Overnight what I thought was a jackal in the trash turned out to be a honey badger whose reputation for raiding thrash cans has earned him mention in the official Etosha guide book. Our long day began at the waterhole at 3:30am. It seemed like a good idea, our big chance to see a leopard but the score after three hours was one spotted hyena, one black-backed jackal, and one African wildcat, our first.
We hit the road when the gates opened at 6:30am, still hoping to see a leopard and cheetah. What we got were literally thousands of zebra and five lions. The first group of three males was already along side the road and I got some National Geographic quality shots. The second was a pair of females or a mother and youngster or possibly two juveniles. They were concealed in the tall grass near a marginal waterhole and made a half-hearted attack at a small group of zebras. Either their hearts weren’t in it or their inexperience ruined the attempt as one rushed from cover too early, frightening off the zebra.
We checked on the pair several times during the day as they lazed in the sun, but no other animals came to the water, surprising since the plains nearby were filled with springbok and zebra and nearby water holes were crowded. They will probably wait until dark and hunt in earnest. We will stop by tomorrow and check on them again.
Back at the lions’ waterhole Connie, in total disregard for park rules, (and with encouragement from me) got out of the truck to see how the lions would react. They were 40 yards away, far enough to insure courage in my mate, but as she stepped away from the truck, the nearest lion stood and gave a short roar which could only mean, ‘get back in the vehicle!’ to which Connie quickly complied. That’s when we decided they had the home field advantage and weren’t seriously hungry.
