We did not have much rain during our Africa safari. This morning drive in Zebra Hills did have a light rainfall though, causing us to wear our ponchos and put the raincoat on my camera. We sat and watched 2 lions for awhile and then followed them as they walked about. This young male lion chose to pause and quench his thirst in the road, even though there were quite a few (in my opinion!) nicer pools of rainwater about.
Elephants make me nervous…… more so than any other animal. I sat quietly in the open vehicle, which was turned off. This elephant approached, checked us out, and then moved past. I then started to breathe again.
Mashatu Tented Camp Botswana Africa
Mashatu Hide
Zebra Hills. It was AMAZING to see this small cheetah cub….. and then he attempted to climb this tree to reach his mother who had climbed this tree!!!!
Cheetah cubs are born with fluffy grey backs. Known as a mantle, this cute mohawk-like hair- style runs from their neck to the base of their tail. The mantle makes a cheetah cub look like a honey badger, which is known to savagely and fearlessly attack almost any other species when escape is impossible, even repelling much larger predators such as lion and hyena.
Just like human fingerprints, no two giraffe have the same coat pattern. Giraffe feet are the size of a dinner plate with a diameter of 30 cm. Giraffe tongues are bluish-purple and between 45 and 50 cm long. Both male and female giraffe have horns already at birth.
The hyena is Africa’s most common large carnivore. They usually bear litters of two to four cubs. Cubs begin to eat meat from kills near the den at about five months, but they are suckled for as long as 12 to 18 months. This is probably a necessity, as most kills are made far from the den, and hyenas do not bring back food for their young. At about one year, cubs begin to follow their mothers on their hunting and scavenging forays. Until then, they are left behind at the den with a babysitting adult.
Leopards attain a success rate per hunt ranging between 15 and 35 percent, almost identical to lions.
Greater Kudu is the second tallest antelope. Males stand 60 inches and weigh close to 700 pounds. Males possess the longest horns of any antelope. These horns take six years of growth to complete two full turns; the horn’s size and shape keep pace with and advertise the dominance status of the bearer.
Of all the African game Ernest Hemingway tracked, the kudu proved the most elusive, and his quest for it became the basis for Green Hills of Africa, an experiment in which Hemingway enlisted the forms of the novel to tell a factual story.
I could watch lion cubs for hours.
Cape Buffalo are a member of “the Big 5.” They are also called “The Black Death” and “widowmaker” due to their aggressive nature. It is estimated that around 200 people die every year from these animals, labeling them as one of the most dangerous creatures in Africa.
The average Cape buffalo weighs 935–1,910 pounds, making them extremely heavy and durable.