ZIMBABWE | PHOTO SAFARIS
Highlights from Photo Safaris WITH EDWARD SELFE
In this series, we publish extracts from trip reports of photo safaris led by Edward Selfe, in the South Luangwa. The full reports, with many more photos, can be found at www.edwardselfephotosafaris.com The following is an extract from a photo safari, this time in Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe, with Robin Pope Safaris.
he next day turned out to be one of the most memorable that I have had on safari. We heard the tell-tale sounds of wild dogs twittering in the distance so we decided to approach. Generally dogs make that highpitched twittering noise when they are socialising or when they are harassing prey. As we got closer, and I began to resolve the situation, I could barely believe what was unfolding in front of us...wild dogs were surrounding an eland…but wait, is that an eland calf as well...? I love both eland and wild dogs so for me this was something special. But while I was excited, my overwhelming feeling was that this was an extremely sensitive situation. As far as we could assess, there was an eland cow, with her very young calf, surrounded by a pack of nine wild dogs. This was equally thrilling, horrifying, exciting and confusing. How had
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TRAVEL & LEISURE | ISSUE 17 | NOVEMBER 2020–APRIL 2021
the eland become separated from the protection of the herd? Were the dogs going for the calf or the cow? How long had this been going on? We stood in the sun exactly where we had arrived, watching from about 200 metres away as the dogs circled the eland and her calf. We could see that the dogs had already removed one of the calf ’s ears. And when the female’s back was turned the dogs would rush in and grab
