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Let's see, where was I in my tale of woe? [In case you're reading my blog for the first time or you are a dedicated follower with short term memory loss, I recommend you read my last post..... Before continuing on]
We had just spotted a leopard this morning and were once again searching for more wildlife. I believe I was swaying in between boredom and snoring when we came upon a pride of lions--a respectable sized pride---with 3 fully-maned males---several females---and, okay, I'll admit it, 2 adorable 4 month old cubs. The environment around me began to change: the morning chill vanished; the colors became more intense; my vision improved as I could easily distinguish parts of the giraffe that provided the lions morning meal.
After what seemed like a few minutes (actually 25 or 30 minutes had passed), we eagerly continued our drive. Raymond received news that a rhino was giving birth. We raced to the spot, with instructions from Raymond about the distance we must have from the proud new mama, our voices are to be hushed or silent, and movement kept to a minimum. We found mama and baby, barely 30 minutes old, resting comfortably surrounded by 2 other rhinos. A tiny leg flailed in the air (can one accurately use "tiny" and "rhino" together?). Another leg stretched and baby stood up. We saw part of the umbilical cord hanging from baby's belly (Do rhinos have belly buttons?) and witnessed our grandchild's, oops I mean the rhino's first steps! In 13 years of tracking animals, Raymond had never seen a baby rhino minutes old and, of course, neither had anyone in our Land Rover.
Reluctantly, we had to allow other safari vehicles their turn (vehicles could only approach one at a time). As we returned to Leopard Hills, I reminded myself how much I loved this place!
