Cyril

Cyril the serval is doing well. He continues to grow a quite a slow rate when you see the number of birds and fish he is fed. He has a bit of an attitude on him and don't be fooled by the picture he is often far from cute. We have a large number of serval living on the farm and they are very skilled when it comes to stealing fish.

Big Buffalo, Big Crocs and a little Mummy!

Mothers second visit to Zambia turned out to be quite an epic one. Mum came to stay for a few days after spending some time doing good stuff in Zambia. We spent the first day on the fish farm which worked out nicely as a giraffe was born that day. It's quite something to see a six foot animal and think it has only just arrived. It has a gorgeous cream and yellow coat with a comic mohecian.

Then much to mums delight I whisked her off to Lake Kariba and a 60000 crocodile farm. We are thinking about starting a crocodile farm here so I went to see how it was done. The crocodile farm is situated on the lake shore and has a guest lodge with a pools and bar. As I walked up to the bar I met one of the very few people out here. Ian Parsons the vet who does game capture and the helicopter pilot. My self and Douglas Flynn quickly volunteered our services. So the next morning the chopper gave everyone a nice five am alarm call. Myself and mum squeezed in with the pilot, mother opted for the middle seat not liking the window seat as there were no doors! As we flew over the lake and islands we saw elephants and other wildlife. The helicopter then hurded the buffalo into the boma on the island. The buffalo were left until the next day as it is dangerous to dart them with full rumens.

Fourteen of the buffalo were darted and then stretched down the the beach. I had to pull out the tongs and turn the buffalo every ten minutes. The drug M99(it is 99 times the strength of heroine!) causes salivation on a grand scare so you have to ensure they don't drown on their own saliva. The buffalo were then stretchered out to the boats and the one and a half hour boat trip began. The turning continued the whole way and some had to be injected to keep then sedated. The prospect of an angry Buffalo on a boat is not a good one.

The buffalo were transferred to a special truck and given the antidote before starting their long journey to a national park in the western province.

Mum then came for a brief croc farm tour and was not so impressed to see the owner was missing a finger or two! The croc farm was amazing to see especially the breeding stock, over a thousand very big crocs are quite a sight.

Yes Mum it's another dead thing!

Despite motherly complaints about the number of entries on the blog featuring African wildlife that has shuffled (or been pushed!) of this mortal coil I thought you should see this. This male bush buck was about five years old.

P.S. Dad - Totally smoked this chap lung shot with the triple two he didn't make it twenty yards. He was in fantastic condition and a nice trophy. I shot him from the top of the Land cruiser a few hundred yards from the house. When you going to come play bang bang?

Fish, Hippo and the Boys!

Kawala wild life camp is situated in the Kafue national park which on all accounts large. It is large than Wales! I went for two days with Fergus the farms general manager and his son Douglas. We had some great fishing and dined like kings from the river.

I had taken an aerated tank to bring fish back for the fish tank. The staff who were worked at the camp were in fits of laughter watching us catching all the small fish and getting frantically excited about new species of catfish for the tank. The staff were most bemused as "you can't eat the little ones they are useless"

The Hippo were fantastic and in great numbers. It added a bit of a buzz to the fishing trip having the three ton residents to contend with. We only saw one big croc and a load of little fellows but it did make you a little nervous when getting into the water!
The game viewing was really great on the way to the camp we saw both Lion and Leopard. We had Hippo walking around the camp at night. All in all a fantastic trip and all are welcome to join me next time.

Willy the Wildebeast!

Ladies and gentle men may I introduce to you William (Willy) the wildebeest. This fine young man was abandoned by his useless mother. He followed one of the game guards all the way to the house. He is incredibly friendly following everyone around and will lie down if you do.
William joins the pack of motley hounds and Cyril the Serval!! The house staff have said they will resign if we bring any more animals home. Just wait for Humphrey the Hippo to hit the Blog!William showing of and running around the garden. He is sleeping in the stable with the horses and is no doubt going threw a slight identity crises- horse, dog, human, cat what am I????

Big Bird!

A large flock of spurwing geese have been feeding on our flood plane so we decided to charge rent! I took out a fantastic huge guy and then another young one. There are plenty more birds and lots and lots of hungry staff!

Smile for the Camera!

