This is the resurfacing of the Mark attack… it’s been ages I know. Enjoy the elephant down at Malilangwe Dam, we could see them from our porch, a breeding herd numbering thirty five.
They’ve been quite destructive, pushing over an old Baobab tree on top of the hill and then tearing their way through to get to the water.
And that little speck on the lower left is me.
When the moon hits the sky like a wafer thin slice of pizza pie then you know… it’s a new moon.
I’m all sing songy and full of energy, I’ve been doing the 3:30 am dance to get to the wild dogs before they start moving.
Funny thing is, I’ve enjoyed getting out there and doing something different.
A little variation in life can only be good. And it really was new moon… three days ago now.
Kim and I are putting a promo video together for the second wild dog film and I’ve been struggling to get on to the blog. I see the comments building up, thank you for all the responses.
Those dogs are a hoot, but they take us through the toughest terrain. This can only mean one thing for me – punctures!
I feel like I’m working in a tyre shop, anyway, it comes as part of the package I guess.
The dogs were thriving down in the South of the reserve, killing between three and six Impala a day.
They have even ventured out the fence to hunt a few extra impala on the hunting concession south west of Malilangwe -
little poachers they are.
Once the hunting was done for the morning and the dogs decide they’d tortured us enough through the mopane woodland, they then rested up at Chavagwisa Pan, this routine went on for a good week. This is the only water in this part of the reserve with the rains still holding out. The dogs take over the pan leaving the antelope snorting and grunting from the sidelines as they remain thirsty through the extra hot summer days. It’s a hard life near the bottom of the food chain.
Thankfully today the heat was squelched with a few light showers, but the dogs moved North and then across the Chiredzi River again, now the roads are too wet to get there. Let’s wait and see what happens, in the mean time I’ve been to checkup on the hyenas.
Christmas Day has come and gone, I spent the day with family in Mutare and enjoyed the sunset in the hills.
In case you’re wondering, there was no Chanel No. 5 to celebrate our anniversary, but a little form was shown with a sunset cruise on Malilangwe Dam where we spotted an Osprey having an argument with a Marabou Stork, the Marabou ended up with the fish, but the Osprey looked pretty determined to teach the Marabou some table manners.
Banyini Pan has been drying up with the intense heat, but half a kilometer to the south is natural pan teaming with life. This is where I found a secretary bird for the first time in our stay at Malilangwe – graceful birds, always a great sighting.
I also managed to catch up with the lions on Banyini one evening. Magwaza’s three cubs are out and about, they are joining the hunt now and outdoing the adults at times – when they can stop playing about and focus on the task at hand of course. One of the cubs pulled down an Impala calf, interestingly enough, the lionesses left the cubs to fight over the small impala on their own without interfering. There are so many young impala around it’s difficult not to run into them around every corner.
Holiday season will soon fade away, but for the baboons every day is a swing in the trees.
Happy New Year, rich blessings, stay safe!
After a week away from Malilangwe one is already home sick, the bush has a tendency to do that to a person, besides the concrete jungle has little to offer me these days.
I arrived back only to head straight to my hyenas to spend the morning chilling taking photos around a natural pan they’ve discovered. The light was amazing and it gave me a chance to try out the new lens I purchased (one of the benefits of the concrete jungle).
The mopane worms have come up out of the ground to feast on the healthy looking mopane leaves.
You can always tell which trees have them in by the collection of droppings on the ground around the tree. It’s like guano, I wander it has any value as a fertilizer? Maybe one could make guano bowls out of it at least – then collect the whole set!
The bush is looking like a pasture, green and colourful. While the grass is still short it makes it easy to spot animals against the green background, like the two black rhinos we saw as we did the loop around the khayeni area, which I’ve been neglecting for a long time.
Christmas is around the bend and I did a little shop myself, but I can’t disclose whether I have actually come away with a gift yet. My wife and I will have been married three whole years on the 17 December, which I can thankfully say have been three great years!
Maybe I’ll collect some wild flowers as a unique gift, which is also within the budget… or maybe I did manage to find a romantic streak and choose a Chanelle no.5 to complement the fresh smell of the falling rain.
The clan has moved to the very first den that we found them at nine months ago, I’ve been catching the sunsets at the den with the cubs emerging for their late afternoon suckle.
I spent a few late nights at the den, but the hyenas were pretty unproductive. The one morning they carried a baboon carcass back to the den there was a tug of war over who was going to get to rip the limbs off it, but the mothers are very protective over their carrion and only let their own cubs nibble on the carcass.
I did manage to catch up with two playful males at Manuchi Pan though.
I must say, the water sports got a little rough with the one trying to dunk the other – all in the name of a little fun though.
All sorts of creatures emerge after a little wet weather, I’ve seen plenty of toads just plodding around the den area, along with five water monitors in the Manuchi/Sosigi area.
In between the light showers during the last few days we get to see the wild flowers emerging, not to mention the grass shooting to provide the grazing for the next season.
We’ve been cooped up taking shelter from the rain with no communications or internet for the last few days. It was quite pleasant waking up to the sound of rain pouring down and not having to be anywhere or do anything, but I was eventually itching to get out. So I eventually got to do a little photo commentary to pull us through – enjoy.
After a little wet weather the bugs are starting to make their appearance along with the flying ants. I shudder at the thought of the mosquitoes coming out in full force!
Animals know when the rain is coming; the hyenas prudently took shelter in the hills in expectation of the wet weather, but they still come down to the communal den during the evenings to socialize.
The elephant bulls are out and about looking for the high protein browse in the south of the reserve.
Just before the rains came I paid a visit to Nduna Dam and ran into a Kori Bustard walking the edge of the dam. They are huge birds and this one was not in a hurry to fly away as I was shadowing it.
Another great thing about summer is the summer visitor birds taking up residence on the reserve including the woodlands kingfisher with its expressive call.