As previously promised here's the photo of the black rhino - he was closer than I ever expected to get to a black rhino. He repeatedly prepared to charge, and it was only banging on the vehicle loudly each time that made him think twice about it!

We left camp this morning at 4am to go to find the dogs. 9 of the adults in the pack have radio collars - it's necessary for so many of them to have collars, as there is a significant risk from poachers snares in Mkuze reserve. Poaching is a complicated matter, so I'm not going to comment on that, but snaring as a method is indiscriminate and captures anything that has the misfortune to pass over it. On the journey, 3 hyaena approached the vehicle when we slow...

We spent one night at Mhkuze, and today we are on the move to Phinda Research camp to stay there for the week. It's the reserve next door, and they have kindly agreed to let us stay there for the week as it's closer to the location where the wild dogs currently are. It will be the third time I have packed and unpacked my bags in 24 hours! I have a book I bought 4 years ago called "The Return". It's the story of the creation of a reserve, and the relocation o...

I met with my next ride to Mkuze, to learn that we had to dash back to check on a cheetah cub and mother. The cub had been darted that morning to return him to the reserve, as he had squeezed out through a gap in the fence, and we needed to try to locate him and the mother to see if they had reunited. A dead impala had been left as bait to try to lure them all to the same place. When we checked the impala was untouched, and so we loaded it into the truck with us,...

Today I am travelling to my next location, Mkhuze Reserve which is a couple of hours north of the research camp that I have been staying at. I have mastered only a few words of Zulu, in fact I've pretty much exhausted my entire repetoire in the title of this blog entry! I will keep trying....