Another day on the river, it's a hard life in Africa! I caught this guy on the river outside our farm. He weighed in at a fantastic 1.9kg (over four pounds for the old folk!). The three of us on the boat caught six more although they were not so grand. Have no fear the catch was celebrated with great gusto under the African midday sun resulting in some wobbly boating and random casting!!

Dogs, Zoo's and crocs.

Great news the wild dog has been eating at the zoo so things are looking very hopeful. It's been a busy few days as we have also caught the croc that got away last time. The same rope around the neck trick was used but this time it worked (bigger rope!).

Every dog has it's day!

Finally I am very very relieved to say the wild dog is off the property. It leaves a trail of death and chaos. We had been trying to lure it into range of the vet's dart gun by playing the chattering call of wild dogs. To do this we drove around the farm at night parked and played the call at high volume on a loop then waited. This technique works well for Hyena but only resulted in sleep deprivation and a wish to never hear the call of a wild dog again.

The first night was totally fruitless and to add insult to injury we found a dead animal in the morning. We were going to try again but thought it wise to drive around the property trying to find footprints which might narrow our search. Rounding a corner early evening we did better than footprints we found the remains of a Puku. The wild dog was sleeping off it's huge meal in the grass.

So began an epic chase. Wild dogs must at some point in life have worked out the range of a dart gun. We played the game of you move forward it moves you stop it stops. The chase involved two 4x4's trying to herd the dog into range. After several hours of this game we had driven threw woods open plane's and were on the edge of an open area which had recently been burnt. We were ready to give up as soon as the dog entered the long grass. Then as all hope was fading the dog ran along the edge of the grass towards the vet's vehicle. The wild dog paused to take one last look at the strange things that has followed it all evening. Ian Parsons the vet shot from the drivers seat backwards and the dart struck home.

The picture shows the wild dog just after it had been darted. It is quite eary as she is still awake with eyes moving and sneezing but immobilised. We transfered her to a create with bedding and water and she is now being housed at a zoo and will be moved to a national park in the south of the country after a few months.

She may be one of only a few thousand remaining, beautiful, graceful, and a highly tuned hunted but good riddance to her.

Cyril.

Cyril is getting growing quickly but he should be when you consider the volume of milk we are pumping into him. Cyril is fed by putting a finger into his mouth so he suckles and then squirting a mix of baby milk and egg into the corner of his mouth. He wont suck from a rubber dumby probably because of the texture. This technique is going to have to be abandoned soon as his claws and teeth are getting sharper every day.

Baldrick the Bull

Ladies and gentlemen may i proudly introduce you to Baldrick the bull. He is two and a half years old three quarters aberdeen angus and one quarter sussex. He weighs in at fourhundred and forty kilos. He has joined the ten ladies we have now had for a few months. We will have a total of twenty five cattle this year but just wait to see next year!!! The below are a few of his girlfriends it's going to be an interesting genetic blend!

Cyril the Serval

This fantastic young fella is Cyril the Serval cat. He was found by one of the guys on the farm whilst cutting grass. He has been drinking milk and is growing rapidly. He is not very steady on his pins but is learning fast. Cyril is destined to grow to average dog size - will be interesting.

Moby Dick!

This Carp weighed in at twelve kilos. At one point the farm also produced Carp but found the Tilapia were more popular and easier. This monster was in one the commercial ponds and gave us quite a shock when we caught him this morning.

One mean piggy!

This is a fantastic male African bush pig. He has tusks that could split you open were to get on the wrong side of him. Many dogs in Africa have met their maker on the end of a bush pigs tusks. He had entered the farm a few months ago but was not well we think it was old age. Ginger Mahican topped with a white crest now that's a hair style of the eighties!

Game on.

Every second year we run a game capture to reduce the number of animals on the game farm. Put simply all you do is decide how many of each species you need remove also what gender and size you want to take off. Sounds simple.

A helicopter is used to herd the animals towards a boma. The boma is set up in a woodland thicket. Large karky tarpaulin walls are set up in a big v shape. At the point of the V is a truck. The animals are herded by the helicopter into the mouth of the boma the mouth is very wide and the curtains are concealed by the trees so the animals don’t even know they are entering our cunning trap! Once the animals have passed the mouth of the boma the helicopter sounds a siren then several people run flat out pulling a curtain wall across the mouth. The helicopter gives the animals a hard time so they move further towards the point of the V and the waiting truck.

