Kings Pool Camp Sightings for December 2011

The festive season at Kings Pool Camp was, undoubtedly, the time of the hippo. It is currently almost impossible to walk even a few metres at "3-2-1 Diantsha" Camp without encountering a large mass of pink-purple making its slow and purposeful journey down to the water and back again, utterly unperturbed by the various merry activities of both staff and guests. The two hippo-highways that cut the boardwalk in camp have carried so much traffic this past month that it has become necessary even in the middle of the day to check right, and left ... and right again, before passing through. Meet and greets have been interrupted frequently to allow for photographs and videos to be taken of our obliging residents, and they have become extremely vocal during the early morning and evening, revelling in their now private lake, as the elephants have moved away since the rains arrived. Early morning duty for managers, chefs and waitresses is made all the more challenging by the silent train of hippos making a beeline for the water after a night of feeding. 

It has not been entirely peaceful, however. There has been intermittent tension between some of the large males in the river, who may be fighting over territory or females. Their battles are epic, the screams and clashing of teeth tearing through the still summer nights, ending just as abruptly as they begin.

There have been other displays of rivalry in the water that concern both hippos and another vicious water-dweller. Recently, guests witnessed a strange assertion of dominance by the vegetarian hippo over the carnivorous crocodile. After the opportunistic snatching of a naive and oblivious impala drinking at the water's edge, a crocodile was feeding in the water, observed by two hippos that lurked nearby. All of a sudden, the two hippos confronted the crocodile and snatched the carcass away with no apparent reason or explanation. There seemed to be a scuffle underwater, as the crocodile was tossed in the air by the hippos and chased away. This type of behaviour is difficult to understand, as the hippos showed no interest in stealing the meat for themselves, rather choosing to demonstrate their superior strength. This type of 'bullying' has been documented frequently, and there is no clear explanation for it, but hippos have been known to chase crocodiles and even lions away from carcasses, in a seemingly impulsive show of aggression and dominance. 

There has been evidence of clashes between hippo and lion this month as well. During a recent outing, a male hippo lurched out of the bushes in front of the vehicle, provoking gasps from those on board. He had been badly injured, and it was assumed at first that he was the victim of an attack by a larger male. One part of his back leg was torn open, severely hindering his attempts to walk. However, as the hippo turned, he revealed the large claw marks all over his rump and side. It seemed that lions had tried their luck here, and although they had not succeeded, the hippo was clearly in pain and wincing at the merciless beaks of the persistent oxpeckers on his back. He finally made it to the water, and seemed visibly relieved to be able to cool his battle wounds. This encounter proved that despite their formidable size and famously powerful jaws, hippo can still be vulnerable to attack by hungry predators. 

The lions themselves have not disappointed this month either. Since his ferocious encounter with the nomadic male from the west a couple of months ago, the resident male lion, Romeo, has been living the life of a bachelor, as the females had been shying away from him. His roaring went unanswered every night, until finally, after three weeks of solitude, Romeo's ladies returned to the area. It is a relief to see them reunited, the adolescent male growing every day and benefiting from the influence of his powerful father. In the recent, unforgiving heat, the foursome have often be found slumped in the shelter of a bush, their position only betrayed by the tell-tale tuft of Romeo's impressive mane. 

The leopard sightings have not dwindled despite the increasingly thick and overgrown bush. One particular young male, known as Mokoro, has been seen regularly. Now that he is beginning to move outside his mother's territory, he is frequently found by himself attempting to hunt tree squirrels or stalking unwitting impala lambs. His mother is usually around, however, when these escapades fail, and she tolerates his meek return, tossing scraps of her own kill down from her perch in the tree so that he does not go hungry.

The wild dogs are still gracing each corner of the Linyanti Concession with their presence, sharing their loyalties amongst all three camps in the area. With the bush as thick as it is, it is quite spectacular to witness a quiet sun-downer being abruptly disturbed by the sudden onset of panicked, fleeing impala that are followed keenly by a pair of hungry dogs. The pack follows shortly afterwards, and once a kill has been made it is only a matter of minutes before the impala is reduced to a pile of bones and the dogs are off again, leaving stunned guests and guides in their wake.

So we move into a new year at Kings Pool, and look forward to new adventures and more incredible sightings. For now we content ourselves with the grunting of hippos as the Linyanti sun goes down on a fabulous 2011.