THE PROJECT (OCTOBER 2010)

The project.
We went out last night to look for signs for the dogs but saw nothing except for a common duiker and a hippo.
So far the cameras seem to working well except for the 2 new ones I purchased in the UK before I left. They are ok but not up to the same standard as the Bushnell Trophy cam that I got from the US last year.
The land rover is running well but needs looking after.
The results from the cameras have been good and I have starting using the video facility. Why I didn’t use this before I don’t know.
To add to the 2 existing pictures of leopard I took last time I was here I now have 3 short videos of a leopard that I have identified as being the same male although the pictures are some 5 km apart. He looks in really good condition and moves around a lot. The marks that identify him from others are three distinct marks on the inside of his front left leg, a dark patch behind his right ear and a line on his neck.
Although I have not seen them myself this year wild dog have been seen on several occasions and only last night I received a call from the park manager saying that he had seen 6 dogs near the main gate. I spent all morning from 5 ‘o’clock looking for them and will be going back to the same area night to see what I can find. There is loads of spoor and scat so they seemed to be very active.
Being positioned at the lodge and the dam the hippo leave very good trails and paths in the bush which most of the other animals seem to follow. I have excellent footage of hippos climbing up and down a bank. This happens every night as they leave the water between 1800 and 1700hrs and return regularly between 0400hrs and 0500hrs every day. I don’t know how they find their way around in the dark but they seem to get back in one piece. I listen to them leaving and returning and it is as though they leave a guard in the water who calls them in from the bush every day. They do seem to have a language which if it is true is quite fascinating. They call if they smell elephant or other forms of danger and seem to call to each other from other areas of the dam.
I have a couple of videos of hyena one which is a carrying a duiker in its mouth which she has caught and is taking back to her den.
Other animals include porcupine, civet, common duiker, elephant and bush pig.
Other animals I have seen while carry out transects around the park are, Buffalo, zebra, Lichtenstein hartebeest, roan , puku, wart hog, common duiker, bats, black mamba and python. There are many types of birds like the black stork, saddle billed stork, African fish eagle, lourie, snake eagle, Osprey and many more.
I have tried up loading a couple of photos but it took over an hour and then cut out. I will try again when I have a better connection.