The Zambian riot squad persuading the Wildebeast to go up the ramp and into the truck. Note my brave position - up a tree!

The wildebeast finally relented and entered the truck. The curtain wall of the Boma behind two young Eland. Eland are capable of jumping the curtain. it's not too advisable to stand close to the outside of the Boma in case it starts raining Eland. A total of four curtains are pulled across the boams to force the animals into a smaller and smaller area.

I was on the last curtain before the truck. It was only about fifteen meters across. When pulling the curtain you have to run flat out. If you saunter across the animals will see the closing gap and run for it. The four Eland in the pic below decided to charge towards me. I must confess to giving up on the man option and singed up as a mouse. Having these guys running towards me certainly was exciting!!!! They turned away about two meters from my ashen and shaking form.

The first animals in were the Zebras and they are a nightmare as they seriously kick. They also bark like dogs. We had to use the dark gun on a very young zebra when we brought it in. he then got his own executive crate. The Zebra looked spectacular when you opened the hatch on the top of the truck to a black and white striped extravaganza.
The most fun was the last group of animals we caught the Tsesebe. They were herded to the mouth of the Boama then the side of the boma was opened. Seeing the open bush they make a break for it. They then run into a large net getting tangled. As soon as they hit the net everyone jumps out from the hiding positions and grabs the horns of the tsesebe. Once they have been blindfolded they calm right down and stop struggling. So with adrenaline pumping and an instruction lesson of - animal hits net, grab by horns, blindfold, vet sedates animal and puts rubber on the horns so as to make them less pointy. So as soon as they hit I sprinted up to the nearest one. I had managed to find one of the larger animals grappling with it I cast a glance over my shoulder to find the other guys had opted for a speed slightly below that of mine! It was quite amazing to see how the animals gave up the struggle as soon as the blindfold went on. Sorry I was a bit to busy to get a photo!

This young water buck looks a bit confused about the concept of helicopters and truck. I have now developed an awesome respect for the man who pulled off the most epic of game captures, Noah. Two by two the greatest miracle of all!!

One little dog!

Well sadly the pack of wild dogs moved on leaving their mate behind. We now have one little dog who is one great big headache. He is killing and upsetting the all the animals. We have tried to dart him from the ground and even the helicopter with no success. Wild dogs will only eat meat they kill so we can't leave a drug laced piece of meat out for him. Being out of ideas we are hoping he will evaporate if we ignore him!

Wild Dogs and English men go out in the mid day sun!

Well it's one to the wild dogs and nil to the humans! They are still at large and have not been too bad over the past few days. I saw one early morning strutting around and ignoring the big holes in the fence for them to leave by. They have a most peculiar call which sounds like a bird.

Wild Dogs

We have a fantastic nightmare on our hands. Last night a pack of six African Wild dogs entered our farm. They are the second most endangered carnivore with a population of only three thousand. We just saw them tonight with the spotlight. Their Latin name means Painted Dog, as you can see from the picture it is an apt name. They are beautiful and amazing to watch making a greyhound look as if it has two left feet they almost float across the ground when they run. This is the first time they have ever come to this farm. The mayor problem is that they are long distance hunters who will case prey over huge distances. They can reach speeds of forty five miles per hour. They have already chased our game into the fence and lots of the animals are very spooked. We have two vet in with a dart gun so we can catch them and relocate them. There are very few areas where they can live as they require huge territories to hunt.

As Fergus put it "they are beautiful and you just can't help admiring them but give me a lion any day they are a nightmare for the game" I will keep you posted on how we go and where they are going to be move to. I hope to get some pictures in the next few days but for now you will have to live with picks off the web.

The 'last' day of the Jackal.

Life in Africa is just fine and dandy. The pigs and fish are rolling out the front gate by the truck load.

The Shooting has been going well now I've had a little more practice. I have just been out with Fergus shooting at the top end of the farm on the most wonderful African evening. The twisted trees marked against the red hues of the setting sun. I was lost in the great simplicity of my mind which faced with a sight of such beauty grinds to a pleasant halt. When we rounded a corner, looking straight at us was an animal with a foxes head a dog's body and an overgrown squirels tail. I had come to the incorrect guess of "what a nice doggy" when a command rose from the drivers seat in no uncertain terms "In The Head". I dropped onto the sight and pulled it abligingly dropped dead. I stood up and as we drove up to it i bore my ignorance on my sleeve "Ah, what is it?" It was a jackal. Jackals are very bad news for the game animals and they can carry rabies. It had been suspected that one had entered our farm as foot prints had been seen.

