Well, hello there. I hope that you are fabulously well and are ready and raring for the week ahead. Here in the Luangwa the temperatures are certainly on the warm side and the other evening we may have even had 30 or so drops of rain which was incredibly frustrating as certainly not enough to get us all excited but more than enough to increase the humidity. Anyway, as you know, I love a little chat about the weather, but I shall swiftly take you all up to Tena Tena as we close the camp tomorrow for the season. And wow, what a final week it has been.
So where do we start… I am thinking let us begin with the hardship of nature, as a week ago two baby wood owls fell out of their nest as they were attacked by bees. They were so severely hurt no one thought that they could possibly survive. At this point there is that super tough decision to make, whether to help or let nature take its course. I am afraid to say that emotion got the better of us all – to a certain extent – and one of the guys scaled the tree carrying the little owls and put them back in their nest. Sadly, though they were chased again by the bees and fell to the ground. One of them perished but the other seemed to be a little fighter and so the team popped it on a lovely perch under a bush just close to the nest. Kate our Tena Tena host, having her childhood dream of rescuing birds being thoroughly realised, has been in her element and the little owlet is now sitting upright on its perch and it would appear that the parents are feeding it. Sadly, its eyes are terribly swollen from all the stings, but we do hope that maybe if it can hang on and the parents continue to support it, that its eyes will once again be able to open. We have until the end of the week with the team there keeping an eye on things to update us, so we keep everything tightly crossed that this works out for the best.
Heading a few hundred meters out of camp and over to the hyenas. A few weeks back sadly one of the hyena pups died in the original den so the clan wisely decided to up and move to a new spot which was slightly less smelly. Since then, it seems to have spurred on reproduction and the den is teaming with pups of all sizes. It is in a wonderful spot for game viewing as well, so the guests have been thoroughly spoilt as they have been watching the various sized pups clambering around each other playing and generally behaving like youngsters. Plus, it is on the road into camp so it’s a regular stop at the start and end of every game drive giving the guests ample opportunity for some sightings.
Moving away from camp the leopards seem to be absolutely everywhere, whether they are in a tree sleeping, in a tree with an impala kill or even a first for one of the guides as they watched a leopard literally disappear down a hole which turned out to be a warthog den and the leopard came out with a piglet. Sort of didn’t really seem like it was worth the effort as it was so small but an incredible sighting all the same.
The predators are certainly flourishing as the water sources swindle and the game becomes far more concentrated around the river and it doesn’t take long for the buffalo herds to move in in their numbers as they head to the water to drink. On one such occasion there were 7 lionesses hiding nearby and as they exploded out from their cover there was total mayhem among the herd. They did manage to catch a youngster, but it was not long before the mayhem of the herd turned on its head and they turned on the lions who decided it was simply not worth it and they sulked away from a failed hunt.
Now as we seem to have been a little gloomy with some of our sightings, I am going to finish this week’s Its Monday with the irresistible sightings of a brand-new baby elephant. Its skin looking almost like a pair of baggy pyjamas, slightly fluffy all over and a trunk which quite frankly was somewhat curious as it tried to figure out how to use it. Not to mention the over exaggerated steps over the rough ground as it picked its way around but mostly kept as close to mum as possible.
The sightings have been incredible this year in the Nsefu Sector and although Tena Tena now closes for the season, don’t worry Nsefu still has a few more weeks left so we shall keep you posted on news from there as well. But for today I believe I have kept you long enough, so I shall bid you a very fond farewell. Have a fabulous week with plenty of smiles and laughter and don’t forget to look after one another.
