28th July – Lion Frustrations!

Photo of the Day

Rhino calf getting bigger each week!

Morning Drive

(Chad, Grant, Andrea and Marka)

2 x rhinos (female and female calf)

2 x rhinos (male and female)

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Argyle, Mangova Rd

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Kings, Eagle Owl Plains

2 x buffalo bulls – Peru, Concrete Crossing

Afternoon Drive

(Chad, Grant, Andrea and Peter)

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Motswari, Camp Dam

3 x elephant bulls – Argyle, Buffalo Pan Access

1 x elephant bull – Karans, Northern Access

1 x elephant bull – Borneo, Mananga Cutline

8 x elephant bulls – Scholtz, Gravel Pits Rd

3 x elephant bulls – Scholtz, Big Dam

1 x elephant bull – Scholtz, Mananga Cutline

Daily Synopsis

Apologies if this is a bit of a shortened blog today, but I am off to Cape Town in a bit (for finalising the coffee-table book!), so Andrea will be taking over the blog for the next  couple of days (and believe I missed out on mating leopards this morning, so do check her blog update tomorrow for news on that!).

It was a windy and chilly morning in comparison to yesterday, and a day that saw us needing lions – so with tracks for a male in the central area and reports of roaring lions in the east, we were confident we would get lucky, but as the tracks either didn’t lead to anything or crossed off the boundary, our frustrations grew!  Arriving to find empty hyena den didn’t bode well either, but as the morning moved on, the viewing picked up

Adult hyena

 

Some other animals were out to play though; we had some nice giraffe and a wonderful elephants down on Eagle Owl Plains, and nice impala herds in the south along with the odd male kudu or kudu herd.

Giraffe, elephants and impala

 

A crash of rhinos had been found back in the north, so I headed back that way, and actually found another two rhinos on route; they were a bit nervous in the wind, so I decided not to push them and rather go and see the female and calf instead.

Two rhinos

 

These two rhinos were their usual relaxed selves and we had a great view of them as they fed and rested right next to the road.

Andrea in action with the mother rhino and her calf

 

On the way home, there was an abundance of game along Peru Entrance road – zebras, giraffes, impalas and buffalo bulls that rounded off a great morning.

Giraffe, zebras and buffalo at Concrete Crossing

 

The afternoon was still windy, and it was rather quiet, but then driving in the east often can be!  We did see some enjoyable scenery and a bit of game that included hippos, zebras and wildebeest, and a really relaxed jackal sleeping on one of their airstrips.

Impala lilies, black backed jackal and zebra herd

 

Trying the hyena den once more we had a bit better luck, and saw one of the bigger cubs out and about before he too moved off, so we went for a drink.

Sunet at the hyena den

 

After sundowners, Grant reported the lions roaring in the east again, so together with him and Andrea, we tried to locate them, but they didn’t roar again which made things difficult...so we ended up without lions, but all in all, it was still an enjoyable day!

Sundowners at Hide dam