Killer Kalahari!!!

Trip Start Jun 07, 2008
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107
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Trip End Jun 28, 2009


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Flag of South Africa  , Northern Cape,
Friday, January 9, 2009

In only a few days, we have seen lots of killers of the Kalahari, and also ways that the Kalahari is so cool! Last night on our game drive, we searched for a long time for the wild dogs. We followed their tracks for over two hours, and they were running the whole time. Wild dogs hunt in packs and they can run for hours at a time without stopping. We finally had to give up because it was getting dark, but on the way back we found 10 lions eating a baby mountain zebra!!! I have never been so close to so many lions in the wild. There was a big beta (that means second in charge) black maned Kalahari male lion eating the zebra, and about four nine-month old cubs trying to share it with him. He kept growling and smacking them away with his paws. The cubs were covered in blood and I could see the zebra's head and eyes and skin - that was all that was left to eat after the male finished eating. In all, there was one male, two females, and seven cubs. The cubs were very cute and still had some spots on them. Jason said this was not a big meal for them, so the lionesses would have to hunt again that night Lions at the kill
Lions at the kill
 . It was wild to hear them chomping on the zebra.

So, in one day, I saw two fresh kills in the Kalahari! And this morning, we found out that the wild dogs we were chasing caught something, but all we could see was some blood and hair left over - they eat everything!

Last night after our drive, we went up to a sand dune about 10km from camp to sleep out under the stars. Except that last night there were lots of clouds and amazing lighting everywhere. When we got to the camp site, there were five beds, all with sheets and covers, but just out in the open, not even under a tent or anything! We crawled in the beds and laid there watching the lighting until we fell asleep. Just before midnight, I woke up when I heard a big thunder crash and saw lighting right next to us. Suddenly, it started pouring with rain - in buckets! Dad and I jumped up, and found my shoes (in case of scorpions!) and Jason came running over and we all jumped in the land rover. Lu was still fast asleep so Dad carried her. We thought we could wait until it stopped raining, but it was pouring so we had to come back to the lodge. It was still fun to fall asleep out in the desert - and I hope we can do it again sometime without the lighting and rain!

This morning, we went on another drive to look for dogs. No dogs, but we Jason told us about the time he had to shoot an ostrich because it was in must like elephants and kept kicking him, and also about tiny ticks you can get in the Kalahari that will paralyze you if you sit on them for too long. Lots of things to look out for in the desert! But it is still a great place to be!
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