Posts Tagged ‘cubs’

Currently I am sitting in the sweltering heat, it is 37 degrees in the shade and it is only spring! I sit here cursing the fan in my office that does not work and contemplate the sightings and the bush around me.

Even though I am not out driving guests, not on drive as someone has to keep the camp running, that someone being me, I still get to view magnificent animal sightings.

I wish I had my camera with me at all times, I Drove to morning meeting at 7:30 this morning, and found two leopard cubs chilling in the road, stopped fairly close to them and admired there beauty, only then did I notice mum leopard keeping a eye on her cubs as well as us. After about 10 minutes she decided it was enough, collected her cubs and disappeared in the bush, three leopards on the way to work.

I write this in my aforementioned sweltering office, and I do so with a smile on my face, I smile because there are three elephants drinking out my pool, right now.  They are three male jumbos arranged in a neat line next to the pool, from biggest to smallest, slurping and spraying water all over the pool deck. Loving it, did I mention this is also lunch time for the guests, have an African lunch with the elephants, this could be scripted.

With no guests two days ago, I managed to organize an old land rover for a staff drive, two rangers and myself headed out looking for four legs and a heartbeat to photograph, we sat with fourteen lions in the shade for a few hours, yep fourteen lions lazing in the shade a mere three meters from our vehicle!, pity it was so hot and bad lighted for good photos. Still awesome to sit and observe.

Not so awesome was a resident territorial holder, our big male lion called mandevu (mandevu means bearded, or big big beard, hair thing) he decided to take away a legitimate kill from three youngsters that pop up in our area from time to time, this three youngsters are not so youngster anymore and did not want to share, would love to have seen the fight, but it was late at night, I caught up with him the next morning, he looked like he had been dragged over broken glass, very sore and sorry for himself, blood and lion hair dotted the road at the scene. He will make it but will not roar or advertise his presence for a while. In fact he may be lucky to survive this one.

Beaten up lion

Late afternoon traffic at the waterhole in front of the lodge, currently we have a hippo bull in the shallows, trying to keep cool and count a few sheep, or is that count a few hippo cows? The water barely covers half of him, alongside him and amazingly he tolerates it, is a small herd of buffalo bulls. Drinking and mud wallowing around the sleeping hippo. The baboons circle the trees around, a few impala and wildebeest are coming and going, drinking albeit a nervous drink. In the shade are some waterbuck, desperately trying to stay out of the direct sun.

And watching me watch this menagerie of animals is my resident bushbuck, cute little fellow eyeing me out from five meters away.

Ilana on the way back from morning meeting saw a yellow billed hornbill, eating a mouse, a kill was seen! It counts as a kill to us.

Not out driving, but still so much to see…

Swear I could hear the cats laughing at us, playing there cat and mouse (excuse the pun) laughing and talking amongst them themselves in lion talk, “come try and find us”

Here in the north where grass is as high as an elephant’s eye, ok so not that high but still well above my door, Grass that is covering a few square kilometers, grass that was as high as a man’s shoulder if you were unlucky enough to be walking in the north. And here I was, here I was suppose to find the pride of lions? The guests I had were really keen to see the big cats. Out there somewhere maybe around the next barely-can see-corner was 16 of them.

And as usual, persistence pays, found them lounging in the only open area amongst that tick ridden grass for a kilometer in every direction. Doing what big cats do, try to look like small cuddly cats. Lording it over the plains in that typical “I could give a…” look that lions have. Guest’s happy, tracker happy and I beaming from ear to ear.

This with an afternoon drive with the dogs being back in town. Looks like one or two of the pack are pregnant, watch this space.

The following 3 days had a couple from Belgium on honeymoon, and they not only brought with them, sunscreen and fear of the bush (that fear that says we will be eaten, fear things are out to get you, but we are here anyway, the ranger will protect us, type fear)

Believe me, things are not out here to get you, safer here than most big cities. Animals fear us and our greed more than we need to fear them.

They brought all this and some heavy luggage from Belgium (did they think they needed to bring there entire wardrobe for the African bush?)And they brought luck with them, oodles of luck as we I went about my business of driving around giving an interpretation of the bush and finding the four legs and a heartbeat for the cameras, this we did at a phenomenal rate. We found wildlife sightings like those guys who work at a driving range, find golf balls. Elephants, rhino bulls, buffalo and buffalo herds, impala and zebra enjoying the late season green grass, a journey of giraffe or two and those 16 lions devouring a wildebeest. All that and so much more. Birds coming out of my ears.

Luck was with us, as we found the five most sought after animals (big 5) to see in the bush one after the other, and all of them posing nicely for photographs. Along with all the other of gods creations. Normally I could stretch this over a few days but we bagged up all good sighting on the first days and first morning. This including an elephant encounter on a bushwalk after breakfast. That was a time for rational fear and caution.

Of course know that we had see most on the first time to Africa honeymooners list, we could spend the rest of the time cruising around, anything else being a bonus, and I could spend time showing off knowledge on birds and trees, but did we get that bonus at this slow pace, you betcha! Two leopard cubs in a drainage line, oblivious to the vehicle, just playing around. Awesome and beautiful. Click, snap whir goes the cameras. Best leopard sighting of my career.

However we were not done, as the two cubs then sighted  a puff adder, a venomous snake and proceeded to investigate it, I of course called this on the game drive channel, and the response from all those that were listening, was that just this once against the rules out here, I had to interfere and separate them. They all asked me to go against the grain and interfere with the natural order of the bush. Long story short, you have me about 20 meters from the safety of my car, a large irritated puff adder 2 meters away and one of the cubs, being cheeky sitting watching me about 6 meters away. And where was mommy leopard? Never in my life did I expect the cub not to run, to sit there, and watch me whilst on foot! Insane! And still were was mommy leopard with here cub so close to a human on foot! So now what goes through my head?

1. Retreat and risk a cub getting a snake bite that will kill it. This is no good!
2. keep eyes in the back of my head for mom leopard, chase the snake and save the day

No real choice there, the Belgians had a good eyeful of my backside in the air whilst I was knees down under the bushes chasing a venomous a snake and a bemused leopard cub was watching. Worst of all, gave my camera to my tracker and he didn’t even take a photo!

Belgian honeymooners bought me a few beers that night.

The rest of this week has been manual labor, no guests this side, so slashing of fire breaks, fixing of roads, blisters on hand, tick bitten feet and sweaty t-shirts. Not all good all the time. Only a hand slasher, grass a meter high and a hundred meteres to cut.

At least I can know say bring on the fires season.

Right know I am going to take my very sore from unaccustomed labor, body back to my bed, crack a beer and remember that one time with the leopards…they will be around for a few more photo sessions.