The Lagoon pack of wild dogs were in the area again, hunting impala. We saw them several times during the month, but each time without success in their hunts whilst we were watching. They must have caught something when we were not there though, as they looked in good condition and well fed each time we came across them.
Two hyenas were found near Kubu road, feeding on an impala carcass. There was some evidence that they had stole this kill from a leopard.
Five lions were found at Wild Dog Pan feeding on a warthog – although an adult, a warthog divided by 5 adult lions does not go very far… so there was a lot of snarling and shoving to get a piece of the action. The same day a leopard was found near Baobab Pan, lying along the road.
A little later in the month and two lions had come across a slightly larger meal than the warthog… a giraffe. Between the two of them it took several days of eating before they were finished with the meat. By this point, the smell was becoming overpowering, and its unlikely guests could have suffered another day of witnessing the King of the Jungle happily digging in to another serving of putrid flesh with maggots falling off… Refrigeration is a truly wonderful invention, and your pets should be reminded of this on a regular basis.
The next day, another leopard was found near Baboon loop, moving along the water’s edge attempting to hunt lechwe. This would be a big hunt for a leopard, as the lechwe are quite large antelope. We were not able to see if his persistence paid off or not.
We sometimes forget that life amongst the herbivores and antelopes is as much about dominance as it is with the sharp-toothed predators. A peaceful scene of zebras and wildebeest grazing together hides the sometimes fraught relationships that contribute to the scene. For each small herd of zebra, there is always a dominant stallion. And where there is dominance, there is fighting. Stallions will fight to gain a larger harem of females, and even fight the father of a young female for the right to take her away. A zebras hoof packs a powerful punch, and a fight between two males is quite awesome to watch… generally facing off, and raising up on their hind legs, the animals use their front legs to kick down and towards their opponent. Equipped with enlarged canine teeth specifically for fighting, the males will also bite their opponent at any chance that presents itself. So coming across a tranquil setting and a pair of fighting males, towards the end of the month, allowed us to see just what it takes to maintain a ‘peaceful’ harem in the zebra world.
