2017/09 Part 4 Serengeti - Thu am Wild dogs and topis |
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Our watching was interrupted by a radio message that said a pack of wild dogs 
had been sighted. Ayoub was excited about this; he said such sightings were rare.
We said to go take a look; we 
could always come back to the wildebeest.
On our way there we crossed a small river, with lots of immersed hippos and lively looking and large Nile crocodiles. The one in the 
end-on picture may look to be sleeping but both eyes are open and focused on a potential lunch: us on the bridge.
The wild dogs were there as promised, a pack of ten or so. Ayoub drove us as close as the road allowed, but the dogs were distant dots, definitely dog-shaped but impossible to see coat colours and patterns. It looked like they were searching for a tree big enough for them all to get in the shade. They’d gather under one tree until about a halfdozen were there but then move on to another tree. We watched them working their way across a hillside until they disappeared.
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Serengeti migrating herds (17.37) |
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They hunt as a pack, chasing an antelope until it collapses from exhaustion and bites to its legs. There’s concern that the packs are becoming too isolated for the inter-pack breeding that’s needed for a healthy population. Wikipedia even says that the wild dogs “may no longer occur” in the Serengeti. We’d struck lucky again.
On our way back we spotted another line of animals crossing a hillside. These were topi, large antelopes with a hump and a slope towards their rears. We have a better topi picture at the end of our Serengeti story.
Sandie was scanning the roadside and finding a few flowers, rare at this time of the year, the end of the dry season. There was nothing exciting, mostly variants of the pea, and potato, and hibiscus, but I’ve captured them here. Of course, this intrigued others that passed us “What have you seen?”. “A flower”. A disappointed “Oh.”
We were making our way towards the valley of the Seronera River. Ayoub said the 
area had a large lion population and we might as well settle down there and eat lunch and see what happens. However it took us a while to get there as we kept stopping to look at distractions. Sandie found this dik-dik, similar to those hanging around in the lodge’s gardens.
These water bucks were showing of their shaggy coats.
We’d seen these hornbill species before but I couldn’t resist the pictures; hornbills have an air of authority and these two looked like they commanded their branches
This termite mound looked very similar to those in parts of Australia, and these termites were harmless too.
These zebra were gathered close to the river.