Tag Archive for 'giraffe'

Elephant Bulls Approach: Video

Published

on June 30, 2009

. 12 Comments Tags:adventure, africa, animal-kingdom, blogumentary, bush, bush-knowledge, conservation, documentary, ecotraining, education, elephants, endangered-species, experience, film, flickr, giraffe, GLTP, gonarezhou, Great-Limpopo-Transfrontier-Park, IUCN-Red-List, leopard, malilangwe, mashable, narrowcasting, Open-Content-Alliance, pamushana, peace-parks, photos, podcasting, polls, predators, teach, video, waterhole, wild, wild dogs, wildcasting, wilderness, wildlife, wildlife-documentary, zimbabwe

After the magic time we had at Machurini yesterday for Penny’s birthday, I took a nice drive on my own along the river. With Kim doing Wildcast I was under no pressure to finish anything, so I checked out all kinds of little things along the way…and some larger things, like a massive fallen down tree, which I think was a Schotia Brachypetala. This small stump prevented me from getting closer to the river and on the high river bank heading North I was hindered once again – this time by a herd of Elephant bulls. A little uncomfortable parked close to the river bank I move to a better position, which was actually closer to the tuskers.

I didn’t even break out the video camera, I just enjoyed the whole moment, but taking the odd photo. The older bull then built up the courage to edge his way in to see what the chunk of metal was all about. He put his trunk up against my bullbar and gave the vehicle a little push, then pushed a little harder…then decided he liked the feel of steel against trunk and used the bullbar to scratch his trunk. Another magic moment in the African bush!

I didn’t want to take any photos with him so close, in case the noise of the shutter unsettled the rather large fellow, it does leave one’s heart racing looking straight into their eyes knowing he could crush you any time he wanted. I noticed on the elephant from Nyari the other day that the one bull had lost the end of its trunk, probably to a snare or something, he was also inquisitive and came just short of touching the vehicle, at least he’s not an angry chap like George.

I spent a little time with Tanga again just before dark, Allan was parked next to Sosigi Dam and I came in from the opposite side hardly believing my luck. Tanga was in a little ditch on a mound next to the water, nobody would ever know he was there if they were just driving past, this is the beauty of technology. Alan reverse from the top of the mound to allow me to get in there to get some pictures. It had been a cloudy day with insufficient light, but I edged my way in and sat quietly to allow Tanga to relax. I slowly got the video camera out, then my stills camera, got into position and focused the lights in his direction. I’m not sure what it is with this guy, but he has some phobia against camera lenses. He began sneaking off just when I thought he’d stick around for a change. He’s a clever cat. The most important news for today…Kim found Puzzles at the den and she has downloaded! That is all we know for the mean time, but we will keep you posted.

Elephant Descent: Video

Published

Wildcaster

on June 28, 2009

in videopost

. 3 Comments Tags:adventure, africa, animal-kingdom, birding-african-birds, blogumentary, bush, bush-knowledge, conservation, documentary, ecotraining, education, elephants, endangered-species, experience, film, flickr, giraffe, GLTP, gonarezhou, Great-Limpopo-Transfrontier-Park, hyaena, Hyena cubs, IUCN-Red-List, lions, malilangwe, mashable, narrowcasting, Open-Content-Alliance, pamushana, Parrot, peace-parks, photos, podcasting, polls, predators, teach, video, waterhole, wild, wild dogs, wildcasting, wilderness, wildlife, wildlife-documentary, zimbabwe

There are still times when you get more done in a day than you expect to, but those days are getting fewer and fewer as life goes on. Having said that, I did manage one of these extraordinary feats during the week and captured and edited some elephant and a few extras.

Today’s video was when a small breeding herd of elephant descended down the hills around Malilangwe Dam to drink. I was lucky enough to spot them on their way and headed straight for a large flat rock that I know is a good spot to sit and wait for animals to come down, while staying well hidden and inaccessible. It was a magic time watching them drinking and spraying mud.

Today I did another riverside drive ending at Chikwete Cliffs where I had that herd of buffalo earlier in the week. It was rather unsuccessful, but besides the freezing cold morning, was pleasant to get out. I ended up shooting some arbitrary stills to keep busy. The lions that were seen at Banyini yesterday were not the same pride as the one with the snared cub, I was thinking about that poor little guy and I heard they were spotted in the area and the little guy is still alive, now we just need the right time and place to get that snare off.

