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| Our guide, Nevison,
took us on a wild ride this day in search of elephants and cats. Though we
never did spot a lion, the wide variety of wildlife that visited
Nyamandhlovu Pan made it a highlight of our trip. |
From the viewing platform at the
Pan, we watched a group of four young bull elephants emerge from the
bush and drink from the water hole.
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| We enjoyed watching a
troop of baboons eat, play, rest and socialize. Above are three females,
one with baby in her lap. The male sits majestically aloof. |
Elephants have no natural
predators; in fact their natural death occurs when they lose their last
teeth, at about age 60, without which they quietly starve to
death.
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| The baby baboons
treated the tree like a jungle gym. |
Both
males and females have tusks; but the skull of the male is different from
the female. You can see the skull "point" of the forehead of the
bull. |
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| Mother and baby
baboon. |
The bachelor herd lingers at the
water hole until dusk.
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| Zimbabwe also teems
with bird life, including hornbills, eagles, storks and, above,
the crested crane. |
This giraffe family-- mother,
father and baby --spent half an hour checking the water hole and
ensuring no predators were nearby, before the male took a long drink.
The awkwardness of the drinking posture makes the giraffe very
vulnerable.
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| And these ostrich were
quite at home and unbothered by us. |
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| The white
"cattle heron" enjoy a friendly relationship with the
wildebeest. |
Kudu males with spiral
antlers share the water hole with baboons, impala and cranes. |
