I was back at the hyena den early this morning before the sun was up; looks like they have taken the cubs to one of the other nearby dens, because the whole place was abandoned. This was not a good start to my day, because I was hoping to get some good cub footage. I doubled back to Sosigi dam to try and find some happenings on that side, but ended up looking for signal on Tanga. He must have moved a long way last night, because I didn’t even get the slightest bit of signal.
It is not a simple procedure to track a leopard with radio signal; it can get tough, especially when the terrain is thick bush with lots of ravines like ours. Down at Chikwete Cliffs on the Chiredzi River some of the guides witnessed a breeding herd of Elephant crossing over to the Hippo Valley side of the reserve, not long after that three Rhinos also took the plunge. I took a chance to see what my riverside drive by would bring me – one elephant flapping its ears behind a bush waiting for me to get out of there so it could drink.
Oh well, luck was not on my side today, nevertheless, I continued on a loop around Nyari and Banyini. There has been an old dagga boy hanging around Banyini for a few days now, he looks really old. Today he was back wallowing in the pan and not concerned about who came past for a good stare. Every now and then he would stand up and urinate for as long as two to three minutes! On the way back to base camp I spotted a few vultures circling an area. It is not that easy to find what they are after, but a took a drive through the riverbed to the other side bank where I thought they were settling down. I didn’t find anything but dry bones.
I continued on my way and photographed our new family of Crowned Hornbills looking for scraps around the house. This afternoon my wife and I had tea down at the river with some friends, it is good to go out without only looking for footage. Normally that is when you get the good stuff, but this was not the case this time. We ended up driving around into the night; it is a whole new world after dark…different sounds, different images, different animal behaviour. Unfortunately today was not to be my day and I had to be content with just enjoying the surroundings.
Separated from the herd like that, his days are surely numbered…
With him urinating so much I would suspect, with his age, that his body is gradually breaking down. Perhaps kidney failure or something.
I only hope you’re proven right re your Achilles Kim. I ruptured mine back in ‘95. It was not particularly painful, but just felt as though the foot was totally unhinged.Could not push off on it at all. Yours hurting is a warning that it could really come asunder, and believe me, if it does, its going to be in a cast for three months no matter what you wish. So says Dr. Roy. Very interesting re your Mom’s Alzheimers and hip recovery.