Day 14: July 7, Botswana Drama

Whew! We had crazy adventures this morning! Last night, Joanne and I were kept awake by some very loud noises - low grunts, growls, groans, and scraping sounds along the wooden walkway outside of our tent. It scared me to death, and I was convinced it was lions, until I realized that whatever it was was munching on branches and grass. I talked myself into believing that they were elephants, but was too scared to poke my head out of the tent to find out (they tell you *never* to poke your head out of the tent at night!)

We woke up (and the sounds were still there) to find ourselves surrounded by a herd of about 50 buffalo! (We found out later that one of the guides had also heard the sounds of a leopard mixed in with the buffalo grunts. I couldn't tell the difference.) The buffalo scampered off to a safe distance when we exited the tent, and I tried to take a photo, but it was dark, so I don't know how the the pictures came out. (Note: Here's the photo. It came out kind of blurry, as I had suspected it might.) At breakfast we fed the francolins rice krispies:
And before we left, it was light enough to get one last, clear photo of one of the buffalo that kept us awake all night:
This morning, I went on a "game walk" with our guide, Sam. This is basically a walking wildlife lesson that puts you distinctly on the bottom of the food chain. Sam carried a shotgun, and we had to walk single file, and keep our voices down. He showed us tracks of various animals, poop of various animals, and roots of trees that elephants like to eat. It was cool. (Apparently, the local villagers use impala poop to treat chicken pox. With so many impala around, I'm sure there's plenty to go around when there's an outbreak.)

About half-way through our morning walk, we got a call on the walkies that there was a sighting... so we rushed back to the vehicle and drove like maniacs (my kidneys are still bruised from the bumps on the road.) At first, all we saw were more jackals...
...but then, through the brush... we saw LIONS! And not just one or two, there were 10 lions lying about, including a few cubs:
They'd just made a kill, and had eaten a large breakfast... so they were just laying around, dozing... and yawning:
They were stunning, inspiring and impressive animals, even while they were dozing... These are incredible animals, and to be as close as we were, and realize that if they got in the mood they could kill you with one swipe... gives me the shivers...
We finally found the male lion, lying a little further away from the pack:

He was gorgeous, and walked right by the trucks...
He just moseyed around... and didn't seem to have any direction, until we realized that a female was calling to him, and he was moving towards that sound.
So we left the two alone, and went back to see if we could find the lion's kill...
And sure enough, hidden underneath some brush, two females and a baby lion were finishing off a zebra:

On the drive back to camp after our morning adventures, we had a staring contest with a Yellow Mongoose. He just sat in the road, and we sat staring at him... I think he just wanted to make sure we got a good photo of him: We also saw some other animals, too... like a live zebra...
... and another fabulously gorgeous giraffe... (*smile*)
Later that evening, we went back to the lion site, to see if they were still there. The lions had left, but the remains of the zebra were still there. Here's a hoof and the lower jaw bone:
Here are the ribs, upper jaw, and part of the mane. The hyenas would arrive later, and eat the bones (their jaws are strong enough to crush bones... amazing.) It's stunning to me what an animal can be reduced to in a matter of hours, and it was a stark reminder of how brutal survival is out here in the bush.

There were about a thousand vultures circling the area too, including one with a tag on his wing: Number K064....
More giraffes in the evening...
And we also saw:

- Elephants

- Steenbok

- Saddle-billed stork

- Short-tailed Eagle

- Kudu

- Impala

- Yellow-billed Duck

- Red-Billed Teal

- Black-winged Stilt

- Spur-winged Goose

- Grey Heron

- Warthog

- Double-banded Sandgrouse

- Slender Mongoose

- White-backed Vultures

- Hooded Vultures

We returned to the hippo pool, and while the sunset wasn't as impressive as the last few evening's, there were two adolescent hippos that were playing and frolicking in the water hysterically. We went back to camp, exhausted from everything we had seen...

Tomorrow, we leave for Zimbabwe, so the staff at the lodge gave us a fabulous farewell. We danced, sang, and listened to them perform on traditional African musical instruments. I'll be sad to say goodbye to this beautiful place.