While driving near Buffelshoek dam, Pieter came across a dead impala. Now this was a bit strange, because usually when you find a dead impala, you also find a predator. But in this case there was nobody eating the impala. Then when Pieter went back to look at it properly on the next drive there were jackals eating so he couldn’t get close enough to see if there was any evidence of how this impala died. He thought maybe it could have been a snake that had been the murderer …
Then today Jan was talking to Charles (a Djuma ranger) who said that it was a leopard that had killed the impala … we’re not yet sure whether or not Charles is certain about the leopard theory or if it’s just what he thinks may have happened. I wonder if we will ever know for sure what happened? Obviously there is no evidence left now.
Rex is still on leave and will be until the end of the month. He is building an after school care centre in his home village of Dixie. We heard today that construction is well underway and although it may not all be finished by the time he gets back to work, it won’t be long before the kids of Dixie have a great new place to spend the afternoons.

Below is a picture taken recently by Pieter of one of our favourite Cape Buffalo’s. He has officially been named ‘Seesaw’ because his horns are not symmetrical. WE know him quite well. When we were putting in the Buffelshoek camera in September of last year he was always near, or in, the water and he had a huge injury on his left hind leg. the injury was so swollen and infected, WE were quite convinced that he wasn’t going to make it … really for sure. Everyday he would spend hours in the water worsening the infection. Anyway the old man made it through and slowly the infection went away. Then a few months ago a buffalo bull was killed just below Gowrie dam and for a short while we were convinced that the Kahuma pride of lions had killed old Seesaw. A few days later we saw Seesaw chilling out at Buffelshoek and WE knew that he was obviously a bit tougher than we had given him credit for. Anyway, old Seesaw has watched more trenching, camera installing and tower climbing than any other buffalo … he knows us better than WE know him.