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Journey to the wild
Well spotted
Dull grey and brown hues dominate the bush as it nears the end of the dry season. This in turn provides the perfect camouflage for animals in their natural environment.
I treat every day in the bush as a new day and wonder what surprises might unfold.
The morning started off as it typically would. I took some guests out on a safari drive and it felt like a rather productive drive. I made my way down to a lion sighting and before I reached the area something beside the road caught my eye.
With the dry, dead grass still present I had to look twice before I realised what I was witnessing. In the grass, not far from me at all, lay a tiny cub. A cheetah cub at that.
It was incredibly difficult to contain my excitement and to not make a noise in fear of frightening the cub off. The cub raised itself from hiding and presented itself.
The cub moved through the grass and I scanned the area for its mother or siblings. Another cub revealed itself.
Then I spotted the mother cheetah and she had with her another two cubs.
I looked back at my guests and there were just smiles and tears on their faces. I couldn’t believe how lucky we were to be witnessing this. The mother kept a watchful eye over her litter, but gave them the freedom to explore their new, unfamiliar surroundings.
The little ones were incredibly curious and investigated a few fallen tree trunks and played with some branches.
The cubs are still young and fluffy. They all still have their distinctive white fur along their backs. It is said that this is to help deter predators. The white fur on their back resembles that of the fearless and ferocious honey badger.
It was fascinating listening to the myriad of calls the mother used to communicate with her cubs. She would instruct them not to wander too far astray. Being the naughty little cubs that they are, they kept pushing boundaries and came closer towards the vehicle. A sharp chirp or rumble from the mom would instantly make the cubs retreat. Then they would head back on the same path and try and push the boundary even further than before.
Eventually she summoned them all and they left back into the thickets of the bush trailing behind their mother.
5 Comments on “Well spotted”
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What a wonderful experience. Those little cubs look adorable. Sounds like mom had good discipline.
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What an interesting experience!
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Such a special encounter, Cal!
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Thanks Dries it was indeed
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