Barbara J. Hamby

South African Scenario

This morning it’s night in South Africa. The watering hole reflects the black of the sky. It is deserted. On rare occasions a single bird or animal will drink at night, but most of the activity is in daylight.

Earlier today (South African time), actually last night here at this computer, there was a parade of animals at the watering hole on the webcam. There were a couple of what looked like warthogs beside the water at one time. Later, a herd of zebras was drinking. A few zebras appeared at another time and were there very briefly. Once, when I looked, there was an animal in the water I couldn’t identify.

Sometimes a large group of animals or a couple of birds will linger at the pool. They are always watchful and wary and may vanish quickly without any cause apparent to us.

We could sit at the screen all night here and watch the activity there. It seems to me that more goes on weekends than on weekdays. I wonder if there are fewer tourists and/or fewer park staff around on weekends to spook the animals.