On our way to the park this morning, we came across a troop of baboons. They were walking and running with some of the babies on their backs and others holding on underneath. One little guy was asleep on his mother’s back. We then saw the elephants in the same place we saw them yesterday - they must love hanging out on this particular corner. As we were driving through the park, we stopped to take pictures of sable antelope. They are very rare to spot and our guide today, Emax, told us that this animal’s hide was where sable coats came from when they were making them. We saw another huge nest in a tree and I asked Emax what bird would make that big a nest. He said that it is a communal nest shared by many red-billed buffalo weavers. We also saw some very small nests made of grass and they are built by the white-browed weaver. We saw a huge flock of very small birds all flying in a coordinated manner. They were the red-billed quelea. We came across two young male lions and their sister lying down in the shade of a tree. Not too far away, the large male, their dad, was also resting. The mom may have been off feeding at a kill as she was not there. The cubs and the dad looked very full and sleepy. Female lions usually make the kill - sometimes with help from the others if it is a larger animal - but the males and younger females eat first. As a side note, Emax said that lions have a 40% kill rate, whereas wild dogs have an 80% chance of a successful kill. We drove off a bit and Emax spotted a black-backed jackal resting under a bush. He said he had seen this particular jackal before and there are five pups in a den very near by.
We then drove down by the river and spotted a number of white-backed pelicans, some spoonbills, and a reed cormorant. On the surrounding land we saw a large herd of prairie zebras grazing and a very large herd of Cape buffalo (about 500+). Emax said a group of zebras is called a dazzle and a group of buffalo is called a bellow or an obstinance. We saw another group of sable antelope (how lucky are we?!). They have the most magnificent horns. It was interesting to note the color difference between the males and females. The males are very dark - almost black - and the females were a much lighter brown. We saw two groups of elephants (groups of them are called a parade) in the water - drinking and cooling off - together there were probably about 40 animals. It was great to watch them drinking and cooling themselves off. One small elephant was using his truck to splash around the water in front of him. There was a tourist boat in the water near the elephants and when the boat got too close, a very large male walked toward the boat flapping his ears. Very wisely, the boat backed off. We looked to the side and saw three hippos in the water. We could only see the top of the body and their heads, but it was great to see what we did - they obviously were enjoying being mostly submerged in the cool water. Because we are in Botswana, the river is named the Chobe River. It is the same as the Zambezi - just the name changes when a border is crossed.
We stopped for lunch at a picnic area for African peanut butter and jelly - ha! We had chicken drumsticks, quiche, homemade bread and coleslaw. There actually was pb and j for those who preferred it. We were all sitting around enjoying our lunch and Dave got up to get a napkin the he had forgotten to pick up from the serving table. He was only away from the table for a minute, but in that time, a very cheeky monkey ran down and swiped his sandwich! He sat up in the tree and had a great time eating the sandwich in front of us. Some of the other monkeys were getting close to the table so Dave and Mike ran at them to shoo them away. Mike made a great roaring noise, but poor Dave had his mouth full of peanut butter so could not help with the acoustics. On of the larger monkeys charged back at Dave, but he didn’t flinch so the monkey retreated. We had a great time taking photos of the monkeys, especially the baby ones - they are so cute! Just as we were getting ready to leave, another private van pulled up and a monkey reached through the window and stole a whole bag of rolls. He raced back to the tree and sat up on a high branch enjoying his stolen baked goods. As we were heading back to camp, we saw a flock of baby birds on the ground. I’m not sure of their name, but they looked like they were in the quail family. We also came across the carcass of a young elephant. Emax thought it was about 4 years old and was probably killed by a lion. He was pretty well picked over. I know I talked about this before, but Emax also talked about the 6 sets of molars allotted to an elephant in his lifetime. He said they get a new set about every 10 years. We stopped to see some giraffes - some alone, some in couples, and others in groups. There are different words for giraffes depending on what they are doing. If they are standing, it is called a tower, if walking, a journey, and if running, a stride. Our last sighting before reaching the camp, Baobab Lodge, was of a group (maybe 20) of mongooses or is it mongeese? Apparently they can travel in groups of more than 50. Before this we were seeing them one or two at a time. We got back around 3 and are having siesta now. I showered again as the ride was very dusty today. I am again sitting on the deck looking down at the river. From here I can see zebras and elephants as well as many different kinds of waterfowl. The buffalo carcass near the river that we spotted yesterday is still being worked over by the vultures, but they look like they have made quite a bit of progress since yesterday. There is a very thick vine near the lounge area. It goes up into the trees, loops down and then goes back up again in a twisting pattern. Apparently it is called a python vine. We will all meet up again tonight at 6:15 for dinner. Tonight will be a traditional African cook-out. We are also going to have a talent show. The staff has something planned and it will put our weak effort to shame. I hope it is more singing as they all have beautiful voices.
There was singing and it was beautiful! Dave and I read a couple of haikus I had come up with. Dave did a much better job of reading his than I did, but, oh well, the thought was there.
Rise in Botswana
Impalas, zebras, baboons
Red African sun.
Mabele women
Weave, dance, embrace family
Powerful forces.
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