“That was a cool sighting with a buffalo bull busy having a mud wallow.” This is what Willem tells us at the end of a great game drive, which once again offered a show you can not see every day.
If an animal wallows in water or mud, they lie or roll about in it slowly for pleasure. Wallowing acts as a cooling method. Buffalo spend time lying in mud-wallows to reduce their body temperature. Another common explanation for the wallowing behavior relates to relieving skin irritations, whether that is from shedding a winter coat or seeking relief from biting insects.
Willem tells us: “So we could take a lot of pictures from this buffalo while he was in the mud wallow, turning around from side to side, also pushing his horns into the mud. At a stage he came back up and showed to us how big he is and gave a bit of a snorring noise just to let us know, hey, I am the big boy.”
Willem stayed for about 10 to 15 minutes with that big boy and everyone on the vehicle agreed that was really a good show. “The photos are maybe a little bit dark but still good.”
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