Tag Archive for 'lions'

Burning Rhino Backdrop: Video

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Wildcaster
on September 21, 2009
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Yellow to red, filled with blue and white a fire flickers through the colour spectrum. It’s that time of the year that ecologists recommend burning certain areas of the bush veld. This would normally be a natural phenomenon, but has to be calculated and self-acted in our controlled environments.
Burning Sky

It’s amazing how the animals are not really perturbed by the blaze and carry on as normal, just keeping out of its way. The fire swept past the hyena den but was stopped short by the trampled, there was no sign of any panic at the den, they just go underground and let the smoke pass over. I surprised the cubs at the Manuchi crossing yesterday and they were quite glad to see me tagging along.

Hyena ashes

The mothers were doing their usual “Jack-in the Box” type neck stretches eyeballing me out, but just making sure the cubs were alright. The cubs then scurried back to the den, which gave me an opportunity to follow the females on a little hunting excursion in the cool drizzle. Temperatures soared at around 40 degrees during the week and then dropped to 20 degrees on the week-end. The drizzle brings a little relief from the harsh rays of the sun, allowing the hyenas to move around during the day. They eventually came nose to nose with a herd of zebra, but nothing came of it. This is the first time I’ve been able to follow them with my vehicle and they were quite relaxed about it. So a small staring session and everyone went their own way. The hyenas headed in-between the hills and I was left stumped.

Fattened Sjambok

I met up with Sjambok earlier in the week, he was looking like a true king. He had eaten far too much, was over weight and lazy. He’s in charge, so I guess he can do what he likes.
One interesting thing I spotted was a White-tailed Mongoose.

White-tailed Mongoose, Malilangwe

This light footed creature is a little larger than a Spotted Genet and shows a lot of intelligence by hanging low and sitting on its white tail while I was scanning for it using the spotlight. Kim and I swapped blogging days while I head off to my sisters wedding for the week, so until next week – over and out.

Burning Tree, Malilangwe

Chasing Vultures: Video

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on September 18, 2009
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The dry sand atomized by a gust of wind that terminates in a dusty whirlwind. The hyena clan then appearing through the hazy glare from the sun setting through the mopane. The cubs awaken from their slumber after the boiling hot day and the sports begin.

Forest Sunset

The cubs have been extremely playful of late and just amazing to watch.The adults often join in the fun surrendering to their social nature. Its been another week at the hyena den and also up on the hill with Kim catching a few extra shots of him with the wild dog pups. Two nights ago we spent the night out close to Lojaan Dam, where a giraffe had died. It didn’t seem like anything killed it, probably just a natural death, but this is any predators dream find. I took along the “Bose” boombox and sounded the hyena calls at full volume.

Giraffe find confusion

I was amazed at the immediate response from across the valley. Leaving it at that and catching a little shut eye, it wan’t twenty minutes later that the first male hyena arrived on the scene ready to devour. He ran around scouting the area confused by the lack of other hyena presence. A nibble and a lick and he guarded the carcass until the others arrived. Nothing much happened until early morning besides one adult chewing on my car during the night. I was hoping a lion would appear or something interesting would happen, but nothing of the sort.

My, what big teeth you have

Sunrise came and the hyenas had barely made a dent in the carcass. A giraffe has such a thick hide, even hyenas battle to penetrate to the meat. Guided by a fresh morning breeze the vultures arrived in their hordes trying to stake their share of the carrion.

Bark of the Hyena

The fun then started all over again, the adults are such a laugh chasing the vultures, chasing each other up and down, basically, it was one big party for the hyenas – and they were enjoying every minute of it.

Vulture Charge

Rhino Pick Up Lines: Video

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Wildcaster
on September 10, 2009
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She put her head down and built up the courage to move over to the crouched figure on the ground. The sun had already set and the sky was a fiery red – the colour of blood. There’s something that switches over in the mind of a hyena when night falls and this hyena mum wanted desperately to give me the once over, or just a friendly sniff.

Mid morning thirst

Whichever one it was, I wasn’t about to find out and blocked her determined approaches as the cubs came to lie on the ground completely chilled out. They are so relaxed that I think mum wants a little attention or lies down next to me to keep an eye on me. The saga at the den continues as I widen my terrain, finding males at Manuchi pan drinking at night and then I’m hoping to get them feeding on an old dagga boy that has died down at Malilangwe Dam.

Shade Seeker

This old buffalo survived a lion attack by the skin of its teeth as it tore down the park managers fence and in coming to see what all the commotion was about, scared off the lions. This whole event must have put too much stress on the poor animal and drove the last nail in his coffin as he lay at the dam to die.

Brand New

I’ve also been going far and wide during the week to pick up a few extra shots. Nduna dam is still pumping with wild life. I spotted a leopard on the banks of the Chiredzi River and it looks like Sjambok is still with the Lioness from the Nduna pride. Cheetah have been spotted all over the Banyini area and one still with five cubs. Things are happening and the temperatures are rising well into the upper thirties. This is bringing in Elephant and Rhino to drink at mid-morning to suppress the heat – Come on summer, come on!

