Splish Splash Chomp

This mornings game drive was suppose to be a normal drive. We had no major plan in mind except maybe to try and find a leopard. As we drove down to the southern side of the property we found some fresh Leopardess tracks which Eric (my tracker) and I decided to follow. We managed to track the leopard for approximately half an hour when we eventually lost the tracks and could not follow any more. This was a huge disappointment and made our lives very difficult because by this stage in the drive we were miles away from anything and very short on time, so we decided to settle for some coffee. After coffee we were notified of a large herd of buffalo nearby heading towards a dam for a drink. Without hesitation we hurried over to reserve a good spot before the herd arrived at the dam. No matter how many times one sees a herd of 400+ buffalo congregate at a water hole it never ceases to amaze anyone watching them. The sounds were incredible, mooing and snorting, bellowing from large bulls forcing each other out of the way, slurping sounds from the buffalo sucking up mouthfuls of water, Oxpeckers flying over us by the dozen, it was just a perfect ending to a morning drive. Little did we know however, that this was not quite the end and that there was still more to come. After a decent forty minutes of viewing we decided to move on and start the long drive back to camp. On route was another dam merely 100 meters away, where unbeknown to us, the buffalo had regrouped again for a swim and a drink. There was a Hippo bull in the dam which seemed to be fascinated with all the activity which even sparked a few interesting movements from the Hippo. We watched as the he rolled over exposing his feet several times and a few very impressive yawns, which we know to be some warning signs but, having seen this loads of times in my eleven year career I was confident that it was all show and that the Hippo would be fine. I could not have been more wrong if I wanted to be. All of a sudden the Hippo bull just went crazy; he chased the buffalo from every angle. He would go under and charge towards buffalo drinking and ram them with his nose. As if things could not get any more aggressive, it did. The hippo bull eventually attacked and bit at least three buffalo on their rumps and sides. One buffalo bull was almost drowned and was badly gored by the Hippo’s bottom tooth causing massive bleeding. The rest of the herd just seemed to stare in disbelief. Even while the Hippo was chasing the buffalos around, individuals on the opposite side of the dam seemed less than concerned and some looked very confused. I have never seen anything remotely like this in my career and I was completely speechless. My two guests were blown away, and we just sat in silence as we drove home, we didn’t have to say anything to each other because we knew we were all on the same page – Incredible!

Posted: Exeter Lodges by Craig Paulsen, Date: 17 March 2010

 
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