So what have I learnt about conservation today - well that some animals can be very destructive and transmit disease. I can also deduce that as I do not know all species I encounter it is better to shoot first ask questions later. This way we can eradicate feral and pest species but if it turns out to be rare shooting it will make positive identification easyier.

four and twenty black (with white spots!) birds baked in a pie!

Well it finally happened I started hitting the birds and not just making noise. Shooting the Guinea foul and Franklin on the farm is an after work form of relaxation and protein provision for the staff. Since I've been involved it's been source of frustration, lean times for the staff and escalation bird populations. The farm has a huge number of Guinea foul with two to three thousand milling about. Fergus was driving and I stand on the back using the cab roof to steady the rifel. Todays harvest was four Guinea and two Franklin. I know six out of three thousand is not the best percentage but I was chuffed.

The birds will be presented to the guys digging our new ponds tomorrow. At least we have ensured the Bull dozers and excavators will keep hurtling around cloaked in huge atomic like plumes of dust.

African Beasties.

Our family of long necked Hippo happily munching on a tree. The names of all the African wildlife can be confusing but I have picked it up in no time. In fact I am almost a fully fledged game warden. Below one of our fine African stripped Lion - a ferocious beast.

Big little fella!

Just wanted to show you a pic one of the little fellows running around here. This four year old male was shot by a friend of the farm. The Eland needed to be culled as we have too many young males of this age. When the dominant male dies (normal cause of death American hunter!) one of the younger males will rapidly gain weight until he is about one third bigger than the fellow in the photo. I am the one bravely grappling with the horns and the other guys are game farm employees.

Mother and son!

It's been just wonderful having Mum out visiting. We had a lovely time walking and driving around the game farm. My Mum is now fully versed in the husbandry of fish and pigs.
Mum relaxing as we cruise the river.

Two of the four strong pack of dogs helping with the driving!

Crocs up close!

It was early afternoon when Erick and I were walking along the pond banks next to the flood plane. When there sunbathing on the pond bank was an old friend but not a welcome one. A seven foot crocodile has been living in the ponds for over a year now. Douglas and Erick had trapped him some time ago. As he was small at the time they did not wanting to kill him so they took him in the boat upstream. They span the boat around in circles whilst his head was covered to disorientate him. They released him and triumphantly returned thinking that they had restored peace of mind to the farms staff and allowed croc to enjoy a new life.

It was only a matter of days before the crocodile had indignantly returned to the same pond. Now he is too smart for the trap. We tried one night to catch him with the professionals but he outsmarted us when equipped with a boat and harpoons.

Living on a ready supply of fresh fish he has grown quickly to his current seven feet. I slowly approached the crocodile as he bathed in the afternoon sun. After about ten minutes I was standing quietly less than his body length from him. It was an amazing privilege to standing and watching a wild animal so closely. I stood watching for over half an hour as he became more used to me he lowered his head and dozed even closing his eyes at times. We then got a rope and a pole tying a loop on the end of the pole Erick lowered the rope towards his head. The aim was to get the rope around his neck as we had done in the cage captures let him into the water to tire and then pull him back onto the bank. I did not thinks he we would get the rope anywhere near his head expecting that the crocodile would head into the water as soon as we moved this strange thing towards him.

Slowly the loop of rope was drawn along the ground towards the crocodiles head. He did not move or react in any way. With his head on the ground it was impossible to get the rope onto his head. We used the stick to gently tap the hack of the crocs head. It was at this moment when it all seemed so logical and sensible that I had a moment of clarity. Here I was standing in Africa seven feet from an amazingly effective and potentially lethal predator banging it on the head with a stick. My mother will be pleased to read of my sudden bout of clear thinking and wisdom. Fear not the moment passed and I continued hitting the croc with a stick. In the blink of an eye he was raised up on his front legs head turned towards us and with his very impressive dentures on display.

This was all very exciting and played into our hands well. Erick moved along the bank right beside the croc on his hands and knees just by the water line as not to intimidate the croc. When Erick was behind the croc he was able to pull the rope securely over the head. Erick crawled back along the bank and we had the croc roped. The Croc remained dead still throughout with his head held high. Only occasionally would he let out a slight hiss to indicate his annoyance.

