I think it's November 19

November 19

1430

A very long morning on the road today.  We left in the dark as the gate opened at 0430 and got back around 1230.  A very cool and blustery morning, with heavy overcast.  When we pulled out, I promised, promised, promised myself that I’d enjoy the morning whatever happened photographically.  That mostly happened but now as I look at the images I’m disappointed.  Getting really good wildlife images is a function of planning and everything going your way.  That wasn’t today.  So, some usable images, yes, but nothing outstanding.

But, from the perspective of enjoying the bush, a very enjoyable morning.  We started in the dark and in only a few minutes from camp we came across a brown lump in the road, which was a mother hyena suckling her two cubs.  And off to the right was another mother, suckling a little cub.  Hyena cubs start out black in color and as they move into childhood become gray with black spots. As they move into adulthood, they turn a light brown with faint spots.  The two young cubs were gray but the little baby was still mostly black.  We watched them feed and then rest, but we expected that play would soon break out and that’s exactly what happened. Chasing and wrestling. The older cubs were of course far too sophisticated to run and hide but the little one would lose its nerve periodically and spook at some sound and race into the nearby den. 

I don’t know how long we spent there – probably over an hour.  It was such a lovely scene. At one point, a male hyena showed up on the scene and one of the moms promptly ran him out of there.  No messing around.

Hyenas get a bad rap, but they’re complex, fascinating and lovely animals. They live in matriarchal clans and females are far larger and more powerful than males, and have more testosterone on board.  The lowest ranking female always outranks every male in the clan. Females also have developed external genitalia and extra bits and bobs to emulate male genitalia.  It’s difficult to tell them apart except for a few visual cues (suckle marks on teats would be one) and a difference in size, which is obvious when they’re together. They’re social, but also spend a lot of time searching for food alone.  If they find food they can take on their own, they will.  If it’s too big or challenging, they’ll call for back up.  They’re Africa’s second largest predator (next only to lions) and will easily displace other predators and steal their kills, though hyenas are also capable hunters on their own. And, if they have the numbers, they will also challenge lions. The whoop of a hyena at night is one of the signature sounds of the African bush and we’re always glad when we get the chance to see them.

And, their cubs are about the cutest creatures around. 

It was too dark to photograph them well so after play had settled down, we pushed on.  It continued to be cold and blustery. We went to Sweni hide where we were happy to find that there was water.  Not much was happening there but a goliath heron fishing in a small pool.  I set up on the chance that I might be able to catch a shot of him taking a fish. The goliath heron is a large, beautiful heron and a very patient hunter.  It gently walked into a certain spot in the pond and stood stock still. It was very windy and Gina went back to the car because she was cold.  I set up my exposure and composition. Shooting herons fishing is very difficult because they strike out with great speed.  It’s also challenging because you really can’t keep the auto focus on the bird while it strikes. I thought I’d try something different and try to anticipate from the direction of his head where he’s going to hit the water and pre-focus there. I couldn’t be sure it would work, but I was pretty certain I’d miss the shot if I tried to follow his strike.  I set up and waited, adjusting the pre-focus point every time he tilted his head in a different direction.  It was really windy and cold. A few other folks showed up at the hide, saw nothing obvious going on and left.  I waited well over an hour with my finger on the shutter release and my thumb on the back button for auto focus.  They heron never moved its legs but did occasionally move its head left and right, looking for the right opportunity. At several points I had to chance looking away and breathing and stretching because I was so cramped.  More people showed up and I was looking around and momentarily let my attention wander and – splash!  It was over.  He speared a large catfish.  Damn, damn, damn.  French words came out of my mouth.

Truth is that it was very much a long shot that I’d have captured the impact with the fish but for sure you don’t get it if you’re looking away.  I started thinking that I need to find something else to do with my time.  Damn. 

The heron carried the catfish, speared on its lower jaw, to a sandy spot away from the pond, set it down and commenced to spear it repeatedly, killing the catfish.  Then it picked it up, walked over to a small pool and washed it off carefully.  The fish moved, so it speared it some more and then washed it again.  And then swallowed it whole. And then it went back to fishing.  I, on the other hand, got up and left.

We drove on.  Saw waterbuck.  Saw hippo.  African jacana. Spent time with a juvenile African harrier-hawk who appeared to be digging out and eating termites.  Then spent time with a marabou stork.  Came back and ate a large, hot breakfast.  Now writing and Gina’s reading.

A few days ago, when we were at Crocodile Bridge, Gina learned a lesson about vervets.  She’d walked to the shop during the middle of the day to buy a few supplies.  Later, she walked into the bungalow and seemed disgusted but didn’t seem to want to talk about it.  I asked what was wrong and she confessed that she’d been the victim of a vervet drive-by.

When she got back from the shop, she noticed vervets all around her, watching her carefully. She used her sternest voice and the time-honored and really scary technique of saying, “Shoo, shoo” while flicking her hands at them. That didn’t seem to affect their apparent boredom with everything going on.  She gathered all of the items requiring refrigeration on the table and set a package with two apples on the counter because, as we all know, apples are better at room temperature and she intended to bring them in to the bungalow.  As she opened the refrigerator to put those items in, a vervet swept past her shoulder, grabbed the apples, and bounded over the nearby fence.  And not just any vervet.  This was a mother, packing her newborn on her chest.  She settled in the shade of a bush just on the other side of the fence and commenced to open the package and to eat an apple.  She didn’t even seem to be especially pleased with herself because it’s apparently so easy to steal food from large, clumsy, slow and ponderous humans that how could you gloat over it? I suspect they watched Gina all the way home from the shop, knowing that some opportunity would likely arise to steal a meal, like must happen every day of their existence.

There was a little turn in the story in that another vervet showed up and quickly stole the apples from the mother.  But it didn’t seem like justice and Gina wasn’t pleased because I think at some level she admired the pluck of this resourceful mother. So, yes, they’re lying, stealing bastards but in a way, you do end up admiring them for it.

Later today – who knows. Still overcast but not so cool or windy now.  Another drive in store, but we haven’t decided in what direction.

A goliath heron enjoys a catfish

A vervet enjoys a delicious apple, courtesy of Gina