I was rubbing sticks madly again last night to get the internet fired up. Eventually it was sorted and my frustrations wilted away.
But then following after Mandlovu and her family they panicked as soon as I left the road and was crashing over bushes to keep up with them. This modus operandi of mine is nothing new and something they should be used to. They kept on moving away from me at pace. I stayed with them trying not to push over any bushes but some areas don’t leave me with any option.
When I caught up with them Mandlovu spun on me and charged. This wasn’t too unusual. I stopped to make her feel she was in charge. Cut the motor and spoke to her. She stood towering above the vehicle glaring at me. Then sauntered off and joined her herd. All then peacefully carried on feeding. I kept following and not even 2 minutes later Mandlovu sauntered about 5m past my car totally unconcerned.
These animals are so intelligent I wonder why it is that they are sometimes spooked like this?
I know pushing over bushes is a sign of aggression for them. Learnt this when seeing other elephants doing this to show their aggression.
But I’ve followed them for months now doing this everyday. Surely they should realise I mean no harm.
And then Mandlovu’s charge – well I think she does that to save face. When she realises it’s just me they’ve been running from, she charges and I stop and it’s as if she says “Okay guys I’ve sorted him you can relax now.”
The herds moved on to Chekwa pan and Chipfongwe took advantage of the time to swim and play while others drank. He’s still getting all the moisture he needs from mothers milk so spends all his time swimming.
As they moved off into the thick mopanie to the west, I picked up the Nduna pride to the east all resting. It doesn’t look like they fed last night. Well actually I don’t think they have eaten since the giraffe kill. But who knows they might have caught an impala or two, which doesn’t go very far in a pride that size.
People tend to under estimate how many impala lions eat. When working with lions at night we get to see quite a bit of this. But as you can imagine, by morning there is no sign of the kill. They eat all leaving nothing but a stain in the grass.
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