Photo of the Day
Elephant calf in the water |
Morning Drive
(Chad, Marka, Herold
and Shadrack)
2 x lions (Ximpoko males) – Peru, Wild West North
1 x leopard (Xindzuti male) – Peru, Woza-Woza Cutline
3 x rhino (male, female and female calf)
2 x rhino (skittish rhinos)
1 x breeding herd of elephants – Motswari, Wedge River Rd
1 x breeding herd of buffalo – Peru, Peru, Wild West North
1 x breeding herd of buffalo – Jaydee, Tchwala Rd
2 x buffalo bulls – Motswari, Southern Access
Afternoon Drive
(Chad, Marka, Herold
and Grant)
2 x lions (Ximpoko males) – Peru, Wild West North
3 x rhino (male, female and female calf)
2 x rhino (skittish rhinos)
2 x rhino (sub-adult male and female)
1 x breeding herd of buffalo – Argyle, Buffalo Pan
2 x buffalo bulls – Motswari, Xinatsi Dam Rd North
1 x breeding herd of elephants – Motswari, Camp
1 x breeding herd of elephants – Karans, Top Rd East
3 x elephant bulls – Karans, Majavi Dam
2 x elephant bulls – Borneo, Trough
1 x elephant bull – Motswari, Camp
Daily Synopsis
I really don’t want to curse this run of game-viewing, but
today was yet another very enjoyable day at Motswari, with loads of Big 5 and
general game sightings, most pleasingly, all concentrated in the north!
For a change, things got off to a good start with a herd of elephants,
some buffalo bulls and two rhinos (albeit somewhat skittish) being found by our
guides within the first 10 minutes of drive.
I chose to respond to Shaddy’s elephants to the north of camp, and
fortunately I did, as it turned out to be the sighting of the day for me and my
guests!
While only impala and steenbuck showed themselves as we
headed to the elephants, the elephant herd stole the show – about 40-odd
elephants were making their way quickly through the bush, from tiny babies to
massive elephant bulls as they passed a little clearing at the top of the
hill. Some trailing bulls were play
fighting while the herd moved quickly south-west.
Large elephant herd |
Picture-perfect scene along the Sohebele River |
Once more I tried to leave, but as we did, the rest of the
herd came down to the dam and rther than drinking on the rocks, all of them
walked into the water and drank in front o us – once more, from large bulls to
small calves! It really was a fantastic
sighting, especially as group after group made their way down to the water!
My best elephant sighting in a long time! |
Eventually the elephants had stopped coming, and we made our
way west to where some rhinos had been found, as well as tracks for the two cheetahs
and two Ximpoko males, so it seemed a good bet.
We had some good general game on the way, with impala, waterbuck,
steenbuck, warthog and a nice herd of giraffes all showing themselves.
Waterbuck, warthog and giraffes |
We managed to relocate the three rhinos; mother, calf and
the large northern male, but unlike the last time we saw the mother in the
company of a male, this time was not a friendly affair. The mother and calf looked very settled as they
all fed, with the male about 20m away, but everytime he moved, the mother rhino
would growl at him!
Rhino and calf |
This indicated that she wasn't happy with his presence, and
when she eventually turned her head, we could see why! She had already had a fight with him and
sustained a large cut under her eye – thankfully though, the wound was very
superficial and nothing to worry about, but the intent of the male ahs to be
questioned – is he trying to chase off the young calf to try and mate with the
mother? It is not uncommon for male
rhinos to kill rhino calves that are not their own, so we just have to hope
that the mother keeps doing a good job protecting her calf!
Mother rhino sporting fresh wounds inflicted by the large rhino bull in their presence |
Johannes was sitting with the buffalo herd nearby, and
noticed them continually staring north, so he went to investigate and found the
two Ximpoko male lions resting nearby! We
were close by so went and joined him with the lions, passing the buffalo as we
went; the lions were sleeping, but far more awake than last night! They both had their heads raised and the
large one even moved a bit, but he buffalo had sadly sensed their presence and
moved off, so we left the area and went for coffee before making our way home.
Ximpoko male lions a bit more lively than yesterday |
While those were my sightings, Herold also found Xindzuti
male on his way to the lions, and Marka found another herd of buffalos – other sightings
in the north that our guides didn’t respond to were some of the Mafikizolo
lions nearby to where we had seen the elephants in the morning, a leopard a bit
further west of that, and another large herd of buffalo coming in from Ingwelala...the
north was definitely the place to be today!
The afternoon thus saw a few more vehicles move into the
area as both the lions and rhinos were relocated, so Grant had himself a great
first drive with those sightings as well as a herd of buffalos. Herold and Marka tracked down the large elephant
herd to the east, and Marka also had more buffalo bulls, some rhinos and
elephant bulls in the east.
I made my way south via Argyle Dam where there was a load of
general game – the hippos, plenty of kudus, waterbuck and impalas.
Plenty f kudu and waterbuck around Argyle Dam |
The trip south was uneventful, but we got to the hyena den
and found 4 adults and 5 cubs out the den, but after the adults left, only the
two bigger cubs remained out and the three babies moved back into the hole.
Hyena Den |
A drag mark was found for a kill of Umfana male leopard near
Entrance Dam, so I went to check the area after the remains of a steenbuck had
been found, but there was no further sign of him, so I went for a drink
instead. The only spots we did see were
those of giraffe, and they seemed to be coming out of the woodwork on
Vielmetter!
Giraffe dwarfed by a marula tree |
After drinks I double checked Entrance Dam, but found only
living steenbuck, duiker and even two rhinos nearby, but it was getting dark,
so we couldn’t view them for long.
The trip back to the lodge didn’t produce much besides some
bushbabies, zebra and wildebeest in the dark, but not the leopard I had hoped
for; still, it was another great day, and a wonderful one to end my little blog
stint on! Grant will be taking over blog
duties from tomorrow for a few days, so I will catch up with you all again on
the weekend!
Happy virtual game viewing J
Thank for the updates over the last few days Chad. Some stunning photos as always from you.
ReplyDeleteThe elephants put on a great show for you today.
Cheers
Lourens
And there you surprise me with a very, very early posting, Chad. Such a stunning virtual drive. This is a very nice end to my hectic day. Thank you, Chad.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a great day! Such beautiful elephant pictures. Thanks as always.
ReplyDelete