Singita Pamushana Lodge Malilangwe Zimbabwe Wildlife Journal For the month of December, Two Thousand and Fourteen Temperature Rainfall Recorded Average minimum: 21,7˚C (71,0˚F) For the month: 148,0 mm Average maximum: 32,3˚C (90,1˚F) For the year to date: 791,6 mm Minimum recorded: 16,5˚C (61,7˚F) Maximum recorded: 38,9˚C (102,0˚F) It's been a month of festivities and feasting for all - especially the predators. Early bird guests and guides have seen a female cheetah chasing an impala - but speed's not everything, the impala jinked away to safety. Using the same strategy a wildebeest outwitted a lion after a high-speed chase and the bull made a great escape into the thick bush. We've seen a pack of 26 African wild dogs hunting along the river and a young male leopard stalking impalas. This journal details two predator feasts, and if you, like me, cannot eat dinner and watch Grey's Anatomy at the same time due to the gory images I suggest you keep all food far away from you, especially any carpaccio! The predators did reveal their softer sides as well this month, such as when a clan of five adult hyenas delighted guests by playing with their four cubs next to the road and when two lionesses showed off their five cubs of different ages, the youngest being a 12-week-old ball of fluff. With all the green grass about now, thanks to the summer rain, the browsers and grazers have been feasting too. We've seen a massive herd of about 700 Cape buffalo and a crash of eight white rhinos mowing down the grasslands, seven black rhinos pruning the bushveld, and a magnificent sighting of a herd of 16 sable antelope selectively nibbling their favourite grasses. It takes little encouragement to be up and about before sunrise at 05.22, because that's the best time to catch nocturnal creatures winding down, and diurnal ones waking up. Guests have also spent blissful afternoons in the Suncatcher, cruising the Malilangwe Dam while birding, laughing with the hippos and having good fishing luck - this afternoon guests had nine successful bream catches! Not caring about sharing We spent such an enjoyable hour at Lojaan Dam watching a cranky hippo trying to chase off a trio of Egyptian geese. I have to admit, in the hippo’s defence, that the geese were really annoying. The solitary bull had left his natal pod for some reason - possibly he had been chased off by a territorial bull, and was trying to eek out some quiet time in the calm waters, on his own. But no, the geese insisted on swimming in continuous circles around his head. We mused that he must be thinking something along the lines of, "What does an old hippopotamus have to do to get some peace around here?" Then he did a 'yawn' display and swivelled around causing the cheekiest goose to levitate from the water in an effort to save itself. But alas, that close call only seemed to make the geese more brazen, and they continued teasing him. The hippo bided his time, and waited for them to come even closer. He acted calm and relaxed and slid beneath the water's surface. Then suddenly he erupted from the depths and tried to snatch the goose, missing by a mere feather! I have no idea what he would have done had he caught it, but at least the geese learnt their lesson for the moment. We left the dam wall and walked back to the Land Cruiser, only to find a herd of buffalo making their way to the water's edge for a drink. This battalion of invaders was the last straw for the hippo. He moved to the deepest part of the dam and proceeded to have what I can only describe as a tantrum, by throwing his head about, gaping and showing his teeth in the most intimidating way he knew, while the buffalo languished in the shallows, drank and looked on with nonplussed poker faces. The most astonishing, frightening and incredible sighting of my career I am not exaggerating with that title. The day after the funny hippo / geese / buffalo sequence I returned to Lojaan Dam as it is, without doubt, my favourite spot on the reserve. I was on my own and had been slowly pottering along a winding back route, stopping here and there to photograph flowers and insects. I had planned to have a break at Lojaan Dam, drink my bottle of water and do some tranquil birdwatching, as it is also a birding hotspot. I stopped the vehicle in an alcove and while doing so cast my eyes across the water. I saw the cranky hippo was in the middle of the dam again, but this time he'd been joined by two elephants in the water, at the far side. Or so I thought, as it was just a quick glance while carefully parking. As I reached for my binoculars I thought to myself, "Oh how special, today I get to see two elephants swimming here." But I dropped my binocular as I lifted them to my eyes because the two grey bodies were not those of elephants, and the long protrusions on their heads were not trunks. I had stumbled upon TWO BLACK RHINOS IN THE WATER. My hands trembled as I grabbed my 400 mm lens and my 1.4 convertor and fitted them to the camera body. While doing this and trying to stay calm I could tell from the sounds that these two highly endangered, rarely observed and very aggressive animals were not having a swim - they were having the battle to end all battles. Both were bulls - the one much bigger than the other. They fought in the water and on the bank. Their thundering feet shook the earth and their bellowing cries echoed off the sandstone walls and amplified over the water. They churned the sand to mud and the water to waves as they laid into each other with full force. Each time the smaller one was challenged it would plough through the water to deep safety in order to try and protect itself from the stabbing horns of the other. There were times on the water's edge when both were airborne as they slammed their over 1 000 kg enraged bodies and dagger-like horns into each other. Both had blood pouring from wounds on their faces, I could see the whites of their enraged eyes and the curl of their lips and I will never forget the sound of their furious roars and terrified screams. I had my finger jammed down on continuous shooting and before I knew it the episode was over and the larger bull had chased the smaller one into dense bush. Their vocalisations eventually faded and the earth stopped vibrating. I think I was in a state of shock for a few moments afterwards as I sat there trying to make sense of what I'd just seen. On reflection I think it was most likely a territorial dispute with the smaller bull challenging the larger 'landowner' for his territory. Black rhinos (Diceros bicorni) wallow in water and mud to cool down and remove parasites, and I've seen injured scab-encrusted black rhinos standing in fairly deep water, presumably to soothe their wounds; but to see them in broad daylight using deep water as sanctuary and defence during a fight was behaviour I've never read about in all the material I've studied over the years. Thankfully I have this sequence of photographs to document the event, and share with you: Walking on water On a lighter note, you can always count on baboons for some comic relief, so when we were having a coffee break on a cliff overlooking the Chiredzi River, and saw a troop of baboons wanting to cross, I dashed for my camera again. Fortunately I steadied it on a beanbag on the ground because we were rocking with laughter and every shot would otherwise have been a blur! It was absolutely hilarious to watch their histrionics as they crossed the ankle-deep channel. The little ones literally walked on water, screeching and flailing their arms; the mammas walked across quickly and carefully, clutching their babies to their chests; the dominant males, or wannabe dominant males, tried to stroll across nonchalantly - but inevitably they would be halfway and lose their nerve, sprinting, leaping and shrieking to the other side. A nearby log was obviously a crocodile in disguise, and who knew what other terrors lurked beneath the toe-wetting water... Christmas feasts - part 1 In July we saw two, muscular, young, male lions challenge a mature, big, black-maned lion on the western side of the Chiredzi, for his territory. They chased the old king and laid into him, giving him quite a beating. Since then I've seen them predominantly in the north western half of the property, and they are brazen in their demeanour - they're the new rulers of this land. They are also excellent hunters - especially of buffalo, which are difficult to hunt, but a favourite prey species and a bounty of about 800 kg of beef. The brothers took down this buffalo slap bang in the middle of the public access road that runs through our reserve to the Gonarezhou National Park. You had to drive around them in order not to irritate them (or terrify yourself) as they lay next to the carcass guarding it.