11 - First Full Day at Sabi Sabi

Today was hot - 60 degrees in the morning and 109 degrees in the afternoon.  The 9% humidity helped but not enough.  (It did help dry our clothes - hand washed some things, put them outside and they were dry in 15 minutes or less.)

On our morning drive we saw zebras and warthogs for the first time.  The zebras were beautiful and majestic while the warthogs were probably the ugliest animals we have ever seen.

This was our last full day in the "bush". And what a great day it was!  We saw each the "Big Five" several times now. The most exciting encounters were:

• the elephant that was so close to our vehicle he could have reached with his trunk and seriously hurt someone. He showed no signs of aggression but as he went to take another step closer we pulled away. 
• the male and female lions that sauntered over to the vehicle. The male was so close to Gerry that he could have reached out and touched him and the female was behind us so close that Myra could have done the same. They seemed to be nonchalant but the male looked right at us and the female (though she had her back to us) had her ears pointed at us. 
• the leopard that we followed and watched make a kill of a reptile and took it away to eat it. Exciting but we were glad it was a very large lizard and not an impala or baby elephant or something else close to the heart!

The Big Five 

Cape Buffalo:

Leopard:

Rhino:

Lion:

Elephant:

Some interesting facts:

• The lion's front paws are larger than the back paws because the front of the animals are larger than their backs. The head, neck and chest need to be supported by the larger front paws. 
• Termites require water. When you see a termite mound, it is where there is a good source of water. The mound is sand/dirt that has been excavated by the termites and water can be found at twice the distance below the ground as the mound is tall. 
• Giraffes, zebras and elephants are not territorial. They roam. 
• The elephants have a matriarchal society. The females stay with their young for several years. The males join together and roam. 
• The stripes on the impalas are meant to break the body into sections visually. To a lion, who sees in gray tones, the gray stripes look like the exact size and color of the vertical tree trunk and so the stripes are a perfect camouflage. If the impala does not move, they are very difficult to see. 
• The stripes on a zebra are like a barcode or fingerprint. And, the left side is different than the right side. When a baby is born, the mother will take her baby away from the herd for a few days - but not too far.  Our guide told us that the mother will keep her young on either her left or right side for a week and then switch sides for the next week. The baby can then recognize his/her mother by voice, smell and by her stripes. 
• A group of lions is called a Pride. A group of baboons is called a Troop.  A group of zebras is called a Dazzle.
• You can tell lions apart by the first line of whiskers  - the number and alignment is unique.

As with all days in the bush, we ended our drive with a sundowner - what we call happy hour.  And happy we were!