TAN: Hippo Wonderland

We are up for a 7 a.m. breakfast in order to get Peter Fox over to the airstrip and on his way at 8 a.m. Our group keeps on going for a morning game drive. The excitement is nonstop; every couple of minutes there is something wonderful and new to look at. We start with a small hippo pool close to the car with a larger one visible in the distance. Next up is a vervet monkey who would go on to be a star of the Katavi section of the DVD on account of his bright blue scrotum. This was followed by a group of half a dozen crocodiles, one of which decided it was a good time to make a dash for the water only to freeze just at the edge of it. On the other side of the truck was another crocodile stretched out in full splendor. A few minutes later we come upon a buffalo carcass teeming with vultures. They are busily fighting with each other while picking at their meal. This spectacle is followed by more crocodiles in shallow caves in the riverbank. The cave making activity is supposedly unique to the group of crocodiles in Katavi and soon to be the subject of a documentary. It is starting to get quite hot so we head back to camp to cool off with some lunch.

After our meal Graham and I set off on foot to explore the woodland behind the camp. While we are primarily out to “potter” as Graham puts it, we are also on the lookout for seed-pods from the pod mahogany tree for Inge. We scare up lots of birds including a group of Hadada Ibis and an unidentified Cuckoo. The plant life includes several species that I have not seen in any of the other parks. Graham spends a while trying to ascertain which Acacias are in the area. Despite having wandered around for the better part of two hours, we return without an intact seedpod. I did however find a number of loose seeds which Graham called “Lucky Beans.” we return to camp in time for the afternoon refreshments before the next game drive.

The molar of a hippo in from a skull on one of the tent porches.

Our afternoon drive takes us north from the camp. A hyena is spotted close to the vehicle. I am struck by how much the curve of it’s lips looks like a grin. Throughout the afternoon drive there are periodic wafts of carrion stench. I try to see if there is something close at hand that the smell is emanating from but come up with nothing each and every time. Our next major destination is a hippo pool right next to one of the ranger stations. Being the dry season, most of the hippo pools have dried up; forcing the hippos into ever more crowded pools. We estimated 400-500 hippos in this pool. It was not a particularly pleasant scene. With so many hippos defecating into the stagnant water, the stench was pretty fierce. I also think I figured out where the carrion smell was emanating from. Two dead hippos were among the group in the pool. One was pretty old and shrunken with the other one bloated and floating on the surface. There was lots to take pictures of and Chantal and I could probably have spent a couple of days at the poolside. Inge in particular was anxious to leave the smell behind.

We continued on our overland voyage until we spotted a small group of lions. There was a grown adult male with a beautiful mane and a couple of immature males. The adult male was not at all happy with our arrival, jumping up as we approached. He sprayed a couple of time before moving behind a tree. Erik was barking out instructions to the driver that did not get followed although we eventually made it over to where the lion had moved. He was crouched down in a pouncing position with his tail languidly waving back and worth, a sure sign of an impending attack. Graham and Jennifer urged our retreat to the chagrin of Erik who wanted to get closer yet. He was sullen for the rest of the trip and well into the evening. We moved a little ways off to set up chairs for “Sundowners.” I guess a big thing in the Fox camps is to have drinks and watch the sun go down. Jennifer was quite disappointed that none of us were drinking alcohol. Erik and Inge decided not to get out of the vehicle.

We headed back to camp a little late and were out well passed the curfew that rangers and stated. I hope there won’t be any trouble because of it. A fire is laid when we get back but it is much to big and hot. We all move our chairs outside the fire ring. I see a couple of shooting stars before dinner is served. With no power, we all tuck in pretty early. I stay up a bit and look through my photographs.

Here is the short list of birds and animals we spotted:
Nubian Vulture
Hooded Vulture
African White Backed Vulture
Crested Crane
Lilac Breasted Roller
Spur Wing Goose
Egyptian Goose
Black Bellied Bustard
Magpie Shrike
African Fish Eagle
Little Bee-Eater
Hadada Ibis
Blacksmiths Plover
Withered Plover
Black-Winged Pratincole
Woodland Kingfisher
Ground Hornbill

Water Buck
Reed Buck
Warthog
Hyaena
Zebra
Hippo
Topi
Lion
Giraffe
Water Buffalo
Impala
Vervet Monkey
Roan Antelope
Blue Headed Agama