Niyam's African Adventure (August 2013)

[africapurohit]

@@Kitsafari two days later the same elephant (named Fred) came back again whilst we were in the tent. I showed Niyam how the elephant was feeding on the pods and as he watched through the mesh windows. That seemed to help the recovery process.

 

@@TonyQ there was a family of bushbucks who used the camp as a safe haven (from leopards) and they were very relaxed within and just outside the boundaries of the camp. We once encountered the same family around 500m from the camp and they behaved like typical bushbuck - very skittish.

[africapurohit]

The plan for Day 6 in Katavi was to head back to Paradise and cross the Kapapa River. Nick was there the previous day and witnessed a significant drop in the water levels, so we were going to try our luck with Maruti Gypsy. We also had a trainee guide with us so some extra help was on hand in case we got stuck. When the moment to cross the river arrived we had two other vehicles spectating, sure that we would get stuck and require their help. But the little Gypsy and Whiteman proved them wrong and drove straight across without a hitch. Here are some of the images taken during the morning and early afternoon.......

 

Immature Blacksmith Lapwing

White-browed Coucal

Breeding herd of elephants crossing Katisunga

Greater Blue-eared Starling

A topi in the Chada area

Little Bee-eater

Male Yellow-throated Sandgrouse

Female Yellow-throated Sandgrouse

Immature Saddle-billed Stork

On the other side of Paradise

Zebras and Bohor Reedbucks

Whiteman and Niyam by the Paradise hippo pool with a large buffalo herd approaching in the far distance

Yellow-billed Stork

Lunch under the shade of a mahogany tree

During lunch we saw a herd of 800 buffalo come down to feed and drink but something spooked them causing a stampede of epic proportions, resulting in curtain of dust rising 50 metres into the air. The combination of distance, haze and dust made it difficult to focus but I hope this image gives some indication of the event. We went to investigate what spooked them, thinking it could be the Paradise Pride, but it was just another vehicle.

A monitor lizard basking on the branch of a tree

Southern Ground Hornbill

On the way out of Paradise, we came across the giraffe very close to the road. There was a lot of oxpecker activity on this giraffe but there was one particular Red-billed Oxpecker which was moving towards the giraffe's head. I tracked this particular bird and took a series of photos - here are some of them........

 

Edited October 23, 2013 by africapurohit

[AKR1]

Lovely pictures, AP. Selfishly, I wish they were bigger as on my huge monitor at home, they are still postcard size.

[africapurohit]

Thanks @@AKR1 - you must have a very high resolution monitor there! The resolution of the monitor I use is 1920 x 1080, so with the longest dimension of the photos being 800-1000 pixels, they get good screen real estate.

 

@@Game Warden is there a maximum resolution or maximum dpi for images on Safaritalk, before they are re-sized?

Edited October 24, 2013 by africapurohit

[africapurohit]

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Paradise with sightings of plenty of buffalos, hippos, zebras, bohor reedbucks, waterbucks and giraffes. The birding was also prolific, especially the water birds. I could have taken many more photos but the light from the mid-day sun was harsh, so I put the cameras down and enjoyed this oasis with Niyam. The most surprising absentees were the elephants? Paradise was a perfect location to accommodate their increased demand for food and water but we didn't see any. Here are some images from our journey back to camp that afternoon............

 

Ikuu Bridge

The view of the Katuma River from Ikuu Bridge

I could never tire of taking photos of the Big Boss

A Grey Heron drying its wings in the sun, next to what seems to be a pelvis

An elephant bull having a drink in the Katuma River

A beautiful Bare-faced Go-away-bird

A Hamerkop with a catch

Verreaux's Eagle-Owl

When Katisunga was bathed with that typically beautiful light, we were looking for worthy subjects to photograph but came across this poor soul - a male spotted hyena with no ears and multiple wounds! When Whiteman heard that this was Niyam's first sighting of a hyena, he became apologetic and tried to explain to Niyam that hyenas do not usually look like this - he didn't want this image imprinted on Niyam's mind . But Niyam has watched many documentaries starring hyenas so clicked straight away that something was not right. Personally, this was a very unique sighting - I have seen hundreds of hyenas but never one with it's ears missing. When discussing the sighting with Nick, he explained that he had seen this before - where male hyenas have had their ears chewed off by dominant female siblings when they are still cubs. Of course, some males don't even survive this brutal introduction to their sisters. The fresh wounds suggested that this male was still a punchbag for his clan.

