BBJ hunting chicks 12/06/11

What a day, despite the fact that I am still sick I really enjoyed the drives. I was still in bed, under my cozy duvet when lions and hyenas started fighting somewhere towards west. A lion roared first and then after some minutes a chorus of hyenas followed by the lion's deep growls.... As soon as we got to the car we moved down to mbagi looking for action... From far we spotted one big male, one of the fab four, it was walking towards mbagi forest with a huge round belly. As soon as we approached it disappeared in the thick, these guys are not yet used to us.... but from up the hill hyenas were still giggling so we moved up, we found six of them moving slowly and sniffing in the air, we followed and they brought us to the lions. Eleven of the mbagi pride members were finishing of a young giraffe, completely surrounded by frustrated hyenas.

An hour later we moved off towards w7 and close to there Festo did one of his magic tricks, he spotted a young male lion that was almost invisible... for sure invisible to me.... it was with 3 females, one of them went on and on cleaning her paws, showing us her powerfull claws while doing it.... sooooo nice...

After lunch we brought our guest to the airstrip and got other 8 lions at mdonya juu..... then we slowly drove back... we spotted a amily of balck faced sandgrouse, father, mother and three chicks.... man o man, the cutest chicks nature could have invented, fluffy, sweet and with that strange giraffe pattern... and was also special to see how both the male and the female dutyfully protected and took care of the small ones..... I love them.

But the best thing, the sighting that gives the name to the post was yet to come... and it is not the story of a hopeless latin lover ....
We were just after mbuyu ya tobo when we saw two black backed jackals frantically jumping and pouncing in the tall yellow grass while a poor red necked spurfowl was going ballisting running all around. The bird eventually flew off and as we approache one of the jackal got scared and run away. But the other did not, it was still, tense, the ears facing forward... listening. We immediately realised that it was after the chicks of the spurfowl. After some minutes the jackal heard something, and jumped diving in the grass and emerging wth a chick in the jaws... the poor little one did not manage to stay still and silent and was immediately located by the cunning predator..... thankfully after this first success the jackal left giving the chance to the spurfowl to get back to the other chicks still hiding from the danger