Week 296 ( 24th - 30th Apr 2009 )
How Madonna spent her week
On Friday; Madonna was walking around by herself in the 40ha camp, but in the afternoon she was waiting at the 0.5ha gate and was beside herself with excitement at the prospect of food and was dancing around on her hind legs. Whilst I was dragging her blesbuck in she began calling the cubs, but none of them reacted. She didn’t even wait for the gate to be opened properly before scuttling through, grabbing the blesbuck and dragged it out to the bushes in the 40ha camp in stages.
Saturday; for the first time in ages King Henry and Princess came to say hello. King Henry walked right up to the fence chuffing eagerly, Princess also came as close as she dared and gave me a chuff from a distance, she then lay down and watched her brother lazing around: both were under the sleepy gaze of Madonna who was lying nearby. All three seemed to be feeling the effects of a night spent feasting.
Later in the week, Madonna came to join us as we drove through the 40ha camp and an eternity later so too did King Henry. He was moseying around the vehicle; staring perplexedly at the wheels and pondering how it walked. Princess hung around the outskirts.
By the end of the week, Li and I drove through the 40ha camp and after driving this way and that we found the whole family languishing amongst the trees. Madonna bounded out of the bushes and crouched behind a shrub; watching us. She then climbed into a nearby tree and shortly after King Henry joined her. They stood on the same branch and batted each other about the head. King Henry fell out once or twice and then decided to stay on the ground. Madonna left our vicinity and King Henry plopped down in the road and watched us. Princess was slinking about and vanished into the trees. As we were leaving we counted the antelope in the 40ha camp and realised that Madonna has successfully managed to hunt two antelope.