Week 267 ( 3rd Oct – 9th Oct 2008 )
Boyish Antics
3rd October 2008: TigerWoods was lying on his back with his belly to the morning sky with his legs flopping to the ground by his sides. Cathay was pacing restlessly calling and calling whilst looking up towards the breeding centre. 327 was lying under his not so favourite tree contemplating me with sleep laden eyes. Finding nothing fascinating he journeyed back to dreamland. Later in the afternoon I encountered 327 at the water trough drinking slowly and with extreme concentration. He looked up at me when I stopped walking and in so doing dribbled some water on his foot, he stared at me as though it was entirely fault then shook his paw violently. After having had another few laps of water he walked off to his pantry to prepare supper.
4th October 2008: Hulooo was waiting at the gate and was chuffing at me even before I climbed out of the vehicle. I went into the breeding centre to put all my baggage down and saw JenB eating near the door of the cage closest to the exit and Coco was lying under the bed watching him and me. Hulooo came charging in startling JenB who jumped a few feet into the air, growling. Once his feet were again on terra firma he continued eating as Hulooo screeched to a halt colliding with the mesh and chuffed at himself for being so clumsy - his brothers also thought that it was rather funny and chuffed with him. We chatted for a while longer and I then removed myself from their direct proximity. Hulooo lay down next to JenB and pawed the food. JenB wasn’t sharing and Hulooo had to console himself with a scrap of skin that was lying around and I could hear his tongue rasping as he sucked it. He later moved his butt into the tiny water trough that was empty at the time and cleaned himself from head to toes.
5th October 2008: 327 was lying behind his pantry chewing on last night’s bone and once he had finished he dragged it into his pantry and buried it under a heap of old bones. He came out of the box with a self-satisfied smirk on his face, licking his lips. JenB was playing with his food, standing behind it clawing it by its neck towards him, to roll it over. Having got the buck on its back momentarily he jumped on it landing chest to chest and face to face with it, its legs waving on either side of his body, he then rolled over so that both he and the buck were lying on their sides holding each other in their arms and nipped the buck’s nose before extricating himself from the buck’s embrace and hugging it from behind. He then jumped straight up into the air and landed with all four feet on the springbuck wobbling from side to side as he tried to balance on its ribs. Coco had found himself a bush to play with and started the game with his head on it and his butt in the air. Still in this position he spun around the bush in an anticlockwise direction for two or three revolutions until he had returned to his starting point then flopped down with the bush at his head and rolled over onto his back. He pawed at the bush with both fore-feet clawing it to death whilst his back legs were raking the air.
6th October 2008: The afternoon was the designated time for Cathay to keep her appointment with Hulooo. He, as usual, was keeping us company at the gate whilst we waited for her to join our little party. She eventually made it to where we were standing and was chuffing merrily at everyone including Hulooo. She walked slowly, without any intent, right up to him and the closer she came, the lower Hulooo dropped to the ground and the further back he pulled his ears. Once she reached him he again made one attempt to paw her face but was unsuccessful and she just chuffed at him and continued walking to the rubbing tree, which she saturated once she arrived. Hulooo walked to a couple of times but never actually made it up close. After that he ignored her and she ignored him. Nothing further could be gained by leaving them together so back into the quarantine camp for Hulooo and dinner was served. Madonna was put to bed and then it was time to lead Cathay down the garden path to the 0.5ha enclosure where TigerWoods was waiting for her.
7th October 2008: We walked back to the breeding centre to watch the boys a little. Hulooo was drinking water at the outside trough which required filling so I opened the tap and Hulooo became silly. He first stood some distance away from the trough and stretched his neck to smell the water coming out of the pipe, finding that it smelt the same as that already in the trough he came closer and drank at the pipe. He then felt it necessary to try and climb onto the far side but put his foot into the water instead - this led to much foot-shaking and further exploration. Next he tried his other foot at the corner of the trough but found that he would not be able to stand there so to save face he tested the temperature of the water with his paw, found it to has liking, had a couple of laps and retired to his bush. Coco saw him lying down facing us and stalked him very carefully. Hulooo heard him coming and turned around chuffing, Coco chuffed back and they both lay down to play. Hulooo was often on his back looking at Coco upside down. He would then roll over and grab a mouthful of grass before continuing the patting game. JenB was minding his own business on the pole shelter and when Hulooo joined him he jumped off - leaving Hulooo the king of that particular castle.
8th October 2008: Upon our return we observed all three brothers at the water trough. Hulooo had fetched the skin of the last springbuck with a couple of legs still attached, brought it to the trough and plonked it into the water. Before it could sink altogether he picked it up and sloshed it around in the water, not satisfied with standing in one place he walked backwards and forwards; splashing water out either end of the trough. He then pulled it half out of the water and draped it over the side and turned his back foe a second. JenB and Coco had by this time come closer to see what all the noise was about. Hulooo now had competition for his toy and had to protect it. He plopped it back into the water and placed one foot on the opposite edge and stared at them. Unabashed by the stare they split up and converged on both sides. Hulooo had a contingency plan for that too, he again placed one front foot on the opposite edge and the other on the edge nearest to him, next up was a back foot also on the edge nearest him and lowered his body a little, looking from side to side. Coco moved a little closer, drawing Hulooo’s attention and JenB stole the toy. Hulooo realised that he had been robbed and stole it back amidst some growling from JenB. Coco and his brother then pushed off and Hulooo also no longer had any interest in the play-thing. We then moved into the breeding centre and all three joined us, JenB climbed on top of the breeding box, Coco picked the bed and Hulooo was doing his best to disturb them. He succeeded in forcing Coco off the bed and climbed up himself; poor Coco was relegated to the floor underneath and before long all of them were paying tribute to the sand-man.
9th October 2008: 327 was moaning again in a high-pitched voice about the lack of food in this establishment and also of our total disregard of his plight. After exhausting that topic he dropped his voice an octave and told us all the local gossip, having talked himself hoarse he left to lap some water and left us to consider what we had just been told and see if we could come up with a plan to rectify the matter. Hulooo and JenB were playing in the crush cage and having a whale of a time batting at each other and growling terribly. Coco tried to join in but couldn’t fit in so he left to chew on the cable holding the door open. JenB left to bug his brother, chasing him around the pole-shelter, leaving Hulooo with nothing to do but chew the cable holding the door open, JenB saw that Hulooo was having so much fun and watched for an opening. Hulooo left the cage to talk to us and JenB saw his opening, clawing the cable nearer he twisted himself into knots around the cable gnawing on any of the cable that was not wrapped around his body. Hulooo had left our company to play with Coco and JenB couldn’t resist the magnetism of them chasing each other around and unwound himself from the cable and hurried to join them.