Mana Pools October 2021 : Wild dogs, Lions,.....................Gymnogene

[madaboutcheetah]

So true about the Film Crew - also bear in mind, they do this round the season following their subjects ....... So, I'm sure the operators are frustrated as well.  This I'm sure happens in many places.

[Bush dog]

The humans on the film set were quiet.

 

Sure, Hari, it happens in other places.  A few years ago I had a conversation, in a camp, with someone who was in the Mara when BBC was filming "Big cats' diary".  They had defined, under the control of the authorities of the reserve, a fairly large perimeter in which any vehicle other than those of production was prohibited.  We can easily guess the dissatisfaction of ordinary visitors.

[Bush dog]

After leaving the filming site, we were stuck in the hot sand for the second time, the first having been when crossing the dry bed of the Sapi.  In both cases we got out thanks to the winch mounted on the front of the vehicle.

 

 

 

Hippo in Long Pool

 

 

Male eland

 

 

 

Greater kudu

 

 

 

Richard absolutely wanted us to see Boswell.  He believe that when visiting Mana Pools, it is essential to see it.  We therefore started looking for it, especially since during the first visit, we had not found hit.  As far as I am concerned, seeing it was not a must.  For me, it is an elephant like there are many in Africa, certainly larger than its congeners at Mana Pools, with an unusual pair of tusks, but not reaching the size of the Hwange bulls.  Anyway, Richard finally managed to spot it.  So, we got out of the vehicle to walk towards it until we found ourselves, quite close, in a position below it.

Suddenly it made a short and above all unexpected mock charge in our direction.  We were all, and Richard the first, highly surprised, especially since it is not at all its type, it who is extremely habituated to human beings.  I think that the situation in which we were had not allowed it to discern us well and that it must have been spooked either by one of our movements or by a noise which arose from it.

Still, it's very impressive to see this imposing mass moving quickly, for a brief moment, almost above you. 

 

 

 

 

Back to Sapi, we saw the resident side-striped jackal.

 

 

 

[JayRon]

@Bush dogLooks like a great trip with so many great sightings. My favorite is your experience with the wild dogs, I am little jealous  ... And a sidestriped jackal, never seen one in the wild.... Mana Pools is already on my bucket list, it looks amazing. I need to make plans  

[madaboutcheetah]

So nice to see Boswell again @Bush dog - Glad he's in top form!! 

[Bush dog]

@JayRon

 

Every trip in the African bush is great!

[Bush dog]

@madaboutcheetah

 

To charge us like it did, I can assure you it is in top form.

[Bush dog]

The morning game drive of the seventh day was extremely quiet.

 

Juvenile African fish eagle and impalas

 

 

 

In the afternoon, we decided to go on the water.   My wife went on a canoe with Zera who is a fully licensed canoe guide.  As the safety rules require, a second canoe had to accompany them.  It was entrusted to Brad.  As he was alone, the front seat was weighted down.  Richard and I, on the boat, went in the same direction as them, in this case going downstream.  The boat approached the Zambian shore.  Near Ol Mondoro, of which we can see, at night, the lights from our room, we started to see elephants and so on until Anabezi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[madaboutcheetah]

18 hours ago, Bush dog said:

@madaboutcheetah

 

To charge us like it did, I can assure you it is in top form.

Oh wow - Boswell charged ?? We approached reasonably close on foot and he went about his own way …. I guess they are wild animals end of the day - never say never !!

[Bush dog]

@madaboutcheetah

 

Yes, Hari, you're right.  You can even sometimes have surprises with domestic animals.

 

On 11/12/2021 at 6:26 PM, Bush dog said:

Richard absolutely wanted us to see Boswell.  He believe that when visiting Mana Pools, it is essential to see it.  We therefore started looking for it, especially since during the first visit, we had not found hit.  As far as I am concerned, seeing it was not a must.  For me, it is an elephant like there are many in Africa, certainly larger than its congeners at Mana Pools, with an unusual pair of tusks, but not reaching the size of the Hwange bulls.  Anyway, Richard finally managed to spot it.  So, we got out of the vehicle to walk towards it until we found ourselves, quite close, in a position below it.

