A leopard and her 2 cubs were tracked. We found the mother, lying under a tree. Close by her, was a male impala she had killed for her family. No cubs to be seen. We kept waiting...hoping to see the babies. The mother leopard kept staring in 1 direction across a shallow, empty water bed. (I didn't notice that - but, our tracker, Judas did.) Judas then declares that he has spotted the 2 cubs in a tree - exactly in the direction that the mother leopard was looking. With our new binoculars, we saw them too! Those little cuties! They were safely hiding in the top of a huge tree until their mother calls them down. That's where they go while the mother is off hunting. The babies came down after we left, but it was fantastic regardless!
Hyneas are extremely curious and interesting. Their dens are in enormous termite mounds. We watched 3 mother hyneas and their babies. The babies came right over to the vehicle. They looked right at us. My pictures are wonderful! What darling little faces! They were teething - so, kept trying to chew on the tires and even the metal of the vehicle. Richard (our guide) stopped them. He said that if they learn to do that as youngsters...they will continue the same behavior as adults, which would not be good. Hyneas are extremely strong and powerful. It is a female dominated species. Female cubs are strongly favored over males. The male babies have to fight their way to nurse. Females have such a high level of testosterone. So much testosterone, that females have a penis. Females are bigger than males. Terrific to be so close to them.
Well...who would have guessed that our morning game drive would have concluded by watching 2 hippos mating! The male hippo is on top and the female is underneath him in the water. Poor thing! It was a slow process, and the female hippo kept trying to come up from underneath the 2,000 pound male to breath. The male hippo was mostly out of the water with the female hidden...except when trying to breath.
Hyneas are extremely curious and interesting. Their dens are in enormous termite mounds. We watched 3 mother hyneas and their babies. The babies came right over to the vehicle. They looked right at us. My pictures are wonderful! What darling little faces! They were teething - so, kept trying to chew on the tires and even the metal of the vehicle. Richard (our guide) stopped them. He said that if they learn to do that as youngsters...they will continue the same behavior as adults, which would not be good. Hyneas are extremely strong and powerful. It is a female dominated species. Female cubs are strongly favored over males. The male babies have to fight their way to nurse. Females have such a high level of testosterone. So much testosterone, that females have a penis. Females are bigger than males. Terrific to be so close to them.
Well...who would have guessed that our morning game drive would have concluded by watching 2 hippos mating! The male hippo is on top and the female is underneath him in the water. Poor thing! It was a slow process, and the female hippo kept trying to come up from underneath the 2,000 pound male to breath. The male hippo was mostly out of the water with the female hidden...except when trying to breath.
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