I arrived back on Malilangwe with an icy cold tail wind blowing me all the way from Mutare. My vehicle was still on the hill lighting up the wild dog den, so first things first, I caught a ride with Kim to the den. I ended up doing the lights while Kim was filming; I was quite excited as this was my first visual of the pups.
Strange little guys - as good looking as little bulldogs I would say. I spent most of the morning on the hill catching up with Kim and exchanging stories. I was dying to check up on the hyena cubs so that was the obvious next stop. I saw two of the little guys as I arrived at the den; actually, they are not that little anymore.
They didn’t hang around and I thought they had forgotten the sound of my vehicle – I was a little disappointed. I drove around later in the afternoon until the sun was setting, then went back to the wild dog den to deliver some light. The dogs had left late to hunt and we stayed waiting long after dark. They hadn’t returned and I was again keen to get back to the hyenas.
As I had hoped, they were all back at the old den and lively as ever! Six cubs headed straight for my vehicle and proceeded to bite anything they could get their teeth into. The video I’ve posted is from before I left, this will help us see their progress; that is, as soon as I produce a clip of the footage I got this evening. It’s good to be back!
I love these little guys! They are definitely looking like hyena these days. Their curiostiy is charming! This is great fun… being able to watch hyena cubs and wild dog pups growing up.
For a second I thought you were going to get a wet nose print on your camera lens.
Love their faces and how curious they are! Lovely.
Oh my gosh! This was the best video! Those little guys are soo adorable. I can’t wait to see how big they’ve become in your next video.
I don’t know how you contain yourself. I would definitely want to try and pet/snuggle with those cubs. Of course, my actions would probably be misinterpreted by the adults, and I’d be chased off :-/
I can’t restrain myself when it comes to the hyenas. And especially when they’re cubs like this! Your job looks decidedly more interesting than mine. I would be more than happy to switch with you for a day….:)
I love the Painted Dogs. Hard to believe they look so much like hyenas when young to look so different when mature. Thank you.
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