A View from Tent Number Two

We could hear them coming, rumbling to each other like distant thunder.

Even the sound of their legs swishing through the grass seems loud 

when more than 200 elephants move across the Chada plain.

 

As fate would dictate, we had no guests in camp, but this herd still did not 

lack for an audience. Cameras in hand, we went to tent 2 to enjoy the show 

and there we found Chada's entire staff, standing and watching in silence.

A Big Big meal for the Chada Pride

A female elephant lay on her side, struggling to rise for an entire evening, suffering some unknown ailment.  She was tuskless, leaving no motive for poachers to have shot her and we never found any signs of injury.  By morning she had died and we found lions there, guarding what would be their meal for a week.

Flies swarm to the carcass by the thousands, prompting this male to shake them off occasionally.

 

He feasted for a while, painting his jaws crimson.

The second male stepped in and claimed his place at the dinner table by announcing to the cubs and their mother that their mealtime was over for the time being.

It's never nice to lose an elephant, but it was ironically comforting to finally see one passing away from something other than a poacher's bullet.  

 

At Long Last...Sable

Even more elusive than Katavi's wild dogs, Sable antelope have managed to evade us for months.  And then suddenly, there they were, twenty-seven beautiful, brown, saber-horned females galloping on the open plain...

Not far behind, this ebony bull was courageous enough to stop and strike a pose before he followed his harem into the woodland.

 

 This is a glimpse we rarely experience.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Frequent Flyers

More often seen on the wing, the African marsh harrier is a graceful, low-flying hunter over the plains.

 

So it was a pleasure to get up close and photographic with this one as it settled on the ground for a much appreciated modeling session.

 

Not to be outdone, this knob-billed duck swooped in and stole the show.

 

Not bad looking for a duck, eh?