Sunday 3 June 2012

Return to the concrete jungle


  Arrived back in the smoggy old city this evening. Before I forget, here are some further highlights of the Amazing Safari Adventure:


 

-       Driving under a tree and disturbing a huge Martial Eagle perched there. It flew off overhead, dropping its mangled prey into the road ahead of us. This turned out to have been a tiny Steenbok, of which only one hoof and a head remained. Minus the eyeballs.

-       Spotting a nocturnal civet quietly ambling along by moonlight in front of the house. It was similar to a badger or raccoon in shape, but with cat-like markings. The secretions of the civet were apparently used as a fixative in perfumes for thousands of years.

-       Achieving the worst scrabble scores in the history of the game.

-       Shrinking down in an attempt to disappear under the dashboard as two lionesses sauntered towards our game-viewing vehicle. They stopped a relatively short distance away in order to start licking each other, thank God.

-       Almost seeing a leopard: last night its loud, sawing cough echoed out of the dark next to the house, greatly upsetting the troop of baboons roosting in a nearby tree and sending the humans scuttling for lights and binoculars. A large male leopard was seen by the carport, but not by me as per usual. Once again I failed to charge out with the required speed to glimpse it. 



           

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