13.10.18

Today we got 4 new volunteers to the house. They didn’t arrive until late afternoon, so it was a nice lazy day for most people. I decided to go on the optional gen res drive, as I don’t think I could do a whole day just sat around base.

And boy am I glad I went on drive! I was on telem, and as usual we went to find the cheetah boys first as they’re one of our focus animals. They gave us a good run around for about half an hour, but when we finally found them we discovered why they had been so mobile; they had been hunting. We got to them about 10 minutes after they took down a sub-adult male waterbuck, so they were still gorging themselves. We actually were able to get out and walk to within 5 metres of them, they were so relaxed with our presence. It was really interesting to see which are the first parts they dig into (the bum, the neck; all places that are soft thin skin which can be easily torn through) and which bits they don’t even touch (the stomach, as the smell from all the food in there would attract other predators such as lions and leopards, who could easily chase the cheetahs away). We stayed with them for a bit taking data and photos before we had to move off so the other guides could bring in the visitors from the safari lodges.

Next we went looking for the lions, and the telem put them deep into a block. So we did a bit of off-roading, but couldn’t get near enough for a visual on them.

 

We came back and it was a nice relax and even a nap while waiting for the new volunteers, who arrived and we all gathered together for an intro session. We got another 4 ladies; 2 Portuguese, 1 Brit and 1 French. They’re all lovely but I think they’re feeling a bit overwhelmed coming into such a large group who have been together for so long. I’m sure it will take them no time to get into the swing of things.

 

(Photo credit: me)