Our last full day at Fika Futi lodge and once again out early and our mission was to find hyena. The den was a long drive away and it was a difficult one over very rocky terrain with us being bounced all over the place but we got to see the hyenas at their den. There were two adults, two sub-adults and two youngsters who were around six months old. Hyenas are so cute when they are young, small black bundles of fur and as they reach three months the spots begin to appear and by the time they are six months old they have their spots and the black has disappeared. Like all youngsters the baby hyena just wants to play but today everyone else just wanted to sleep in the sun, so he made a bit of a nuisance of himself, going from one to the other but each time being pushed off. In the end he had to settle for a large stick which kept him and us amused for some time.
Our stop for breakfast this morning was at one of the two hides that are in this reserve. These hides are old shipping containers that have been lowered into the ground so that when you are in them you are eye level with the waterhole in front. The hide was not in use when we arrived and there were no animals around so we set up our breakfast table beside the hide and watched impala running past, a giraffe also walked past and the birds were having a great time drinking at the waterhole. Halfway through breakfast we spotted a herd of elephants heading our way so it was a quick pack-up and on to the vehicle. What a sighting we then had with elephants only meters away drinking, it was so special. The elephants are so funny when they are near water, they throw water over themselves and over others and there was one there today that was sucking up a trunk of water and then just spraying it back into the waterhole, it was like he was trying to see how far he could throw the water, he was playing just like any child does.
The elephants moved on and so did we as our guide had heard on the radio that two lions had been spotted not far from where we were so off we went in search of them. On approach to the area our guide pointed out two giraffe standing very still and both looking in a particular direction, and he followed their line of sight and after a bit of searching, there were the lions. It was the large dominate male who controls the territory of Mashatu and a young female but one that was not known to our guide and he thought she had come in from Zimbabwe. When we arrived the pair were lying under a tree resting but it was not long before they were up and mating and this resting, then mating game goes on for around three days until the male is exhausted. It was a great end to our morning drive.
The evening drive saw us watching a small herd of zebra, wildebeest and a lone eland drinking in the the remaining small pools of water in a dry river bed before stopping for sundowners. It was our last night in Botswana and nature put on a magnificent sunset for us and what a great way to finish our final drive in this very magical place.
Recent Comments