Daily Archive for July 3rd, 2009

Wild Rib Brunch: Video


Yesterday afternoon Kylie and I took a drive in the Bandama direction, we saw the remaining lichtenstein’s hartebeest close to that area after one of their herd got chomped by that lioness . They can be very brave and/or curious at times, in fact, this is precisely the reason that it is so easy for lions to take them out. I had a look to see what was left of the carcass, I couldn’t find anything except the tail! Anyway, the real reason for Bandama was a sun downer for the Pamushana Lodge ladies, Shelley and Kath – that’s right, it’s not always work, work, work here on the reserve.

Pin the tail

However, I was hoping to spot something on the night drive back home, I’d say we did more than spot, I almost drove straight into a hippo! The huge beast of a thing was chilling in the road as I took a corner, it got a huge fright and didn’t know if it wanted to charge or run away. It moved over peacefully after spinning on the spot and offering a challenge.

Food Fight!

This morning was another wild dog morning. I didn’t get any signal, good thing Kim was on the hill at the den already and was reveiving a faint signal to the North. Only when I reached the northern boundary, did I get the faintest signal, I did a loop around and then the signal was coming and going. I pictured the dogs having a tough time in that area where there are no roads. There are power lines that run down through the property and when you move along this section it really interferes with the tracking equipment.

Tug of War

This is where the dogs were moving and after backtracking many times over I eventually found the dogs munching on an impala. They were pulling on the ribcage already, but the only marinade was the saliva dripping from their jaws as they used each others weight to tear a section for themselves. Later, they trotted back to the den, where I visited for the first time. The dogs were absolutely exhausted and slept up on the hill out of sight.

On the run

Wild Hyena Den: Video


I was out to catch the wild dogs on the hunt while Kim stayed at the den yesterday morning, they ended up just chilling at the den so I did a loop around the Manuchi area and past Sosigi. The weather forecast showed rain, but they always say that and it never reaches us, it is still cloudy though, which seems to keep the heat in at least. In the afternoon the dogs were out and about as I followed them past Manuchi Pan moving in a North Easterly direction. The funny thing was that if they continued in the direction they were moving, they’d cross straight over the hyena den! I made a break for the den just in case; the first dog had already reached the den by the time I arrived.

Single file

There was not a hyena in sight, they pulled their typical scatter and run maneuver with the cubs hiding in the den. It’s kind of what would happen if somebody through a hand grenade…except there were no grenades…and no people with any power struggles…so maybe not. The dogs sniffed around the den for two minutes and continued on their way. I continued tailing them, but eventually lost them just before it was getting dark. I back tracked past the hyena den to see if everything was back to normal and was greeted by the usual inquisitive cubs playing and suckling their mother. It was quite odd to see the hyena cub setting filled with wild dogs instead.

On your marks

Tanga was also near base camp last night and drinking down at Malilangwe Dam. I tried to catch up with Alan and the leopard this morning but he was in the hills. The Dogs were already long gone so I continued a drive around the hills until I reached Lojaan Dam, where there was a large herd of buffalo in the water – they scattered on arrival, but relaxed after I sat snapping pictures.

Multi-level Buff

I’ve been meaning to catch up with no ears for a while so it was down to Nduna Dam from there. No ears was near the dam, but he looked down and out, there was no snorting, no charging, hardly any movement from the poor guy. He had taken another beating from another rhino and was looking in bad shape. Bruce, the vet, will be looking into the extent of his injuries, lets hope we can give him a top up so he can recover.

Injured Earless