Hyaenas at dawn!

What a fabulous week we had in the Soutpansberg mountain range (Lesheba Wilderness) enjoying the variety and abundance of wildlife that the mountain forests and grasslands had to offer! But we all felt the draw at the close of week three of our old Venetia base camp - to be sure we missed the rest of our group, the banded mongoose,(Mungos mungo), Megalix our crafty and mischievous camp elephant(Loxodonta africana) and the gorgeous sunsets over Lizzulea Dam.

So back we went and ended the week with a long find all day searching for cheetah(Acinonyx jubatus) and lions (Panthera leo) around the entire reserve and in the south specifically close to the diamond mine. On 'find all' days we provisioned with water and food so that we could stay out on drive and perform telemetry for all of our focus animals (cheetah, lion, elephant) and also record data on visuals of rhino or carnivores we came across throughout the day (e.g. jackal, leopard, hyena, etc.). As we left the camp on Friday about 5 AM (our usual and excruciating time) we checked the fence for lesser bushbabies (Galago moholi) and the odd snake, then donned our spotlight to see if we could catch a honey badger (Mellivora capensis) or bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis) at play in the dawn light.

Just as the sun was rising we saw in the distance a pair of interloper spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) ambling towards us in the road. We stopped short and cut our headlights as they approached and surprisingly they stood their ground and continued on a trajectory right towards the vehicle! One of the hyaena was extremely curious and came up right next to the vehicle, watching us and sniffing us to see what we were all about. His partner veered off the road into the open mopane brush, determined to merely bypass us all together. Finally the curious hyaena trotted off the rejoin his partner and we followed them a little ways, watching them walk with their typical awkward gait and their rigid head and necks held low.

Next we headed off to get a signal on our first focus animal, Skankaank, one of the male cheetah in a brotherly coalition. Finally we found signal and had to offroad in some rocky dry mopane to find them. As we slowly approached they would slowly get up and move a few feet - to our consternation. Finally we had signal at -5 (strong and within ~50 m) and all hands were on deck scouring the bush around us for the camouflaged cheetah. Finally, just as we were about to give up, I spotted one of the males sitting watching us in the shade of a tree behind some grasses. Certainly he assumed we would never spot him and he was almost right. We were unable to get a full rating but had a quiet, brief sighting of the elusive beast. The rest of the find all was spent broiling in the hot sun (...well, there was a short dip in the pool at Mopane Camp truth be told). But spirits were high as we were hot on the trail of the animals and back amidst the sandstone koppies of Venetia. Looking forward to the wild dog (Lycaon pictus) recollaring/relocation which is set to happen this week!

Emily Davis, volunteer, USA

Hyaenas at dawn!