 

[africapurohit]

Thanks we did find elephant dung around there, so they do visit (we were very good at spotting this important fuel in defense against the tsetses). The only problem with day trips to Paradise is the harsh light by the time you get there and it's still harsh when you have to leave. I would love to experience a sunrise and sunset in that location.

[pault]

Again, that is a magnificent crocodile..... Not such a magnificent hyena, but a real survivor. Beautiful bird shots before you put the camera down.

[africapurohit]

The hyena was in the same area the next day too, spending time away from his clan - probably for the best. They are true survivors!

[TonyQ]

I think you have become a bird specialist on this trip - really enjoying the pictures

The hyena is a sorry sight - but surviving!

[africapurohit]

During the night an elephant came to our banda for a midnight snack. It was making so much noise that I was sure Niyam would wake up but he slept through it. I got up, without switching on any of the lights, and followed the elephant's course around our tent. He was so close, I could hear the digestive processes taking place inside his stomach. At one stage as the elephant reached for pods that had fallen on top of the tent, the shapes of two tusks dented our canvas wall - a fascinating experience!

 

Day 7 was to be our last full day in Katavi but I decided on a slow pace for the day because we had a lot of travelling scheduled for the next day - and I didn't want Niyam exhausted. First we headed to the springs where the female leopard was sighted but we soon abandoned our leopard search when we found members of the Katuma Pride there. They were lying at the edge of the Katisunga Plains close to the springs and one of the lionesses looked in very poor condition.

 

Chada Camp had decided to set up a flycamp close to the springs and the staff and guests were abruptly woken at 4:00am by the lions. One of the guides told Whiteman that a lioness was sniffing his head through the flimsy tent as the pride entered their flycamp!. As a precaution, everyone was woken and told to stay alert as the lions took over the camp. My main aim for the morning was to get some oxpecker photos at the Ikuu hippo pool from a low angle (that meant lying flat on the ground of the viewing platform). One of the hippos was wounded from a scuffle as competition for prime spots had already started to increase - this meant a hive of oxpecker activity, including some grey-coloured juveniles. Niyam also enjoyed an educational session about the animals bones and skulls on display at the hippo pool, from Whiteman. Here are some images from the morning.........

 

 

Brown Snake Eagle

Black-shouldered Kite

Fork-tailed Drongo

Edited October 28, 2013 by africapurohit

[michael-ibk]

Fantastic oxpecker series! (Though not very appetizing... )

 

The Impala portrait and the fork-tailed drongo are standouts, too. I´m almost a bit sad Katavi is coming to an end.

[africapurohit]

Thanks @@michael-ibk , oxpeckers are generally ignored by most guests, so I thought I'd make some time for them. Even Whiteman thought it a bit strange that I was at one of Africa's most famous hippo pools and I was ignoring the hippos! The wounded hippo helped with their photography. The fork-tailed drongo took a lot of attempts before I got anything decent - especially being a black bird with harsh sunlight directly behind it. I was focussing on the red eye and thankfully, the bird was patient whilst I experimented with settings.

 

10 days in Northern Serengeti coming next! Those 10 days probably accounted for 70% of the photos taken during the whole trip, so it will take some time to process

[TonyQ]

Fascinating oxpeckers

It will be sad to see the last of Katavi

But still 70% of your photos to come!

