Woke up to the same steady drizzle. Had some coffee and took off on a game drive into the reserve. There are no roads, just dual dirt tracks with high grass on the median strip. Serious bush driving requires the use of a dense nylon cloth to cover the radiator grill to filter out all the grass seeds that could potentially block the intake. By late morning, we came across a lone bull wildebeest standing on the flood plain. When we used the binoculars to zoom the view, we discovered a jackal sitting in front of him just 10 yards off. Further on, herds of zebra and giraffe appeared, but we weren’t seeing the huge numbers of animals that we hoped for. During the rains, animals disperse cause of the abundance of water. High tourist season coincides with the dry season, when large numbers of animals congregate at shrinking water holes.
The highlight drama of the morning came when we rounded a bend to see a nervous herd of at least 50 Impala. It was a breeding herd of 49 females and one very tired but happy male. They seemed jittery, in a frozen focus off to the eastern horizon. We took out the noc’s to get a closer view of the distraction. In the distance shrouded in thick bush was a solitary cheetah lying in ambush. We sat there and waited for the stalk & chase. We had the cameras poised and ready to fire off our cover submission to Nat’l Geo. 30 minutes passed. We sat some more. Gabriel’s impatience got the better of him and he started the motor to inch forward. It spooked the herd and caused them to move away from the cat 100 yards. We had spoiled the cheetah’s lunch. Feeling guilty for our insensitive intrusion, we debated circling back to approach the herd from behind and effectively prod them into the cheetahs’ direction. We decided that are intentions were selfish since we really just wanted to see a predation. We skulked off back to camp and made lunch.
At 4pm, we went out again for an evening drive to look for more game. (Since most wildlife are active at dawn & dusk, this became the routine of our daily drives. During the heat of the midday sun, its naptime so game is hard to find). A few elephants, hippo’s, and waterbuck. Highlight drama of the afternoon came in the form of dogs. Dogs with jaws of terror. We were parked on a marsh enjoying the sunset just 20 yards from a hill with a path leading off behind it out of sight. All of a sudden, a pair of ears began bobbing up and down in the rhythm of a stride headed towards us. We couldn’t see what body it belonged to until it rounded the hill. Spotted Hyena. Then another pair of ears without a body. Then a third. Then a fourth. Four hyenas walking single file straight towards us. My first reaction was throw it in reverse and get the flock out. Gabriel seemed calm so I relaxed. I was concerned it was just the beginning of a huge clan circling us and wasn’t sure if they had eaten supper yet. These hyenas have stronger jaws than lions and can easily chew through metal. But they are primarily scavengers and since we were not dead at that point, I felt a bit safer. They walked right up to our vehicle to within 8 feet of me, sniffing the air to pick up our scent. Gabriel, being the non-deodorant using European that he is, was ripe so I figured the hyena would smell and eat him first. They were magnificent. One of them stared right through me. A moment which has forever changed my opinion of this maligned species. I could clearly see the individual hairs of its fur. She looked perfectly groomed, like a house pet. Not the dried matted blood stained fur we would expect from a scavenging carnivore. (Actually, I just assumed it was a ‘she’ since it was the leader of the group. Sexing hyenas can be tricky since the females have external genitalia which resemble a penis). They were being neither aggressive, nor shy. Purely curious. They checked us out, realized it was just two boring humanoids, and loped off. That sequence is eternally burned into the vault of my mind. Spotted Hyenas are one of only two species (the other being elephant) which are a matriarchal society. The female leads the clan and is dominant over the males. (There must be others but I’m just not aware of them).
Drove back to camp, made a fire, grilled some steaks and talked about the days’ sightings. A cup of Joe followed by a cup of Jack. It became known as “whiskey o’clock” when it was time to drain the bottle. We sat by the fire and listened to the ascending cackle of hyenas calling in the distance. Wondered if it was our Spotted friends.
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