The wilderness will just as soon kill you as it will look after you.
It is ambivalent. It is full of life, joy and wonderment and terror and death all at the same time.
So as we pause in reflection with news of Scrapper's passing we look on with Joy at Karula and her two cubs.
The dawn is a few minutes away as we see of of our guide jeeps coming into the area. The ducks are very loud this morning. They must have had their bills pressed against the microphone as they say good morning to everyone. Jeepers as Sam would say.
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| The drive is just about ready to go live. |
Sunrise Safari April 25
We see one of our guide jeeps coming into the area.. The ducks are
really loud this morning. They must have their bills pressed against the
microphone as they say good morning to everyone. Jeepers as Sam would say.
This morning we have James with Bryan on camera and Sam with Wiam on Camera.
We start off this cool morning with James talking about Karula's cubs. They are now approximately 3 months old.
James mentions that as they head into full winter the times of the sunrise and sunset drives will change. This will take effect May 1st.
The temp this morning is a cool 61 degrees F..
Quick! to Sam!
He has spotted a MALE leopard.. which moved quickly into the thicket.
(sorry.. too quick for me)
Wiam thinks the leopard is
Kijima(sp).
While Sam tries to get a view of this male leopard,we will hop back over with James.
James explains that if he came across without Karula being
with them, they would leave immediately. Because #1 they are still nervous around the vehicles and #2 If they get too used to only the sound of the
vehicles, they will be distracted when they should be listening for danger.
The sun is coming up
James stops at an abandoned termite mound in hope that Karula might be there with her cubs
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| Abandoned termite mound that Karula might have put her cubs in. |
Back to Sam as the elusive leopard barely comes into focus
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| Unidentified male Leopard |
Some short shots of leopard..
they lost signal
Back to Sam..
quick shots.. leopard.. then lost signal
As this secretive Leopard is zig zagging we head back to James
Back to Sam for a few moments and we get one fleeting glimpse of the male leopard moving on towards our outer traversing area.
Back to James
James got a glimpse of the baby cub. its quite thick in there so in the
absence of Karula he is leaving the sighting. He is sure we all understand. And YES, we do . Their safety comes first
always.It will take a few months for the cubs to be habituated to vehicles.
Beautiful shots of some ring necked doves.
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| Ring necked Dove |
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| Ring necked Dove |
These doves move incredibly fast.
A Peregrine falcon dives very fast but a dove can take off about 80
km/hr which is an astonishing speed
Back to Sam
Sam is sitting on a crest watching to see if the leopards comes out
behind or ahead. The leopard has been
zig zagging so it may come back onto the
road.
A number of stations have entered the block to attempt to locate the
leopard.
No birds are alarm calling at
the moment.
Sam moving on
So back to James who we see using his binoculars.
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| James is scanning looking for any sign of life |
Now heading to the hyena den then perhaps to Arathusa and see what is happening
there.
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| Torchwood Tree |
James is saying there is a rumor that the seeds from a Torch wood can be used for
fuel but he tried it and it was about as good as asbestos which everyone knows
is not flammable at all
We see a white crowned shrike .
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| White Crowned Shrike |
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| White Crowned Shrike |
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| White Crowned Shrike |
Back to Sam with a community Spider nest.
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| Community Spider Nest |
Sam telling us that they played touch rugby yesterday for exercise in between drives .
Sam also spends time learning the roads and more detail about the
animals etc
We are now at Buffleshoek Dam and see a Hippo and Egyptian Geese
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| A large Hippo and a smaller Hippo |
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| Hippo in the foreground and Egyptian Geese in the background |
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| Yellow Billed Hornbill |
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| Yellow billed Hornbill |
Such amazing views from Wiam He really knows how to get the best views for us.
And on that note. lets hop over with James once again.
James telling us that Sam has aloe vera toothpaste. lol
and we have Zebras everyone!
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| Something gave them a fright and off they run for a moment |
At one point the zebras took off running as if something gave them a fright. No birds were alarm calling and they calmed down quickly.
Back to Sam who has come across a young mother Kudu with her baby who is suckling
We are now back with James heading towards hyena den.
Shadows cubs will be about 2 months old soon James is telling us and
will then be actively looked for.
James has a most interesting Caterpillar crawling on his arm
James says this caterpillar walking on his arm must think he is in a forest.
And now some Hamerkops with Sam
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| Hamerkops |
Sam has his notebook out and is explaining Bio Mimicry to us
Bio mimicry
Quite scientific for something that is so simple
For example. how does the tree make thorns to protect itself
the birds have a specific loud noise which protects them.. hence bio
mimicry
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| Egret |
Back with James and he has heard on the stations radio that a large male Leopard is on Elephant Plains and the Anderson Male (Male Lion) has killed a buffalo and hauled it into a tree.
James shows us these amazing hippos while he is on the drive radio getting the update
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| Blacksmith Lapwing |
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| Blacksmith Lapwing |
James stops to have a snack with Bryan
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| James picking the fruit to have a snack |
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| Taking the fruit and offering one to Bryan |
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| Buffalo Thorn Fruit |
The buffalo thorn has huge thorns
James nimbly picks some fruit and offers a few to Bryan/
They look sort of like a rotten raisin
A little bit of sugary sweetness
Not that bad actually
Nice and sweet
James is sure it is edible but reminds people to not just go out
into the bush and pick up and eat anything.
You can crush these up and make a good coffee substitute
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| Impala |
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| Impala |
Back to Sam
Wiam has found or noticed leopard tracks. Wiam is always quick and eagle eyed on camera.
Sam reversing
Kudos eating Acacia thorn bushes
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| Kudo |
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| Kudo |
Sam stops to show us the power of an Elephant
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| The Elephants strip off the bark |
Back with James as he discusses an injured Warthog
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| Injured Warthog |
This warthog has quite an obvious looking injury with something hanging out of it. It is not with the rest of the warthogs.
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| Distressing injured Warthog |
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| This little thing is not in a good way |
What a shame. This little thing is not in a good way. James says it looks like intestines and is horrendous. Not intestines . He doesn't know.
Inevitable question is would we help this thing. and No we wouldn't Nature takes its course. But it doesn't make it easier to see something like this. He doesn't think it is an intestine because the warthog is drinking and it wouldn't be if its stomach was injured. It is remarkable out here what animals can recover from. So maybe this little warthog will get through this or maybe it will eventually feed Karula's little babies.
James is leaving her be and we move on.
NOTE from James : The remaining 4 Birmingham boys killed a buffalo last night and are on Nkorho. They are all well. It might be too late to do an autopsy considering the deterioration. He might have been there longer then originally thought. He was used to spending most of his time alone prior to this. It is strange.
Back with Sam. Had a few drops of rain but nothing else
Sam signing off
From James : NOTE to DRIVE TIME CHANGES: The Sunrise drive time stays the same with the Sunset Drive starting one half hour earlier. This takes effect May 1st.
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