Fighting for a breath

By Jackson Shirima - Guide, Chada Katavi

If anyone wants to see hippos in different lifestyles, maybe one should try Katavi. The lifestyle ranges from hippos living in super-clean water to hippos lying in a cesspool of hippo dung and water. One of the most intriguing part of hippo life is their fighting style. While other animals use horns, claws and even hooves for fighting, hippos, especially males, make good use of their formidable tusks and incisors.

Fighting differs seasonally from territorial spats when there's food and and water abundance, to individuals desperately fighting for space when only a few pools are left and there are too many hippos for the few pools.

We were heading to fly-camping one evening and decided to look at the Katuma River, which was by now drying up with only a few pools left. A young male hippo was resting in a small pool of water,  when a bigger (probably older) bull came in and provoked the youngster into battle. Battle ensued and the young hippo fought bravely, he pushed the older bull out of the pool and chase him on land grabbing his hindquarters and "wheelbarrowed' him before he retreated.

There were thirteen lions resting nearby and they were forced to give way as the young bull kept up the fight and forced the older one further away. We had to proceed to our fly-camping area, but left the older bull sitting on his hindquarters submissively whilst the younger bull kept biting him. We went to the spot the next day and found both hippos still alive, but the older one had terrible gashes on his flanks but was lucky to have escaped with his dear life.

Picture by Jackson Shirima

Warthogs in Katavi

By Maripet Koipal - Guide, Chada Katavai

Warthogs are one of the most spectacular animals, and very interesting because of the very large tusks they use for fighting with other animals. Warthogs use their tail in display when threatened and they raise it up by indication to follow the sign.

Warthogs weigh about 60kg - 100kg but in most cases the males are larger than the females. Their gestation period is 5 months, and they produce 1 - 8 litters. Their man food is roots, fruits and grass and they always kneel down when feeding.

They can be found in matriarchal groups of 4 - 10, they are non-territorial and like to inhabit open grasslands and woodlands.

Meeting up buffalo

By Jackson Shirima, Guide - Chada Katavi

As it gets drier, big buffalo herds move to the vicinity of water and this is the best time to do those breathtaking walks up to the herds. Staying a safe distance of course, you can enjoying them without them having the slightest knowledge of your presence. Obviously big herds will be less naive as compared to animals of the same species wandering alone.

As the buffalo herds move from place to place in search of water and pasture, old bulls often can't keep up the pace and are forced to stay back, either alone or in small bachelor groups. In normal circumstances, meeting a lone buffalo bull could mean you are meeting one of the meanest things in the bush.

I have had several instances where these bulls run after the vehicle, and in one instance nearly hit its target. We were having a leisurely evening game drive when we saw a lone bull ahead of us. He was grazing on the river bank and seeing us, he ran into some thicket. We kept driving and when we came to ten metres from the bush, he burst out without any warning. My instinct made me press the accelerator harder and we went straight past him. He did not stop but kept running, then stopped. Everyone in the vehicle had that sigh of relief that he wasn't coming again.

It doesn't happen often, being shaken by these majestic bulls, but as we humans have moods they sometimes have a very bad mood.

Picture by Jackson Shirima