On the road again….

As usual, we spent a lot of time driving around looking for animals and then stopping to walk various fields and other areas.

I love it when Dylan and our tracker Albeno (pronounced Al-bayn-yo) stand on the termite mounds so that they can see further…..

As we were walking into one field, we could see an Oribi in the grass…..

Can you see her??

She stayed put and watched us as we approached and finally sprinted off in the other direction….

When Albeno is looking for game, he often hides behind the nearest tree….

At one point, Dylan came to a quick stop and asked if we had ever seen a forest rat trap??   He explained that the rats were large…maybe the size of a rabbit and used for food in many families.  He proceeded to show us and explain how it worked…..

The trap is built next to a rat den.  It consists of a series of sticks that form a “tunnel” for the rat to run into.

 There is a VERY heavy log that is suspended in the air with a vine…..

…..and an intricate trigger system with a piece of fruit attached.  When the rat eats the fruit, it sets off the trigger and the large log falls on the rat……

Unfortunately, this trap was already been tripped but it was amazing to see the ingenuity in building such a complex device.

We also passed a clearing where several of the new concrete beehives had been set.   The bees have not been moved in yet…..

To read more about the Beekeeping effort, check this post

At one point, Albeno tapped on the hood of the truck indicating that Dylan should stop and check something out.   This time, he had spotted leopard tracks…..

… although I have NO idea how he was able to see them from the back of the truck!!!!

Dylan showed us that there were two sets of tracks that belonged to a female leopard and a smaller cub.

This was an important find as there were plans to collar a female leopard in the next week, so all of the trackers and guides have been on the lookout for them. 

As the afternoon grew longer, we passed this scene and I named the photo…..”light at the end of the tunnel”!!

And once again I was rewarded with a sweet sunset……