Selous Game Reserve (The Park)

The next morning at Hippo Camp the breakfast table has been set for us to have early morning coffee. As I approach the compound I realize a large yellow baboon is sitting on the dining table helping himself to the sugar. I'm committed because I don't notice him until I am about 10 feet away. He's just been able to pry the lid off the sugar bowl and drops it on the table when he notices me. We both stare at each other for a few moments and then I decide to back away because no one else is around to chase him off. I try to locate the kitchen staff but no one is around. When I return he is gone but the table is covered with sugar. I tell the staff about the baboon. I guess the armed guard is off duty once the sun comes up. During the night they have a ranger with a gun circling the camp.

We start our full day drive after breakfast. The weather is hot but dry and we are only a few minutes from the park gate. As soon as we enter the park, we see impalas, zebras and giraffe. The game here is very plentiful. This park is named after an Englishman who lost his life during the struggles between the English and the Germans.

As we approach the first small lake in the park, we see what looks like a baby hippo floating in the water and surrounded by crocodiles. It must have been a recent attack because the crocodiles are surrounding the hippo and the mother swims out to see what happened. As she approaches the crocodiles back away. Our guide tells us the crocs do not normally attack hippos because the adult hippo and kill a crocodile, but the baby male hippos are often attacked by adult males. This may be what killed the baby. The mother touches the baby with her nose to make sure it is not alive and then starts to back away. The crocs come back and surround the dead hippo. There must be 15-20 crocodiles.

As we drive away from the lake, we see seem to be in the middle of a chase. The impalas are all running past us and then we see on each side of the vehicle a number of very large, powerful looking animals that are all the same spotted brown and black colour. They have large round ears and the driver tells us they are wild dogs that are common in this game reserve. The chase is on and they are hunting in a pack for an impala. We actually witness the catch and within moments the alpha male and female are devouring the young impala. The rest of the pack are fighting with each other waiting for the alphas to finish so they can also take part in the meal.

The ground is littered with bleached white bones and the remains of the kill. We starting to think we may have wondered into Jurassic Park.