another interesting afternoon at Mombo...

Legadema decided to walk the entire length of the camp at sunset- like
a queen surveying her kingdom. To ensure people's safety I followed
her to keep tabs on her whereabouts to avoid any surprises- eventually
after dark, she slipped through the undergrowth toward a breeding herd
of elephants with a tiny baby. I will never forget the sight of the
leopard up on the walkway, eye to eye with an elephant cow, before she
slid off and crept around them... i had to walk right past the
elephants to keep up, following the wraithlike leopard through the
bush until she came to a rest outside room 1....

another early-morning surprise....

I heard the unmistakable sound of lions feeding as I sleepily walked
along the boardwalk- the Mporota Pride had killed a buffalo bull about
50m from my house...and I'd slept through the action! My neighbours
Kirsty and Tumoh told me they had been awake since 1am as the battle
raged. The lions won, but not without a price: one of the lionesses
was killed by the enormous buffalo as he fought bravely for his life....

first thing in the morning....

not really something you expect to encounter before your first cup of
coffee..... Legadema decides to have a stroll through camp.

say hello to my lil' friend...

several days spent at a hyena den with a remotely triggered camera at
risk of being chomped... a work in progress as i get the animals
accustomed to the weird clicking black thing results in images like
this- i aim to improve over time...!

crazy little place i call home

living in a tent in a swamp has it's advantages...

life...

our favourite filmstar...

Legadema has graced us with her presence for 5 days now, killed twice,
and allowed us to spend some quality time with her...

total eclipse...

Baobab at night

Baobab "Bob" is a Mombo landmark, considered to be our good luck
charm- this succulent could be well in excess of a thousand years old.

Meet Blue-Eyes...

Meet Blue-Eyes, a male leopard I haven't met yet- obviously the baboon
wasn't too pleased to meet him!

the Mporota pride goes hunting...

The Mporotas took advantage of the cool weather to stay active late
into the morning- tempted by the scent of a large herd of buffalo that
had passed by earlier- we found them emerging from the scrub onto the
Mombo soccer pitch, casting wary eyes over the open expanse, sensitive
to any movement, scanning the bush on the other side for any possible
prey.

swampcats

mombo lions dealing with the flood...

As the waters rise into the Mombo floodplains, the Mporota Pride take
it all in their stride....