I headed straight for the hyena cubs this afternoon and again went wild with the stills, getting a little of the cubs playing and the mother hyena looking very suspicious of us. I needed to get home early, because we have a dinner date at the stables for a change – yes, we can still have a good time out in the bush.

Fowl Play: Video

Published

Wildcaster

on June 27, 2009

in videopost

. 6 Comments Tags:adventure, africa, african-birds, animal-kingdom, birding, blogumentary, bush, bush-knowledge, documentary, ecotraining, education, elephants, endangered-species, experience, film, flickr, giraffe, GLTP, gonarezhou, Great-Limpopo-Transfrontier-Park, guineafowl, hunting, Impala, IUCN-Red-List, lions, malilangwe, mashable, narrowcasting, Open-Content-Alliance, pamushana, peace-parks, photos, podcasting, predators, teach, video, waterhole, wild, wild dogs, wildcasting, wilderness, wildlife, wildlife-documentary, zimbabwe

There was a little excitement on the property today with a fire getting out of hand at the dump site. I headed over to help, but was a little late as they had it under control by that time, I was a bit disappointed, it was the perfect opportunity to get my firefighters badge. Kim, on the other hand, did receive his; he came home smelling like burned toast and looking like Bob the…I mean…postman…no…now I can’t think of a fireman character – lets just say he epitomized the FDNY, except even more hardcore as he was barefoot.

Now I recall from yesterday talking bout my stubborn visits to Nyari knowing there was not much going on, well, victory was mine. I met up with five elephant bulls about an hour before sunset and spent a bit of time with them.

It was nice to have a few chilled characters for a change. They were very inquisitive coming right up to the vehicle smelling and exploring the unknown.

I was chuffed! I then dashed over to Banyini to get the sunset with a dragon like cloud spreading across the sky. Last night the lions were reported at Banyini, but the interesting thing was this time there were four lionesses, three cubs and the two males. Looks like they are importing females from down south…Sjambok, just can’t seem to get enough.

Still waters run deep: Video

Published

Wildcaster

on June 14, 2009

in videopost

. 1 Comment Tags:adventure, africa, animal-kingdom, blog, blogumentary, bush, bush-knowledge, bushveld, conservation, documentary, ecotraining, education, elephants, endangered-species, experience, film, filmmaker, flickr, giraffe, GLTP, gonarezhou, Great-Limpopo-Transfrontier-Park, hunting, IUCN-Red-List, malilangwe, mashable, narrowcasting, nature, Open-Content-Alliance, pamushana, peace-parks, photo, photos, podcasting, predators, teach, video, waterhole, wild, wild dogs, wildcasting, wilderness, wildlife, wildlife-documentary, youtube, zimbabwe

The dogs were off to an early start having travelled quite a distance by the time I caught up with them at dawn. They were keen running far and wide.
But their enthusiasm soon fizzled out and they took an early nap around 8am. I was sure they’d be on the move again, but no such joy. They spent the resting under mopanie bushes. Not much excitement there for me!

It was another misty dawn, but this time the cloud was localised and drifted through as puffs on the wind and it wasn’t long when it had all burnt off and I was treated to a wonderful sunny day.
My short visit to Bandama pan turned up a few giraffe and zebra coming in for their daily drink.

I ended up taking myself on a major tour of the property with little to show for it. A couple of elephant bulls on the Chiredzi River weren’t keen to show their faces out the thickets.

It was back to the dogs in the afternoon and still they were a lethargic bunch. Only about 10mins before sunset did they get active. They were now fully awake and keen to take on anything. And this they did, chasing a warthog boar, then some kudu and eventually some impala. But a little hunger continued to haunt them when I finally had to give up on them after dark.