This is an epic - I look forward to our next chapters

[africapurohit]

We had a very leisurely afternoon drive, spending all our time around Katisunga. At the end of the afternoon, we returned to the area where we left the Katuma Pride in the morning and they were still there. The young male and a female were resting on the edge of the track and once we determined they were not interested in Niyam, we parked about 3 metres away from them. They seemed very relaxed and I got to experiment with some monochrome photography, before putting the cameras down and enjoying our last Katavi sunset.

 

Long-crested Eagle

Tawny Eagle

Red-billed Hornbill

Defassa Waterbuck and Zebra in front of the camp

Bohor Reedbuck

The Penthouse - a termite mound that starts half way up a tree, something I had never seen before. An indication that the termites had access through the tree trunk from underground.

Edited October 28, 2013 by africapurohit

[Safari Cal]

Those Oxpecker shots are ace, great behavioural study and that Hyena is really battered and bruised, wow, definitely a survivor. Great stuff, loving your trip report @@africapurohit

[Zim Girl]

Oh that poor lioness did look in a bad way, as did the hyena earlier - great pictures.

 

Love the oxpeckers on the hippo.

[africapurohit]

Thanks @@TonyQ, @@Safari Cal and @@Zim Girl. The guides suspected that this lionesses only had a few more days left, as she was deteriorating at a very fast rate. As a pride, they were really struggling to hunt, so this didn't help her condition as she was losing weight very quickly. It was also suggested that she might have been one of the lead hunters of the pride, and thus her condition was contributing to their failings as a pride - a viscous circle!

 

During our 7 days, the recorded kills of the Katuma Pride were a warthog, a reedbuck and a baby impala - just about enough to keep a single lion going for a week, never mind a whole pride with cubs. They could have killed and eaten during the night but there was never any evidence they had made a kill.

[Kitsafari]

Oh poor lioness. She does look in a very poor state. And the poor hyena, though looking at him, you wouldn't think he was in a dire state as the lioness.

 

More pix and stories to come and more shots of Niyam - can't wait!

[Game Warden]

This trip may well turn your son into one of the future's great conservationists...

[africapurohit]

@@Game Warden as long as he's based in some remote wilderness area of Africa, I'll happily support him. I'll even make regular visits to deliver his cornflakes and milk (any excuse to go out there!)

[twaffle]

Love the photos of the ox peckers especially, wonderful little cameos of them. In fact I'm enjoying all the photos and the reporting, just wonderful.

[Game Warden]

Hopefully you'll stretch this report out until you are ready to go on your next safari so we won't have a long break inbetween reports.

 

Another classic ST trip report...

[africapurohit]

After a leisurely breakfast, we finished packing and said our farewells to the camp staff. Whiteman had also packed, as he was flying back to Ruaha this morning. We headed off on a gamedrive en-route to the Ikuu airstrip. There was some sadness in the air as Niyam had become attached to Whiteman and I felt that I had barely scratched the surface of Katavi with much left unexplored. But the sadness was soon washed away with some of the sightings we had. Two animals, in particular, put a smile on my face - the African Fish Eagle and an acrobatic baby Vervet Monkey. The irony was that I chased these two animals the most during our stay in Katavi, and got my best photo opportunities during our drive to the airstrip! Some of the other highlights included a Southern Ground Hornbill posing in a tree and a Red-billed Oxpecker that had taken up a position that was not appreciated by the host impala.

 

Niyam with Nick Greaves

The bachelors of Katisunga

A group of male Yellow-throated Sandgrouse

The posing Ground Hornbill

Reflective Grey Heron

Saddle-billed Stork

Hamerkop

One of the Fish Eagles close to the airstrip

and another one relaxed on the banks of the Katuma River

[africapurohit]

The impala with the unwelcome visitor

The acrobatic baby Vervet Monkey putting on a show

​There appears to be a band around his waist resembling an elasticated nappy?

[Safaridude]

That's a great photo of Niyam and Nick. Also a great fish eagle sequence.

 

Gosh, now I am saddened that the Katavi part is done with. I felt the same way last year leaving Katavi… it felt like there was much much more to explore.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Safaridude