Xakanaxa pride heads north - 09:42 pm
15 Jun 2009
At around 13:30 this afternoon, the entire Xakanaxa pride, sleeping in the shade of a small acacia tree, suddenly all levitated. It appeared that an electric current had passed through them. I have no idea what startled them, but they all got a big fright. I don’t think they know what happened either as they all stood around, peering in different directions, clearly confused.
Despite the day being hot, this seemed to galvanize them into action and they set off uncharacteristically early. Making their way across the open plain beside which they had settled, they began to head to the north-west. We cut the day-old tracks of a herd of buffalo with them and it was certainly this that they were following.
It soon became apparent that they had picked up a different scent however. Their demeanour changed perceptibly. They moved cautiously, zigging and zagging as they went, the entire pride stopping to sniff at certain bushes and the males marking over any scent that they discovered. They were pushing well beyond their usual territory and were clearly wary.
Confrontations between prides almost always occur over prey. It does not make sense for them to clash unnecessarily as injury may result in death, but with buffalo herds scarce at the moment, they will challenge each other for resources. The Xakanaxa pride are struggling at the moment and are looking thin and hungry and will thus be more likely to take chances in neighbouring territories.
They moved like this all afternoon and we braced ourselves for the confrontation that we were sure would ensue. This never happened in the end and at sunset we left the Xakanaxa pride looking to the north on the western point of Mboma island. We will be out there again tomorrow morning and will hopefully be able to deduce what, if anything, happens tonight.
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