* In the afternoon of the 23rd the Female Wild Dog's signal was at the den while the rest of the Dogs were on the hill behind the Lodge. On the morning of the 25th I went to the den very early. I checked the signal and it was the worse sound I've ever heard in my whole life. It was a very slow beep 4 seconds apart from each other. The Female was dead. (She had a mortality collar on which means that it would beep very slow if she didn't move for more than 48 hours). I drove into the bushes to the den and found her scull about 15 metres from the den entrance.
The collar was still inside the den. Michelle (guide) and I started digging above the den where the signal was the strongest. We only had sticks so we got to about half a metre deep in 2 hours. I then realized the signal was stronger about a metre from where we were digging and we had to start digging at a new place. Alan eventually brought a spade and some other tools. We dug over a metre when we decided to try from the entrance.
I crawled in and could see the collar very deep in the den. I tried to hook it with a long stick, but it was hot and the space was limited so Alan then also tried. We were covered in Fleas and the smell of the decomposing Dog was horrible. We gave up on plan B and went back to plan A. We dug a few centimeters before we got through to the tunnel. I looked into the entrance and saw that the hole was made right above where the collar was. We still had to dig out a lot of sand with our hands since the spade didn't fit and we got the collar.
I pushed a bit of sand into the hole and we left the den 6 hours after we started digging. I thought we were finished when I found out the vet wanted the Dog's body for tests so I went back there in the afternoon with Dr Gabriella Flacke. I dug up the body and all that was left of her was bones, but her tail was still covered in a bit of white hair. I couldn't dig deeper into the den to see if there were any remains from the Puppies so I guess we'll never know how many there were. We still don't know what happened to the Female, but now we are down to 1 Adult Male and 4 Yearlings.
* On our way back we found the Rhino with her calf. The calf ran around in circles and ran right passed me before she ran back to her mom and they headed down to some mud wallows. We left them and drove into the middle of the Elephant Herd. The two calves ran towards me kicking up dust and trumpeted. They walked on a bit and turned around trumpeting again. I revved the engine and they ran away faster than what they ran towards me. It was quite funny, but I left before they could go fetch their moms.
* On the afternoon of the 26th one of our guides saw the Lion Cubs for the first time. There are 2 of them and they were with their mom and 2 older sisters. I went there, but they were gone. I found the big Rhino Bull that we're swapping for another one on Broxburn sleeping under a tree. I had to fetch 3 staff members that were working on the old fence line and just after I picked them up we drove passed the Male Lion and 2 Lionesses from Phinda. If I was a few minutes later the Lions would've walked straight into the guys and I wonder who would've had the biggest fright. The one Lioness is definitely pregnant.
* On the morning of the 27th the Wild Dogs were seen at the JAC gate. I went there and found all 5 of them next to the P450 fence in the open area. Their bellies were full, but the yearlings were playing chasing each other. The Adult Male lay down alone on the one side and looked quite sad. I think it's a bit difficult now that he's the only adult and there was a very strong bond between him and the Female. They were there the whole day.
* In the afternoon I took a 15 year-old guest from Germany out on drive. He said the only thing he wanted to see was a Lion. We drove down from the lodge and not 5 minutes later we found the Lion and a Lioness sleeping next to the road. I had no idea they were going to be there and actually got a fright when we came around the corner and this huge Lion was staring back at me. Well that was the drive since it's the only think Husain wanted to see, but we carried on driving and found an Elephant Bull close to South Gate at a pan. I think it was one of the easiest drives ever.
* On the morning of the 29th Russell and I went out at 06h00 to look for the Rhino Bull. We drove around until 12h30 when we heard that the Rhino was back on Meyer's section. We went there and sat with him and the 2 Cows until the helicopter came. The vet, Dr Chap Masterson, darted the Rhino Bull from the helicopter and we raced over to where the Rhino went to lay down. When we got there the Rhino was lying on his back. I'm sure you can imagine seeing a 2000 kg Rhino Bull lying on his back. It was quite a sight.
We rolled him over onto his side and Chap helped us to cover his eyes with a piece of clothe. We then had to get him back onto his feet and there weren't that many of us to do that since it was weekend. The Rhino's right back leg went to sleep since he was sitting on it for quite a while and Chap had to massage his muscles first before we could eventually get him back to his feet. It was also quite a mission to lead the blindfolded Rhino into the trailer. The problem was that the harder we pulled the rope forward the more he pulled back and sit down again. We eventually got him into the trailer just before 14h00 and he was on his way to his new home. What a mission!
* On the afternoon of the 30th Bianca and I went out for a drive looking for the Lion Cubs. We eventually found them next to the fence close to South Gate around 18h00. It was the Mom, her two 2 year old daughters and the two new 3 month old Cubs. They went into the bushes and I drove forward just to see in which direction they were heading in. As I got to the place where they went in the Mom ran towards the vehicle growling and snarling and I reversed very very fast. I guess she doesn't like us being so close to her new cubs.
I kept my distance and stopped on the main road to see if they'd come out there. They came out the bushes right next to my vehicle. The cubs are so cute! We followed them up the road and watched the Cubs play with their older sisters. One of the cubs even climbed up a tree and had to hold on for dear life when the other one also climbed up and tried to pull him/her down. One of the older sisters then came and pushed them both off. We watched them for over an hour and even though I couldn't get nice pictures the images still remain in my mind.
