethargic to do any more and it was my time to head home.
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I felt great satisfaction being out in the bush this morning, I could think of no better place to be than exploring every ravine and crevice on Malilangwe Reserve. With Kim on his way to South Africa to get parts for his vehicle, I found myself running on all cylinders when I woke up. I wanted to find those Wild Dogs and I didn’t want to waste any time.
The dogs were hot on the trot this morning and I followed them through river and forest for many hours. I think they were moving through the Mopane trees hunting Impala and which ever side I entered from, I found herds of Impala that had been split up hanging on the outskirts of the forest. I crossed a river I really wasn’t sure I’d make it out the other side of without getting stuck, but it was the fourth time I had the dogs right in front of me with a river between us.
This proved to be the right move and I caught up with the dogs lying in a bed of long grass next to a small waterhole. They were totally finished from their morning hunt, but any time spent with the dogs is good time. Anyway, one never has to wait too long for these dogs to find little things of interest to satisfy their curiosity, and for them to have a good shuffle in the long grass.
It was a lot colder this morning than it has been; I even needed a jacket to shield myself from the chill off the icy wind. It warmed up nicely though as the morning slipped away and I felt grateful for the awesome privilege of experiencing “chill time” with the dogs.
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