We headed east from Satara to Singita & N’wanetsi principally
to scratch for dry-veld specials in the foothills of the Lebombo Mts. A boytjie stopped us en route & claimed that he was ‘standing on 98 lions in 7 days’. Couldn’t see any lions at the
time – thought it might be dangerous if I tried. Besides, by the looks of him, lions
wouldn’t fair too well underfoot – accounts for why we’re not seeing any. [PS:
we did – our 1st of more, later. Let loose the Kraken I say!].
Four notables featured on the scratch-card. All came quietly
to heel – Dusky Lark, Temminck’s Courser, Long-tailed Paradise Whydah &
Violet-eared Waxbill. The early morning also featured coveys of Shelley’s
Francolin – a coveted sp. and a species on the rise just as the sun did the
same.
By 9am the mercury hovered a tick under 40 º C & a short, air-conditioned sweat
later, well-over the help-me-g*d threshold.
That put pay to a protracted excursion inland – the birds had made their
excuses [red-faced] anyway. Eskimo Pies & chlorine infused-with-water [i.e. - the pool...] saved our blushes; if not
our wrinkles.
Overnight, a White Rhino had succumbed to ‘natural causes’. The bull’s horns were recovered earlier that morning. At least
that’s what we were told [Sanparks posted staff on-site] whilst out & about on our afternoon session.
The cuts looked respectful, down to the quick, even so – nobody likes a lost $.
Still, the cuttings were a vast change from the hatchet-jobs I’ve seen before. If the horns were, in fact, ‘recovered’ – does that mean the species is lost?
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| Elementary my dear Watson... |
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| One man's loss - another's... |
5 species of vulture descended on the grey – a late-afternoon spectacle all on its own. The
highlights-package featured 4 Cape Vultures. These squabbled & hooded in a mine-is-longer-than-yours show &
tell [wingspan that is – stay with me], & dominated the battlefield where
the smaller, non-unionised White-backed Vultures outnumbered the toffs 50 to 1.
Those dynamics played-out in similar fashion when a late-arriving pair of Lappet-faced
Vulture – equally red-faced deigned to argue the claim; they too shown the
cheap seats out back; under the tail.
… & so - 25 newcomers made the cut, intact & onto our
list – the scoreboard confirming the double ton. [That’s 200 not out]; fair-weather
sailing…
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