The passing of time is synonymous with the passing of animals in Ruaha and the month of December has been no exception! Whether out on game-drive or reclining in camp, there is always something happening or about to… Particularly abundant this time of year, a plethora of newborn. The coming of the rain has brought with it enough nutritious growth in order for herbivores to produce the required milk for hungry little mouths. This has resulted in vast quantities of general-game, and their young, dotting almost every square-inch of the open plains and areas where visibility is reasonably good, the exemption being denser patches of vegetation and for a very good reason too…

The lions have been very busy this month and could be heard from camp about 8 out of 10 nights as they vociferously proclaim their domain in the Mbagi area. Like ghosts in the darkness they patrol their territories leaving only etched spoor (footprints) in the mud from their passing through camp. The big males in particular seem to favour our location although 2 lionesses were also seen in camp late one afternoon! Out on drive we have come across quite a few prides with cubs and on two occasions they were on buffalo kills. Well fed and really exhausted they drifted off to sleep, shaded from the sun by an epitomous Acacia tree.

Speaking of the sun, it is one natural component which we have had a deficiency of during most of December. Everyone keeps saying "This is the short-rains, it really buckets down in Jan and Feb!" Well…in that case I shall tie the canoe to the porch just in case it does! We have had an unprecedented quantity of precipitation for so early in the season! As the soil starts becoming saturated from all the incessant deluges, any fall immediately runs off causing the rivers to flood and many roads were impassable for days on end. Getting bogged down became part of the experience and was thoroughly enjoyable. Now things are drying out, for a second consecutive sunny day has brought a myriad of insects, birds feeding on the abundant food-sources, reptiles like massive monitor-lizards sunning themselves and wild-flowers, not to mention all the game out and about from early morning!

The upside of all the rain has been the spectacular cloud formations at sunrise and sunset. Especially late afternoons when the sun breaks through to pour rich golden rays through a funnel of steel-grey stratus clouds to paint the landscape with colours more iridescent than your vivid imagination…

We were also fortunate enough to get a glimpse of a huge male leopard one rainy morning! Driving along the Ruaha River drive, we noticed a single Impala ram with a body posture which clearly shouted "ATTENTION!!!!" Quickly stopping in such a way that we could look in the same direction as the ram, I tuned my binoculars and "voila"…an almost black, colossal of a male leopard! He was just lazily ambling away from us towards one of the koppies (rocky-outcrops) surrounded by majestic baobabs where he was sure to spend the rest of the day till sunset upon which he will proceed with his exploration.

Young abound, even the Black-backed Jackals have pups now and they are ever so entertaining! Very inquisitive yet cautious. One was seen carrying off the remains of a terrapin which surely must have been crushed by a devastating blow from the heavy bill of one of the pairs of Saddle-billed Stork frequenting all the pans. A very smelly but filling dinner…

Other creatures which have been featuring on most predator menus are Bullfrogs. Rain water filtering through the soil has rung the bells, awaking these giants of the amphibian world from their skin and mucous chambers. They bury themselves during the dry season only to emerge when conditions and circumstances are favourable. With all the surface water creating seasonal pans teeming with food, the Bullfrogs proliferate. From Fish- to Tawny-Eagles, storks and a score of others enjoy an amphibian meal when available, especially in such hearty portions.

Elephants really are omnipresent, from single bulls to small family herds of 10-15 interrupts any journey at least a few times. The boisterous youngsters provide amusement in attempting to appear intimidating, "You just give me a few more years and then we shall see who is laughing!!!" Some of the herds are more sensitive to our presence than others but generally all are very relaxed, making for spectacular sightings.

Well I guess that is that for this month, please stay tuned for more updates from a very wet and luminous green Ruaha National Park!