Rhino Sunset Thirst: Video

Published

Wildcaster

on June 5, 2009

in videopost

. 2 Comments Tags:adventure, africa, animal-kingdom, blogumentary, bush, bush-knowledge, conservation, documentary, ecotraining, education, endangered-species, experience, film, flickr, giraffe, GLTP, gonarezhou, Great-Limpopo-Transfrontier-Park, hunting, hyena, IUCN-Red-List, Lioness, lions, malilangwe, mashable, narrowcasting, Open-Content-Alliance, pamushana, peace-parks, photos, podcasting, predators, rhinoceros, teach, video, waterhole, white-rhino, wild, wild dogs, wildcasting, wilderness, wildlife, wildlife-documentary, zimbabwe

Driving alongside the hills on the Hlamba Mlonga side of Malilangwe Dam, one can see plenty of signs proving that the area is buzzing with activity. Yesterday I had backtracked after I had driven the same road and found leopard tracks over my tracks. It’s just a pity you don’t always see the action when it happens. Not only were there leopard tracks, but female lion tracks with cubs.

Craig, the chef, spotted Magwaza with her three cubs the same day – now I was tired of missing them the whole time. I headed for another sweep of the area first thing this morning, ending up on Banyini…where I heard lions roaring! This was it, I had to find them, but it’s not always that easy. Alan has returned from his time off and he has the receiver with the correct frequency for Manyari, the magic of technology, this was what I needed to track her down.

I started with a very feint signal, but this was all I needed and not even fifteen minutes later I pulled up next to Manyari and Magwaza…there was no sign of the cubs. They are obviously still tucked away in the hills, but both lionesses are looking well. I think it was the males I heard earlier, because these lionesses were much further west than where I heard the roaring. It was good to spend some time with the elegant ladies, I even pulled out a cup of tea.

Hwata Pan is pumping with white rhino at the moment and I caught a mother and calf drinking as the sun was setting last night. What a magnificent way to bring the day to a close, with red hot colours filling the horizon and watching animals come in to drink after the beating sun fades into darkness. I’ll be off to check up on the hyena cubs this evening, which won’t be a bad way to begin the weekend.

Night Cubs: Video

Published

Wildcaster

on June 3, 2009

in videopost

. 1 Comment Tags:adventure, africa, animal-kingdom, blogumentary, bush, bush-knowledge, conservation, documentary, ecotraining, education, endangered-species, experience, film, flickr, giraffe, GLTP, gonarezhou, Great-Limpopo-Transfrontier-Park, hyaenas, Hyena cubs, hyena den, IUCN-Red-List, malilangwe, mashable, narrowcasting, Open-Content-Alliance, pamushana, peace-parks, photos, podcasting, polls, predators, teach, waterhole, wild, wild dogs, wildcasting, wilderness, wildlife, wildlife-documentary, zimbabwe

I settled down last night to the sound of the lions roaring down in the south somewhere. This brought back memories of all those nights out with Manyari and the pride, following them through Mopane woodlands through to open grasslands.

I actually miss going out at night, it is a different world out there as something switches over in the mind of wild animals and the hunting instinct kicks into full swing. Although, it seems as though some other lion instincts have recently kicked into play, a report came in today of two groups of lions mating down at Hwata Pan. This has to be our lions; it also makes me wonder if the cubs are still alive, I hope I have a chance to check them out tomorrow.

I began my day with a few repairs to old Dozer. It was sunset at Bandama Pan and the scouts and I were checking for signs of black rhino, as I turned the my Hi-Lux’s key over I heard a hollow click and then I new that the starter motor had turned its last engine over. If I didn’t have the scouts with me last night, I would have been stranded. Anyway, I took advantage of my wings being clipped and fixed all the other little odds and ends that accumulate over the weeks. I was all ready to rock and roll by the afternoon and headed for the hyena cubs. They teased me with a few jack in the box movements at entrance to the den, they tentatively made their appearance in the beginning, but when darkness covered over, the party streamers hit the ceiling.

Before I new it all the adults had gathered round the den, life after dark is a totally different scene. And the cubs then also came to life, back to their playful selves they ventured round past the vehicle into the bushes doing their regular exploration. I will be back to some more exploration of my own as I go out with the scouts first thing in the morning and Kim will update you on the dogs.

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Tag Archive for 'giraffe'

Elephant Bulls Approach: Video

Elephant Descent: Video

Fowl Play: Video

Still waters run deep: Video

Rhino Sunset Thirst: Video

Night Cubs: Video

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