21 September 2015
Today
started off cold, foggy and drizzly, not pleasant conditions, but perfect for
predator activity.
The
first hour or so was rather cold and we didn’t see many animals out and about.
That
all changed, however, when we saw a cheetah walking adjacent to the road about
30 meters in. We then saw another and another and they changed direction,
heading back on to the road! We were treated to a very special sighting of
these 3 males as they were quite relaxed, but constantly busy, marking
territory, jumping on termite mounds for a better view or chasing each other
around. We spent at least half an hour with them, following them down the road
and observing their antics.
We
then responded to a report of Wild Dogs, which Curtis was generous enough to
tell us about. At first the dogs were lazily dozing about 5 meters of the road.
After the sun came out they moved into a shady spot and we let them be until
the late afternoon. At around 17:00 it was time for the wild dogs to start
moving around and we were lucky enough to find them trotting down the road,
definitely looking to catch something. A nearby impala herd made themselves
scarce very quickly, while many dwarf mongoose were scuttling for their
burrows, narrowly escaping the dogs' jaws. Again, we spent about half an hour
with them until losing sight after they set off into the bush. A truly
memorable day spent with Southern Africa's 2 most endangered carnivores!
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