Sunday, 19 February 2012

18th February: Seeing Spots.



Morning Drive.

( Herold, Shadrack & Marka.)

Leopard ( Rockfig Jnr) / Tanda Tula – Eastern Link.
Leopard ( Kuhanya) / Motswari – Western Cutline.

Afternoon Drive.

( Herold, Shadrack & Marka.)

Rhino ( Female & Calf)
Elephant ( Kambaku) / Argyle – Argyle Dam.
Elephant ( Kambaku) / Motswari – Motswari Airstrip.
Elephant ( Breeding Herd) / Motswari – Bush Braai Rd.
Leopard ( Kuhanya) / Motswari – Hanger Rd.

Daily Synopsis.

With Jacky and my guests still being stuck in Frankfurt with a pilot strike we will not be out till at least tomorrow afternoon so will keep you posted with our sightings blogs with full stories to commence on Monday.

This mornings drive was one filled with spots but not Ntombi who had dragged her kill further into the Tsharalumi Riverbed the previous afternoon and the guys were not able to access the sighting. This morning they were kindly invited down to view Rockfig Jnr down on Tanda Tula. From the sounds of it, it was a good sighting for those that got to see her while up in a Marula Tree but once she climbed down and began hunting along a drainage line the views were not as good but the excitement of the hunt made up for it.

Jacky and I were out working on road maintenance when we first found tracks for a male Leopard and then for a female. With the tracks being relatively fresh we kept a sharp eye out while we worked. On our way back to the lodge for breakfast we found Kuhanya sitting up a Marula not far from where we had been working. She sat there surveying her territory and eventually climbed down and made her way towards Motswari guess she was also keen for breakfast.

The guys did also pickup on Lion tracks the first in our traversing area in over a week, so you can imagine the interest shown in them. With a team of trackers from all the lodges the guys did a great job in tracking them down but unfortunately it sounds like the Lions became aware of being tracked and ran off as the trackers approached. Being the Mafikizolo Pride this is par for the coarse, unfortunately they were not able to relocate them again. Thinking it best to leave them to settle I'm sure the guys will try again this afternoon, lets hope they have better luck.

Afternoon drive once again passed with no luck in finding the Mafikizolo Pride as they seem to be back to their old ways and every time the trackers get in the vicinity they move off and the guys are not able to relocate with the vehicles. Kuhanya was again found not far from Motswari as well as a number of Elephant, great to have them both back in the area.

A couple of us went out for a sundowner at Giraffe Kill and we were fortunate enough to run into Mkipi's and his brother. This is the first time that they have been seen since the flood so it was great to see them well. I was also a little surprised as you would have thought that having not seen any vehicles of late they would have shied away from us but both of them were extremely relaxed and paid us no attention as they sat on the riverbank watching the goings on around them.

Tomorrow becomes D-day once again for Lion, lets hope the guys can work there magic in the morning.

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