Wild Dog Heaven.

Yesterday we found three wild dogs on the hunt. Amazing off road adventure following these guys I was in absolute heaven. The dogs also ran into a herd of Cape Buffalo - of course way too big a target for three dogs but the guys were having a blast with their cameras with wild dog and buffalo in the same picture. The odds of seeing a kill is greater with wild dogs than any other predator. They have a higher success rate than the cats. So I have two more days for the ultimate sighting - a wild dog kill. I may join whichever vehicle is on the wild dog hunt when the new group arrives. So glad to see that the Kings Camp group also had a wild dog adventure!

Today was the same female leopard but this time the male was nowhere to be seen. I guess she gave up and left the man alone. We also were totally surrounded by an elephant herd today with lots of little ones and some pretty big elephants walked close on each side of our vehicle. We all kept VERY still.

I have not seen any small lion cubs since Roar 111 began just at my earlier stay at Chitwa Chitwa. Just not been in the right vehicle although I know everyone here at Leopards Hills did see them on the first or second day. When I left Tintswalo they had seen the the males and the lioness with a headache but no little cubs. There is a pride there I hope they found them.

Those pictures from Grant of the lion pride were fantastic. Kudos to Grant he always posts great pictures. Hope we find the pride again here at Leopard Hills in the next few days. The coalitions of lions are playing havoc with the prides. Saw two of the Mapogo coalition here at Leopard Hills and the Manyetli coalition is strong at Tintswalo right now. Kings may be the best place for pride activity at this particular moment.

We had a great boma last night. The group wanted game meat and they delivered. The elan meat I have always liked best and last night it was really fantastic. It tasted like a prime piece of sirlon. Great flavor, juicy and cooked perfect for me at medium rare. They also did a stir fry with lots of ingredients and everyone loved that too. The smoke was not a problem, it was not cold and everyone had a really great time.

I was doing all I could to come over to Kings Camp and surprise the others but it appears it is not to be. There is a big meeting in Durban called Indaba and many of the small private planes and helicopters are not available right now. It is a not far as the crow flys but it is a long drive as you cannot drive straight through the reserves. I guess Kings Camp told the group I was coming so it would not have been a surprise after all but still would have been super to "pop in". I tried!

I just waved goodbye to the group leaving Leopard Hills today and heading to Tintswalo. The next group should be arriving in about an hours time. Looking forward to seeing them all again.