eating from the treetops by taking down branches with his massive horns.
“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
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| We couldn’t believe our eyes when this tiny female duiker stopped by yesterday. Females have the tiny single horn and males have two horns. So sweet! |
Yesterday was a mix of good and bad. The good, was spotting many special scenes in the garden. The bad was trying to find a way to relieve some of the dreadful itching I was experiencing worse than any day or night in the past.
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| Big Daddy was busy chomping on the two branches he downed using his powerful horns. |
I’m wearing long-sleeve shirts each day to keep the messy salve from rubbing off on the furniture and also to prevent the risk of getting more bites on exposed skin. I’m also using mosquito repellent.
All-day, I kept reapplying the salve, and every four hours Tom sprayed me and my clothes with the runny liquid. By 1500 hrs (3:00 pm) I was so exhausted I went into the bedroom, turned on the AC, and actually slept for almost an hour, a rarity for me.
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| He stayed busy for quite a while chomping on the leaves. |
Feeling better after awakening, while still applying the salve frequently, we set up the veranda for the evening and dined on the last of the leftovers from Saturday night’s dinner. I should say Tom ate the leftovers. During the day I cooked more chicken breasts to have with a salad while Tom went for the full dinner and later on, more pie.
I forced myself to stay awake until almost 2200 hrs (10:00 pm), taking another hot shower before bed and applying more of the Zam-Buk salve. I never awoke once during the night…another rarity for me. After almost eight hours of sleep, I awoke to less itching, swelling, and redness. The two treatment protocols are actually working!
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| The two branches resting on his back when he was done eating. He wasn’t quite ready to let them go. |
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| These females and a young male waiting in the bush until Bog Daddy was out of sight. Then, then moved in for the last few nibbles. |
The Big Daddy couldn’t reach the treetops so with sheer determination and expert use of his giant twisted horns, he managed to pull down two tree branches, enough to feed him a good-sized meal.
He ate so much, he eventually decided to leave with many leaves still remaining. In the interim, a small forkl of kudus including females and males waited in the bush to see Big Daddy waft away. Once he was out of sight, they moved in to finish off the leaves on the branches. What a scene to witness right before our eyes!
Then, we were gifted with the sighting of the sweetest young female duiker who may have been no more than a few months old and appeared to be on her own with no doting mother in the wings. She ran off when we offered pellets but in time she’ll learn how vital our offered food source is during this dry season.
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| In the early evening, Wildebeest Willie and Big Daddy seemed to get along well while eating pellets. |
Actually, it’s the rainy season now, and yet, there’s been little rain so far, certainly not enough to “green” the trees and bush to provide food for the wildlife. Many are looking thin and hungry. We’re currently going through one 40kg (88 pounds) bag of pellets every three or four days and will continue to do so.
That’s all for today, folks. As always we’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Have a superb day!
Photo from one year ago today, November 20, 2017:
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| Beautiful scene from the veranda in Costa Rica as we wound down our time. For more, please click here. |