Okavango Delta at Camp Moremi

On the 21st of March we left Deception Valley Lodge on a Bush plane for a 45 minute flight to our next lodge. Within minutes we could see large areas of water and marsh below. We landed at Camp Moremi which is situated in the Xakanaxa lagoon in the heart of the Okavango delta at Moremi Wildlife Reserve. This area was the first to be set aside by tribal people rather than colonial pioneers. We rode in a Toyota Land Rover for 15 minutes, sometimes through flooded roads to Camp Moremi where we stayed in fancy tents on wood foundations overlooking the riparian woodland. On our first game drive we felt that we had come to the land of Oz with animals we both had only seen on TV or at Zoos previously. Here they were wild and free in their natural habitat.

The Hippopotamus with eyes, nose and ears protruding above the waters surface watched us closely as our vehicle drove slowly by and paused for a photo.

These huge aquatic mammals play a significant role in maintaining the many channels in the Okavango delta. The Okavango was teeming with wildlife and our knowledgeable guide (in photo) Frank Mochaba gave us our “money’s worth” which added greatly to the experience that was beyond our greatest expectations. Red-Billed Hornbill was one of the many birds that got our attention. Exotic birds everywhere, unfamiliar sounds reminiscent of Jurassic Park and the Elephants that we have become so familiar with from our early childhood days appear as never before like some giant prehistoric creature out of the past. African Fish Eagles with their snow white head and chest and rust brown body are conspicuous as they perch on large branches in trees overlooking the water. The Waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) is a large "shaggy" antelope with short legs and a white rump ring and long heavily ridged horns with points that curve forward. The African Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) is a common resident of northern and eastern Botswana in islands and estuaries and grasslands. Savanna Baboons in small troops appear in the open wooded Savannah. The female in estrus shown here was pursued by the dominant male below.

A female Greater Kudu above. The Lodges that we stayed at served the meat of Kudu and Impala but the Kudu is not as common due to habitat loss and hunting. The Impala were the most numerous antelope we saw and the rutting season had begun. During the rutting season the male establishes territories and spends much energy chasing off rivals who vie for females in the herd. We were thrilled to get close to a pride of lions in the late afternoon and watched them lying lazily in lush grass licking their fur and paws fastidiously. At night the loud "contact" calls of the Spotted Hyaenas woke us. While awake we were entertained by the deep grunting sounds of the Hippopotamus that come out of the water to feed after dark. It was a symphony of African sounds and we lay in the dark enjoying the music. The Nile Crocodile lay resting in the evening light not far from the waters edge. A family of Banded Mongoose appeared near their den in a large termite nest. Banded Mongoose(Mungos mungo) are highly sociable living in packs of up to 40 and are active durning the day when they forage for insects,mice,reptiles, amphibians, ground nesting birds and their eggs. It was time for our "Sundowners" and what a perfect place we thought to sip a glass of wine, relax and realize that we were actually in this wonderful land of Africa so far away from the redwoods and our cats. Next blog: Xugana Island Lodge.

Close calls

In the early 70's while Murray Fowler was on sabatical leave I worked with Dr. Roy Hendrickson on Zoo rounds at the Sacramento Zoo. In those days the Zoo was a mish mash of farm-like enclosures for many of the Ungulates and Camels. We needed to restrain a camel to check it's foot for a problem noted by one of the keepers. It was roped around the neck and then tied to a large post in the ground. As we moved in to check the foot the camel reared back and the post came flying out of the ground. The camel more frightened by the post began turning in circles and the post became a flying missle which nearly wiped a couple of us out as it circled the entire enclosure.
Everyone luckily got out of the way but it was a very close call on that day.

While assisting Murray Fowler get a young camel into a cattle scale to weigh it the camel became nervous and got one of it's legs between the outer rail. As I grabbed the camels foot to push it back into the chute it turned and grabbed me by the back of the neck. Murray saved my life by punching the camel squarely on the nose which caused it to release it's hold on my neck. Had it shook it's head with my neck in it's teeth I wouldn't be sitting here writing about it today. I've always appreciated that Murray did what he had to do on that day. For the next week or so I walked around with my head slightly tilted and a very sore neck.

Murray Fowler and I were inside the Giraffe Barn at the Sacramento Zoo trying to get a long stomach tube down the throat of a recumbant Giraffe. During the procedure the Giraffe began thrashing it's long legs as if running on it's side. As it continued to thrash on the straw covered floor it became clear that we were cornered and the legs were getting closer and closer.

I realized that if hit by one of the thrashing legs it would be all over so I instinctively dove over the animals body and tumbled on the floor reaching safety. When I got up Murray was still cornered and I shouted to him to jump. I remember the look on his face was one of a person faced with a do or die decision. He soon dove over the giraffe also realizing it was the only way out. Another close call!

A young male elephant was delivered to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital for castration.

Dr. Murray Fowler would be the first person to successfully castrate an elephant. Male elephants go through a musth period not clearly understood physiologically but characterized by restlessness and aggressive behavior. Castration was indicated in this particular 8 year old male named Delinger due to it's recent history of destructive behavior. After the elephant had it's Testicle removed and was recovering in a outdoor enclosure it had to be medicated with large doses of Antibiotics on a daily basis. I was given the responsibility to deliver the antibiotics with a 30 cc syringe.

This responsibilty turned out to be not only difficult but treacherous. Although the elephant was tethered by chains to a metal fence it still had the inclination to slap at me with it's tail and trunk as I injected the very viscous antibiotic slowly into it's body. I learned to bob and weave while injecting with one hand using my other to deflect the attack. It was like defensive boxing which I had learned years earlier from my step father Jimmy Britt who was a former professional out of Tacoma Washington. I also learned quickly not to get between the elephant and the fence or it would squeeze you against it. It would additionally try to step on you if you were not careful.

A good friend and Zoo keeper at the Sacramento Zoo the late Tony Peters was seriously hurt by an Elephant. The elephants legs caught him as it attempted to get up from a recumbant position and knocked him to the ground. Tony recovered from that incident but his body was never the same.