What can't be accurately described with words or photos are the lush bush sounds at Antelope Park. Each night there was a cacophony of croaking frogs loud enough to drown out most everything else. Except, that is, the sounds of lions roaring up at BPG. This time I was determined to capture both, and brought recording equipment to do just that.
While we only had one walk with Penya and Paza, and saw Lewa and Laili all but too briefly, we were able to spend both an afternoon and a morning session inside the Ngamo release site, and it certainly had to be the highlight of our working visit to Antelope Park.
I took a grand total of three pictures of Lewa and Laili, all of them of the former's butt. It wasn't my intention, but considering we spent only about five minutes with the pair and weren't allowed any closer than ten meters to them, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
While we were visiting Antelope Park we had the unexpected privilege to spend time with Disa, Dala, and Dingane - three chubby little bundles of fluff that were still wobbly on their feet and could barely squeak out their little eowwws.
A few photos (panoramic and otherwise) of some non-lion sights at Antelope Park.
Some video of our morning walk with Paza + Penya.
5:15am my watch keeps telling me. I throw back the covers and tiptoe out onto the cold deck of our river tent. We're slated for an early morning walk with Paza and Penya. It's been a year and we're both anxious and excited to see how these two lovely ladies have grown in our absence.
"There are an estimated 35,000 elephants being killed in Africa each year. That's 10% of the population every year. There are now just an estimated 20,000 lions left in Africa. That's a 75% drop in the last 20 years. At the current rate, there will be no elephants or lions left in the African wilds within 15 years."
About an hour after we begin collecting data during our first elephant research session, the truck rounds a small corner in the road following a pair of slow-moving juvenile bulls when something else catches my eye. “I swear I just saw a baby rhino,” I tell Kim.
During elephant research in the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park the team came across a downed elephant being watched over by a companion.
kimpluscraig.com