Suddenly it made a short and above all unexpected mock charge in our direction.  We were all, and Richard the first, highly surprised, especially since it is not at all its type, it who is extremely habituated to human beings.  I think that the situation in which we were had not allowed it to discern us well and that it must have been spooked either by one of our movements or by a noise which arose from it.

Still, it's very impressive to see this imposing mass moving quickly, for a brief moment, almost above you. 

 

[Bush dog]

More elephants on the Zambezi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We embarked the occupants of the canoes, where these had docked and returned to the camp.

[BRACQUENE]

@Bush dog

 

Who can ever get enough of photos of Elephants in the Zambezi River with that magnificent backdrop of the Zambian Escarpment ? Certainly not me , Mike remembering my recent experience 

[Toxic]

8 hours ago, BRACQUENE said:

Who can ever get enough of photos of Elephants in the Zambezi River with that magnificent backdrop of the Zambian Escarpment ?

Hear hear! Beautiful shots as always @Bush dogthank you for sharing

[Bush dog]

On the morning of the eighth day, my wife felt like walking.  She decided with Richard to start this hike at the baobab tomb and end it at a point in the park, along the river, called Ilala.  So, we agreed to meet there two hours later.  During this walk, she saw a mammal that I think I have never seen before, a mutable sun squirrel.  For our part, Matt and I continued our game drive on the concession.

 

Eland

 

 

It was then that we witnessed something quite spectacular and at the same time interesting.  A few years ago, I had already observed this type of behavior, but not so intensely.  A juvenile gymnogene (African harrier-hawk) hung on the trunk of a tree to find something to eat.   With strong pecks, it attacked, at times frantically, the bark in order to dislodge any insects or worms.  It also systematically explored all the holes and crevices hoping to find a nest with chicks, in this case mainly hornbills.  But truce of words, the images speak for themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bush dog]

@Toxic

 

Once again, thank you for following the report!

[Bush dog]

Gymnogene: second batch of photos always presented in chronological order.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wilddog]

what a fantastic sighting and photo series of the gymnogene. 

[Treepol]

Fabulous gymnogene action shots!

[Africalover]

Fantastic series of pictures of the Gymnogene 👍😊

[Bush dog]

@wilddog @Treepol @Africalover

 

Thanks a lot for those kind words!

[Bush dog]

Last pictures of the gymnogene

 

 

 

 

 

 

After this thrilling moment, we went once again along the river.

 

 

The solitary hippo with the white spots on its paws.

 

 

We then found the lions installed deep in the shade of the bushes, along the airstrip.  Only one of them was photographable.

 

 

Sharpe’s grysbok

 

 

In the afternoon, we headed south to explore the surroundings of an artificial waterhole powered by a solar pump.  It was unfortunately deserted but visibly, given the large quantity of their droppings, regularly frequented by elephants.

[Kitsafari]

Spectacular series of Gymnogene shots! the first time I had seen a gymnogene, it was an adult vertical on the tree trunk attacking a hole with its legs. It was incredible to watch (our photos came out rubbish unfortunately), and it's such a beautiful raptor that it has become of my favourite raptors in Africa. .

 

4 hours ago, Antee said:

Is this Gymnogene something special? 
Asked from a non-birder  
 

 

@AnteeIt's a typical behaviour of the gymnogene as it uses its double-jointed legs (giving it flexibility to bend) to pry inside nests along tree trunks.

 

@Bush dogSuch beautiful light on the elehants along the river. Really surprised about Boswell's charge which made me wonder if he was grumpy because he had a bad experience with another human just before you?

 

great shot of the side-striped jackal too! 

[Bush dog]

Sharpe's grysboks are quite present in Mana Pools.  I saw a few during this trip.

[Bush dog]

@Kitsafari

 

Thank you a lot for your comments and explanations relating to the gymnogene.

[Bush dog]

By the morning of the ninth day, my wife was in the mood to walk again.  With Richard and Zera, the hike will be ten kilometers long, starting from a place five kilometers from the camp and ending along the river at acacia island.  At the height of their starting point, the lions were found lazily, as often, lying along the road.  So, they set off from a little further.  Brad and I went back to the lions to make some more shots.

 

 

 

 

 

Seen from this angle, I think that the first two must be brothers. Maybe the other two are also, but I'm less sure.  What I haven't mentioned yet is that there were five of them.  Richard had no information about what had happened to it.