Frost, Fires & Family Time

[Lisbeth]

TBC

[PJL]

TBC

My fault Lis - I edited that in after you had replied

[Mel]

TBC ... I anticipate more major stuff coming along

Lovely photos of the regulars in the wonderful morning glow Oh, the sunrise pic is great too! I like the detail of those two smaller clouds in there.

And a sighting of a caracal... without even leaving the camp
Hope you proved to be a good husband and loving father and never told your family about what they missed out on

[PJL]

Hope you proved to be a good husband and loving father and never told your family about what they missed out on

Nope... I'm afraid excitement overtook me there... kids were very annoyed

[PJL]

We were treated to some further excitement at various points during our stay
MZNP isn't huge so it makes sense that these aren't included in chronological order....

This one was a long way away but quite out in the open which was great



I was quite excited to see this grumpy old lady again - she had prevented us from cheetah tracking on our last visit







This might be the same individual as the first pic... but another location and another day so we counted it as another sighting

[Lisbeth]

Oh yes of course The black rhino was definitely missing

[Richprins]

Yoh! You do have a way with enthralling tales, Peej!

I think those are two different rhino... Astounding how the blackies' horns (anterior) get so long in some places!

The cloud pics may have something to do with contrails from aircraft?

Lions are very instinct-driven, especially in the absence of "elders", so they will stalk/play regarding anything unusual, especially with the added instincts following birthing. Easy game for them out there for the time being? No hyenas to threaten the cubs for example.

Very interesting, and

[Dewi]

Stunning photos of the lionesses PJL. You were right about the lactating female. First cubs in 130 years have now been confirmed in the park. You heard the news here first folks.

The black rhino sighting & pics are also excellent.

[Mel]

The closest we got to a blackie was find its poo

Well.... there is always a next time.

Awesome sighting!

[PJL]

Oh yes of course The black rhino was definitely missing

Yip... 4 sightings on this trip which was really fantastic - I've saved the best for last as you'll see now

Yoh! You do have a way with enthralling tales, Peej!

I think those are two different rhino... Astounding how the blackies' horns (anterior) get so long in some places!

The cloud pics may have something to do with contrails from aircraft?

Lions are very instinct-driven, especially in the absence of "elders", so they will stalk/play regarding anything unusual, especially with the added instincts following birthing. Easy game for them out there for the time being? No hyenas to threaten the cubs for example.

Very interesting, and

Not sure whether the 2 were different or not - the one sighting was too far away to tell properly. And yes, the anterior horn does get very long, and it's generally a sign of their age. The front horn wears down through use, but the back one is free to grow... so generally the longer the rear horn the older the animal is

And yes the cubs should be fine. No threat from hyenas - the only species of hyena in the park is brown hyena but I can't see them causing any trouble.

Stunning photos of the lionesses PJL. You were right about the lactating female. First cubs in 130 years have now been confirmed in the park. You heard the news here first folks.

The black rhino sighting & pics are also excellent.

Thanks Dewi! The fading light made for quite dramatic pics of the lionesses

The closest we got to a blackie was find its poo

Well.... there is always a next time.

Awesome sighting!

Rhino poo
Hope they pop out for you next time (the rhino rather than the poo)