Safari - Day 4

While out on our third morning drive we came across an old male hippo alone in a small watering hole. We were near him and were able to take a number of good photos. A bloat of hippopotomous typically live in and around a river. In the group there is one male, a number of females and some young. When an older male is challenged and conquered by a younger, stronger male, he leaves and lives the rest of his life in a solitary manner. This seemed to be the case for this fellow.


We received a radio transmission from another guide saying that his group had spotted a pride of lion which included cubs. It would take nearly two hours through the bush to see them since they were near the next encampment and not in our area. One of the staff met us at the airstrip with a bag of snacks to enjoy since we would not make it back until after lunchtime.




Tyler, Nathan and I chose to go and see the lions. It was a highlight of our stay. In this pride we could see the male, two females, an immature male, a cub of about 8 months, and two small cubs of a few weeks. We couldn't see them all at once. Carlton drove into the overgrowth so we could get a good look. Although we were driving over trees, snapping dead wood and making a ruckus, they didn't seem to notice us much. In time, the cubs came out in the open and we were able to see them climb all over their sleeping mother, wrestle and frolic-basically, act like a couple of brothers.


In the afternoon we came across the herd of elephants we had seen on day one. We were able to stop and observe the baby with its mother. We were soon noticed by a young bull elephant. He trumpted and, when we didn't leave, he charged us, flapping his ears. Just as he was about to reach Nathan and the back seat, Carlton turned on the truck and sped off.

Before we turned back for camp that evening we came across a man camp of lions, no women allowed. We watched them for some time and never saw the females. No idea where they were. Then the sun set.

 

That evening we went on a short night safari after dinner. We were hoping to spot a leopard, which had remained elusive. We saw some night birds, impala, hippos in the water. The only new species we spotted were Springhare, a rabbit with short front legs and longer hind legs and a flowing two-toned tail. The boys were falling asleep in their seats so we quit before we lost one in the bush.