It started getting cold and it was time for us to leave, but the Lions were lying in the middle of the road. They eventually went off onto another road. I could see the Mom a distance from the road we were on and decided to drive passed slowly. As I came around the corner one of the cubs were lying about 10 metres from the road. The first thing I looked for was Mom, but she didn't see me get so close. One of the older sisters picked the cub up in her mouth as I started reversing. Wow. That was close. We then left them as they walked into the bushes.
The collar was still inside the den. Michelle (guide) and I started digging above the den where the signal was the strongest. We only had sticks so we got to about half a metre deep in 2 hours. I then realized the signal was stronger about a metre from where we were digging and we had to start digging at a new place. Alan eventually brought a spade and some other tools. We dug over a metre when we decided to try from the entrance.
I crawled in and could see the collar very deep in the den. I tried to hook it with a long stick, but it was hot and the space was limited so Alan then also tried. We were covered in Fleas and the smell of the decomposing Dog was horrible. We gave up on plan B and went back to plan A. We dug a few centimeters before we got through to the tunnel. I looked into the entrance and saw that the hole was made right above where the collar was. We still had to dig out a lot of sand with our hands since the spade didn't fit and we got the collar.
I pushed a bit of sand into the hole and we left the den 6 hours after we started digging. I thought we were finished when I found out the vet wanted the Dog's body for tests so I went back there in the afternoon with Dr Gabriella Flacke. I dug up the body and all that was left of her was bones, but her tail was still covered in a bit of white hair. I couldn't dig deeper into the den to see if there were any remains from the Puppies so I guess we'll never know how many there were. We still don't know what happened to the Female, but now we are down to 1 Adult Male and 4 Yearlings.
* On our way back we found the Rhino with her calf. The calf ran around in circles and ran right passed me before she ran back to her mom and they headed down to some mud wallows. We left them and drove into the middle of the Elephant Herd. The two calves ran towards me kicking up dust and trumpeted. They walked on a bit and turned around trumpeting again. I revved the engine and they ran away faster than what they ran towards me. It was quite funny, but I left before they could go fetch their moms.
* On the afternoon of the 26th one of our guides saw the Lion Cubs for the first time. There are 2 of them and they were with their mom and 2 older sisters. I went there, but they were gone. I found the big Rhino Bull that we're swapping for another one on Broxburn sleeping under a tree. I had to fetch 3 staff members that were working on the old fence line and just after I picked them up we drove passed the Male Lion and 2 Lionesses from Phinda. If I was a few minutes later the Lions would've walked straight into the guys and I wonder who would've had the biggest fright. The one Lioness is definitely pregnant.
* On the morning of the 27th the Wild Dogs were seen at the JAC gate. I went there and found all 5 of them next to the P450 fence in the open area. Their bellies were full, but the yearlings were playing chasing each other. The Adult Male lay down alone on the one side and looked quite sad. I think it's a bit difficult now that he's the only adult and there was a very strong bond between him and the Female. They were there the whole day.
* In the afternoon I took a 15 year-old guest from Germany out on drive. He said the only thing he wanted to see was a Lion. We drove down from the lodge and not 5 minutes later we found the Lion and a Lioness sleeping next to the road. I had no idea they were going to be there and actually got a fright when we came around the corner and this huge Lion was staring back at me. Well that was the drive since it's the only think Husain wanted to see, but we carried on driving and found an Elephant Bull close to South Gate at a pan. I think it was one of the easiest drives ever.
* On the morning of the 29th Russell and I went out at 06h00 to look for the Rhino Bull. We drove around until 12h30 when we heard that the Rhino was back on Meyer's section. We went there and sat with him and the 2 Cows until the helicopter came. The vet, Dr Chap Masterson, darted the Rhino Bull from the helicopter and we raced over to where the Rhino went to lay down. When we got there the Rhino was lying on his back. I'm sure you can imagine seeing a 2000 kg Rhino Bull lying on his back. It was quite a sight.
We rolled him over onto his side and Chap helped us to cover his eyes with a piece of clothe. We then had to get him back onto his feet and there weren't that many of us to do that since it was weekend. The Rhino's right back leg went to sleep since he was sitting on it for quite a while and Chap had to massage his muscles first before we could eventually get him back to his feet. It was also quite a mission to lead the blindfolded Rhino into the trailer. The problem was that the harder we pulled the rope forward the more he pulled back and sit down again. We eventually got him into the trailer just before 14h00 and he was on his way to his new home. What a mission!
* On the afternoon of the 30th Bianca and I went out for a drive looking for the Lion Cubs. We eventually found them next to the fence close to South Gate around 18h00. It was the Mom, her two 2 year old daughters and the two new 3 month old Cubs. They went into the bushes and I drove forward just to see in which direction they were heading in. As I got to the place where they went in the Mom ran towards the vehicle growling and snarling and I reversed very very fast. I guess she doesn't like us being so close to her new cubs.
I kept my distance and stopped on the main road to see if they'd come out there. They came out the bushes right next to my vehicle. The cubs are so cute! We followed them up the road and watched the Cubs play with their older sisters. One of the cubs even climbed up a tree and had to hold on for dear life when the other one also climbed up and tried to pull him/her down. One of the older sisters then came and pushed them both off. We watched them for over an hour and even though I couldn't get nice pictures the images still remain in my mind.
It started getting cold and it was time for us to leave, but the Lions were lying in the middle of the road. They eventually went off onto another road. I could see the Mom a distance from the road we were on and decided to drive passed slowly. As I came around the corner one of the cubs were lying about 10 metres from the road. The first thing I looked for was Mom, but she didn't see me get so close. One of the older sisters picked the cub up in her mouth as I started reversing. Wow. That was close. We then left them as they walked into the bushes.
Mariana Venter - Field Guide