We had done it. I never thought it would have worked but we stood with a crocodile on a lead. Now we wanted him to cool off and burn off some energy before we were going to sit on him and tie him up. We threw several stones at his tail before he explosively flew from the bank into the water with terrifying speed. In the water he thrashed wildly about doing death rolls and spinning in circles. Then our hearts sank as the rope went slack. With his razor sharp teeth the rope has been cut. All the hard work had been done and then we were let down by a rope AHHHHH! The great worry was that the croc would drown or be strangled by the rope but one of the fish feeders saw him today as he slipped into a pond.

So we have tried traps, ropes, boats and harpoons with no success. All that remains is the pounce and wrestle technique – watching for the next installment!

Pretty in pink!

Pigs- we have plenty of pigs! We produce about four thousand a year, that's a lot of bacon sandwiches in anyones book! The pigs don't smell as the pens are washed and swept twice a day very happy about that.

The pigs eat, sleep, eat, eat, sleep, doze, eat, sleep, and then eat. It's a life every couch potato can aspire to. I think the pigs are just comical when they are sleeping. This is for two reasons firstly they love to snuggle up together in a big heap and secondly they snore. Now when I say snore I am talking about a really good belly rumbling snoring. Walking past the pig pens at night is just comic.

Casting off into the blue!

Just a few pics to show you the size of the Kafue river that passes the farm. The farm is build on the flood plane. Yes I know that sounds like a bad idea but fear not the river level is controlled by hydroelectric dams. I have been out testing the boats with Erick to see which ones would be best for the tourists visiting the lodge to use. The river is just breath taking with a huge grove of palm trees along the opposing bank of the river. If you take the boat threw a small gap in the reeds of only a few meters you end up in a mammoth lagoon behind the palm trees. The picture below is just to give you an idea of the size of the river.The Local fishermen live right on the banks of the river in lovely traditional round houses. The photo below shows one of the houses blending beautifully with the local environment. The fishermen move up and down the river in dug out canoes which are very unstable. Not something I would like to try considering the friendly Croc and Hippo residents.

Shooting babies!!!

Dindy the Flynn's cook for many years holds the Bush Baby aloft with great jubilation!

The bush baby was in the tree behind my round house. They make and a lot of noise at night, kill large numbers of birds and this one even had the audacity to pull thatch off my house- bad idea.

Bush babies are nocturnal and have quite bat like features. It reminded me of a child's toy as I looked at it threw the sight on the rifle. Fergus held the spotlight and I sent the first shot off over the horizon - not my Fathers son when it comes to being a good shot! Furgus then offered me his shoulder to use as a rest and that did the job. The Bush Baby lifted his little arms to the heavens in slow motion for a maximum effect Hollywood style last breath before slumping off the branch and hitting every branch on the way down. Honestly some dying animals are such drama queens!

Fear not all yee eco tree huggers it was not pure blood sport as Dindy took it off to give to a friend presumably for a slap up meal!

Round house!

This is the house where I am staying at the moment. As you can see it is a traditional style round house with a lovely thatch roof. It has a bathroom sticking out the back and lots of lovely character. The house i will be moving into is should be finished in June. It is a huge great big place with three bedrooms so I will need lots of guests to fill the rooms! Everyone is very welcome - September is supposed to be the best month as the grass is dried up for good game viewing and it is hot but not silly! This time of year is also very nice but after the rains the grass is on a mission!

A day in the life

I start work at seven in the morning with a quick trip around the farm checking everything is well and set to harvest. Harvesting begins at eight thirty. About fifteen guys are involved with the harvest. The water level in the pond is lowered to thigh height. A net is then stretched out across the pond and then pulled the entire length of the pond. The lower part of the net is weighed down so it passes along the bottom while floats keep the top of the net on the surface. Between one and two tones are harvested in one pull of the net. We harvest seven to eight tones a week fifty two weeks of the year.

The fish are graded by size, loaded into the truck and arrive in the capital city one and a half hours later.

Lunch is served at twelve and we have until one thirty before work starts again. The afternoon consists of a large range of jobs from office work to checking everything is running well on the farm. At three o’clock Erick (a very nice guy i co-manage with) and I meet with the area managers to check on the following days plan. Work finishes at four thirty and it’s time for tea and cake!