Tag Archive for 'Impala'

Girohide: Video

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Wildcaster
on October 23, 2009
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I continued with the white rhinos at chinzwine pan, I was attempting to get some sunset rhino pictures, but it was not that easy. I’m thinking that I will give them another shot this evening.

Pastel White Rhino

So it was from the rhinos in the South to the wild dogs in the West. Something similar to that song where they sing “from the east side to the west side”, well I think all rap songs have that line in them, but you get the picture.

Rock Fig

The dogs were back at Chidumu rocks, which is quite a picturesque setting with its rock figs and its huge bolders. They had a festive session, where the adults regurgitated and the pups all tried to climb into the same piece of meat. Kim has returned so I will let him continue on all wild dog happenings.

Mine mine mine

I headed for Manuchi hide after “Dozer” suffered from a high temperature when the waterpump seized – I am again limited as to where I can venture. Anyway, it turned out to be an incredible time in the pit. I waited a little while as the Giraffe began to filter in along with the Impala. It was a fairly hot day at around 36 degrees, so they get fairly desperate to drink.
But, it was not long before the hyenas move in to claim their spot.

Girohide

The giraffe were not that easily intimidated this time and they all seemed to move around the pan following a peace agreement. The hyenas were on to me in the hide fairly quickly, which in turn left the giraffe wondering what was burrowing in the ant mound. The sun went down and with the last remaining light the hyenas left along with me as I had to walk back to the car. The giraffe was left in peace to drink his fill.

The Challenge

Handling Fire: Video

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Wildcaster
on September 25, 2009
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The lions have been back.
I saw male lion tracks in the area of the wild dog den and on getting to the den, no sign of the dogs. This was in the afternoon as I’d spent the morning with Mark on the giraffe carcass with the hyaenas.
For the last couple of hours of light I searched the area, but picked up no sign of the dogs.

Flame Combretum
With an early start the next day I was back in the area searching, climbing all the highest koppies hoping to get a signal from Chevvy’s transmitter. In this mountainous country, using telemetry becomes rather hit and miss, but being up on the highest peaks usually produces success. By lunch time and with many conquered hills under my belt, I was still no closer to finding the dogs.

Sniffer
So I’d decided that I’d fly in the late afternoon. But just before heading to the airstrip, I climbed another mountain, this time close to home base, and sure enough I got a signal a long ways to the west.

12 week puppy
The whole pack, including the pups had moved to another den having travelled about 5kms from the previous den. This is a long way for these 12 week old puppies, but they all seemed just fine.

Race to greet

They only spent a couple of days at this den and moved to another further south. This was far more user friendly to me than the last one.

Misty dawn

But after being there only 2 days, disaster struck. Getting to the dogs at dawn, I only counted 10 puppies. One was missing and the pack had now moved away from the den. Searching the area there was no sign of foul play, until I got to the den and peering into the crevice I saw the curled up body of an African Rock Python. I could only see the one coil and then I saw the dead puppy. Shortly the python had disappeared. Not an easy feeling as I wondered which crevice it might appear from next. And then of course I went even more against the grain and wedged myself deep into the crevice to retrieve the puppy. Which I did and found its upper body covered in saliva. The python was already beginning to swallow the pup and my appearing on the scene must have disturbed it. I left the puppy there, but the python never returned.

Python attack

The pack subsequently moved their den back to the previous one. Hopefully no more pythons up there!

Relentless plea for food: Video

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on July 26, 2009
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The pups are growing fast and becoming more and more mobile and beginning to move with purpose. Not just floundering around.
And Puzzles has now almost totally relaxed her ‘hold’ on the pups. She’s now quite happy for the other pack members to be with them while she’s out the den getting some fresh air and no doubt a break from all those little ones.

Plenty puppies
I’m still battling to count how many pups, but it still seems like 12. They’re just all over the place like ants.
Today for the first time some of the pups were able to suckle standing while Puzzles was standing up. They’ll do this more and more as they get older.
But already since the beginning of the week the pups have started eating meat. True little carnivores.

Dassie

The sub-adults bored with hanging around the den, went exploring and found this porcupine holed up in a cave close by. With each approach the dogs made, the porcupine would rattle it’s quills sending the dogs scattering.

Safe
A typical day at the den:
Dawn – the pack awake and run around frantically greeting each other, followed by some time to hassle the pups. Puzzles is usually still in the den with the pups.
The pack then go hunting. Puzzles stays behind in the den, but later comes out to rest on the rocks. And when she’s really hungry, she paces around looking into the distance and listening.

Homing in
Several hours later the pack arrive back having hunted successfully. Puzzles runs around frantically begging from all pack members for food, which they regurgitate for her.
Having fed Puzzles, the sub-adults will go into the den to play with the pups and sometimes regurgitate food for them. They continue to hassle the pups until about 10 or 11am. In this time Puzzles would have suckled the pups once or twice.
Then it’s chill out time for all. The whole place is quiet for the next few hours.

Sentry
About 4pm the dogs wake and greet. Wake the pups and then settle down to rest for another hour before going hunting at dusk.
Back from the hunt after dark, they feed Puzzles, play with the pups briefly and then it’s rest time for the rest of the night.
Although yesterday afternoon they never came back, only returning a few hours after sunrise today. Someone reported seeing them having killed 3 impala against the fence. So when they returned they were all well rounded with lots of food for Puzzles.

Wild Rib Brunch: Video

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on July 3, 2009
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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

Fowl Play: Video

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Wildcaster
on June 27, 2009
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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.

Back Rub!

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.

Refelctions

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.

Wet trunks

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.

Dragon Sky

Contagious play: Video

Published
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Wildcaster
on June 13, 2009
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I had left the dogs late yesterday once it had become too dark to film. It must have been around then that they killed big because when I found them this morning at dawn the whole pack were well rounded.

Big kill

It was a strange dawn. A dense mist had moved in covering the whole reserve blotting out any chance the sun had of peeping through.
The wild dogs’ signal was in the hills, so I walked in there. It was a very different walk, even though it was the same path I’d followed a couple of days ago. The air was completely still. Nothing seemed to stir except the odd little Cisticola that I flushed on my way through the rocks. It was a magical calm. On the verge of being eerie, but not so at all. Just extremely peaceful. The peace of course now only being broken by my incessant whistles as I got closer to the dogs.

What's that all about?

They too were a part of this morning atmosphere hardly lifting an ear to my approach. They know the whistle and were totally happy to take in the peace. I joined them sitting on a rock several meters away and savoured this interesting dawn. It was very special.
As the clouds began to lift several hours later, the dogs stirred and the pups were soon into full on play mode.

More play
But that was the pack done for the day. They spent the day in the hills digesting off those large bellies.

Calmed down