There must be a very tired Stork somewhere after delivering a few special parcels with us at Rhino River. The babies we have wondering around now include a few new Giraffe, some very little Nyala lambs and a brand new baby White Rhino!
On a game drive recently, I took a route that is not often used and we came across the female white rhino with her new little calf. Very cute little thing, although we are not too sure of its sex yet. It was bouncing around trying to dislodge the Oxpeckers that had taken up residence on its face.
After leaving them, and rounding a corner, one of the guests said that she could see a little something in the bushes next to the vehicle. After catching a glance at the movement under the bush, I realised we were actually watching two young Black Backed Jackal pups and they were just outside their den! Adorable little guys...
Another great sighting was on a routine maintenance drive when I heard something scurrying next to the road. I stopped the vehicle to discover two tiny newborn baby Warthogs that had obviously made their way out of the burrow and couldn’t find their way back in. They were a fair distance from an obviously occupied burrow as there were flies circling the entrance way, I couldn’t leave these little guys to the elements and I decided to intervene. I contacted Dale via radio and he warned me that if the piglets screamed, the mother would not be very happy with me! Warthogs can be quite dangerous and they actually enter their burrows backwards in order to be facing any intruders that might make their way into the burrows. After deliberating for a while I left them to carry on with my work and decided to stop by on my way home again. An hour later, I made my way back to the burrow to discover only one Piglet out in the sun, curled up in a ball. I prodded the little guy to check if it would squeal and after making sure it was relaxed, I picked him up and took him over to the burrow where I gently (and very quietly!) pushed him back in. Unfortunately after searching the bushes quite thoroughly for the second piglet, I had to trust that it had found his own way back in or that Mamma Warthog had come out to get it.
Oh, and the Cheetah and Leopard have been around...but I wouldn’t want to bore you with that, so I’ll leave it for another post... :)
I have also decided that because we have so many great experiences and sightings and stories to tell, I will be updating the blog more regularly.
Signing off...
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