Balancing

Buffalo Attraction: Video

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on August 27, 2009
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I’ve been out and about this last week moving around the property, it’s been another pick-up shoot scramble trying to finish the last of what is needed for the movies in post production. I managed to find Chawhiwhi moping around on Banyini all on his own, he was there for three days while the rest of the pride have been moving around Malilangwe Dam. I’m hoping not to run into one of them as that is the route of my little midday run and I’ve seen a few tracks of late. This is an odd pride as they always seem to be going their own way.

Lion intensity

Anyway, with most of my elephant shoot out of the way I’ve been trying to spend as much time with the hyena cubs as possible. I have a strong bond with two of the cubs in particular; they really get excited when they see my vehicle pulling up to the den.

Growing Cubs

The one little guy guns it straight for the spot on the floor next to the door. If I stick my feet out the door, he will have his little nibble at my toes then continue rolling around in the dry leaves on the ground – these guys are such value!

Affectionate Eyeball

I’ve seen one of the male adults on his patrol and he has a snare around his neck, this just seems to be a continual battle, humans dream up such cruel ways of trapping animals. I’m hoping to get that snare off, but it is not easy to stay on his tail, I’ve tried twice already and failed. Another highlight in the week was my visit to the roan antelope paddock; these creatures are as majestic as the sable.

Hairy Eyeball

They receive a feed to help them perform at their peak, so I was asked to help out for a day when everyone was busy – it turned out to be a real treat. They are very rare antelopes that don’t seem to do well in the wild anymore. I was also treated to a large herd of buffalo pulling in at Nyari Pan the other day; it can be quite a spectacular sight as hundreds of buffalo wade into the water. So another week is on its back and I can’t wait to see what the next week has to offer!

Buffalo treat

Growing Lion Cubs: Video

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Wildcaster
on August 20, 2009
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We have been filling our time this side with various shoots to complete the pick-up lists on Kim’s movies. Time flies when you’re having fun, but the days are jam packed and we only barely find time to get back to our animals. I have been spending most of my time trying to get the hyenas to warm to me again. It has been exciting to see them growing up and now exploring away from the den. Two days ago I spotted something else exciting, there are now two new additions to the clan!

Strike a Pose

Hopefully this means that I will have access to their sports for an extra few months. There is no tracking device on any of these guys so when they disappear I’ll have trouble finding them again. The lions were around Banyini Pan this morning followed by a large herd of buffalo – this all seemed to be the wrong way around. And to top it all, this amounted to no action and me not even being able to find the lions.

Painful?

I managed to catch up with Magwaza and her three cubs the other day. There is that phrase that all parents eventually end up uttering, “Oh, they grow up so quickly.” I think that applies for both the lion cubs and the hyena cubs, also, if animals could talk they would also be saying it.

Play Time

This was the first real bonding session with the lion cubs and it was good to see them all inquisitive and playing around. Magwaza had killed a buffalo and the cubs were beside themselves at first, even burrowing their bodies right inside the carcass. Two young hyenas were on their way to pick up the remains the following morning and even a leopard had a go at any easy meal. That was until the lions returned and chased the rather chilled cat off their kill.

Water Break

Peering into trouble: Video

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Wildcaster
on August 17, 2009
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It’s been an interesting week for the dogs and thankfully they’re all still going strong.
Zip and Kodak both have foot injuries but both recovering just fine.

Back
The day after the lions killed the dogs, the rest of the pack were too nervous to go to the den. So for over 24hrs they didn’t feed the pups. It was only the next morning after a successful hunt that they slowly approached the den and called the pups out.

Milking machine
As was to be expected Puzzles wanted to move the pups to a new den. They often do this when hassled by lions. Several times she called the pups and they would follow her until the yearlings stepped in to feed them. They stopped the whole move. Eventually Puzzles gave up.

Canine wrestling
The next day Puzzles was on her own at the den and had already moved some of the pups to a new den close by when I got there at dawn. She then tried to move the rest but they wouldn’t jump down a ledge. She picked up the one and carried it off leaving the others milling around me. Eventually they moved back to the den. Puzzles then gave up calling them and carried them one at a time to the den. Now back at the 2nd den.

Chilly dawn
Puzzles is now out hunting with her yearlings, and nobody is left behind to look after the pups. But the den they’re in is really secure from lions and other predators, so long as the pups don’t go a wandering.
Lions were again at the den the one night and again the pack were nervous all day only getting to feed the pups late in the evening.
Puzzles now seems to have resigned herself to the fact that the pups are in a safe den, so why move them?

Little kisses
Hyaenas also came to within about 50m of the den. The dogs watched, ready to send them packing, but no need. They hyaenas seemed to know they better move off. They had come to check out the dead dogs of which there was hardly anything remaining.
We were also successful in implanting Chevvy with a transmitter. This goes in the stomach cavity and the animal doesn’t even know it’s there. So at least now I can again keep track of the dogs movements.

Red ears
The dogs are all doing well and the yearlings hunting very successfully. There’s been no change in the status of the pack without Jiggy being there, but no doubt things will change when Puzzles comes into oestrus next year.