Welcome to Chada

With Chada closed for the green season it is now time to get it ready to open. Last week we flew into Katavi for the first time as the new managers as Mark & Kristen step into the relief manager position.
One always wonders what has happened to Chada's lovely animal friends & family. On night two we were given a exciting welcome by “Junior” (the young male lion chased out of the Chada pride) who decided to  rest in camp from early morning until dinner time.

The Mahoney’s have come to welcome us to Chada and “Minnie Me” has grown up as his tusks are starting to show. While “Masai” is still being her grumpy self.

Not to leave out the massive herds of buffalo that fill the Chada plains or those whooping hyaena and those bathing hippos it’s going to be another exciting year here at Chada Katavi!

We look forward to staying in touch Justin & Jacky

Meet the Mahoneys - Chapter IV - Moja!

She has only one tusk, the temperament of someone with a perpetual toothache, and though childless, a fiercely protective attitude when it comes to her nieces and nephews.  Her name is Moja.  Moja means One.

Of the ten elephants of Chada camp who would eventually become known as the Mahoneys, Moja was the most dangerous by far.  She was the least likely to mock charge us in camp, and countless times our determination to stand our ground was thwarted by her real attempts to hurt us.  Retreat was the only choice.

It would take a truly remarkable intervention, much later, for Moja to calm down...

Meet the Mahoneys - Chapter III - Marshmallow and Mini Me

 While we constantly saw this family of ten elephants around camp, we were getting to know each of them individually as they chanced to encounter us up close and personally.  At this point, we were wondering if aggression was going to be their main form of communication.

And then we met Marshmallow and Mini Me.  Everyone knows that mothers of young calves are the most dangerous elephants in the bush, and this female standing in front of us outside the camp office had a one-year-old baby by her side.  

 We braced for a charge and were ready to back into the office doorway, but she just stood there looking at us without showing even a hint of threatening behaviour.  Because of her mellowness, her young son was free to explore near us, and to satisfy his curiosity by walking so close to us that we often had to back away.

Despite how tempting it was to make a pet out of this little guy, even while his mother stood mere metres away feeding, the last thing anyone wants is a giant, tame playmate five years down the road who fears no one.  That would not have been in his best interest.

And that is how we came to meet and name Marshmallow and Mini Me.  Four down and six to go, we thought.

Meet the Mahoneys-Chapter II-Mkorofi

Soon after our less-than-civil encounter with “Maasai,” the large female elephant with a hole in her ear, we met another member of the family.  He was a twenty-year-old male with an attitude, and I was lucky to be armed with my camera when he decided to introduce himself.

 

As I walked from the kitchen to the Library tent, this young bull stepped out of the bushes and challenged me.  The next two photos were shot in a bit of a frenzy, while back-pedaling and hoping he would stop short of hitting me...

 

 

...which he did, kicking up dust, spreading his ears out wide to intimidate me.  He then struck a striking pose for the camera as I talked softly to him, hoping the sound of a gentle voice would calm him down.  

 

In those early days of our time at Chada camp, we named him Mkorofi, which roughly translates to "Trouble maker."  He would eventually live that name down and become one of our most trusted elephants, but let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet.  More to come...

 

Meet the Manoneys,

Ten elephants who waltzed their way into our hearts and will never, ever leave.

 

One day, two years ago, a huge female elephant crashed through the bush and faced off with us, ears flared wide, head shaking, seven metres away.

A stand-off ensued, with Kristen and I standing side by side talking softly to her until she backed away and disappeared into the bush near Tent 6.

We already knew and loved elephants as a species, but we had no idea at the time that we were about to begin a relationship with this elephant and her family.

 Her name, we learned from the staff, was Maasai, so named for her pierced ear lobe.  Masaai, everyone said, was very dangerous.

One should never hold it against wild animals when they show aggression, especially elephants.  They are intelligent enough to learn, to remember and to express deep emotion.

Maasai was showing us that she knew we were dangerous, because so many humans she had met in her forty odd years of life in the bush had taught her so.

We decided then that we would do everything we could to make Maasai and her family welcome in our camp.

This is the story of the Mahoneys of Chada Katavi...over the next two months, we will introduce you to the whole family, one by one.

Who Likes Pigeons?

Pigeons aren't usually winning beauty pageants in most peoples' minds.  Strutting on a city street, they endear themselves to some people who make a hobby of carrying bread to scatter for them.  To others they are mess makers.

Now have a look at this beauty, with its striking green plumage, vivid red markings and a breathtaking soft blue eye.  Many people report a sighting of this bird like this: "I've just seen an amazing green parrot with a red bill!"

Well, its a pigeon.  A gorgeous, fruit-eating African Green Pigeon. 

Wee, Wet and Wobbly

Brand new to the world, this little thing with its gangly legs and still-wet stripey fur was a sight to see.  During the short time we watched him he even threw down a couple of attempts at bucking playfully.  His mother had a chat with him about priorities, so he re-concentrated on simply walking in a straight line.

Good luck little guy...