The elusive leopard
Trip Start
Jul 12, 2008
1
18
25
Trip End
Aug 04, 2008
Lebala Camp,
Botswana
Monday, July 28, 2008
It was a quiet day out on the plain - a couple of giraffe in the distance, a wart hog or two, but that was about it. After a while, Osi stopped the jeep, and he and Mo climbed out. "Leopard tracks," said Osi. "She's around here; she went that way." I looked the direction he pointed and spotted two eyes looking at us; saw the ears, too. "There she is!" I said, and Kyla saw her, too. We know it must have been the leopard because we both saw it turn to the side and slink away in the same direction
Cape buffalo
. We started the jeep and tried to circle around where it would go - but no luck. It was gone.We eventually gave up and started out again. Paul spotted a large male kudu, with great antlers, just near the road. We also saw a large group of smaller male kudu and a group of female kudu. We reached a large flat area - twin ponds, though both were almost completely dry. The area was filled with zebra, wildebeests, impala, and a few wart hogs. We stopped for a brief tea break, under the shade of a strangler fig and its victim. We had been told that there were lions nearby but couldn't see them (and hoped they wouldn't suddenly appear). After our break, we went in search of the two male lions - found them, sleeping, near the carcass of a wart hog they had killed.
We didn't linger, as they were just sleeping, and it was growing hot. So we returned to camp, washed up, then had breakfast.
Siesta time was spent reading, journaling, napping.
After tea time, we went out again. Shortly after leaving camp, we picked up another couple, who joined us for the afternoon
Female kudu
. We began by going to find the wild dogs - they were still where they had been spotted in the morning. While the other jeeps watched the dogs, we made a slight detour to view the cape buffalo - a big group, with several huge-helmeted old men.We returned to the wild dogs - waited for 30 minutes or so - but they didn't seem inclined to hunt. Of course, we were much earlier this afternoon, but Osi thought they might have already hunted, as they seemed fat and had a bit of blood on their necks. Given this, we gave up and drove off to find a place for our sundowner (and we learned later that Osi was right; the dogs never moved).
On the return to the lodge, we spotted a couple of hyena - one sleeping in a clearing amongst the trees. Seeing this, Osi thought s/he might be sleeping near the leopard, so we searched the trees with a spotlight. No luck. We later did pick up an aardvark (ant bear) - which we chased through the bushes until it disappeared into a hole. Fun to see one!
Showered before dinner - so dusty! Then dined, sitting next to a guide who was just returning from his three week leave. After dinner, we repaired to the firepit, where we chatted about various things. We talked to the returning guide about the relationship between village chiefs and the government. Chiefs are the first court of choice for disputes within the family. They listen to both sides, then arbitrate a decision. One has to abide by the decision of the chief - or else one can be whipped (up to five lashes). The chiefs also play a role in government: they take local issues to Parliament and they convey Parliament's decisions down to the local level. Also, the first President was one of the Big Chiefs who left that role to take up politics. The current President is the son of the first, and also gave up his chieftainship to enter politics. But, despite the interesting conversation, all grew tired, and so, to bed.
