Minute and vulnerable, he was forcefully separated from his mother and siblings.

The pair of mighty martial eagles that have been spotted now for a few days signal the onset of baby season for warthog families. The prolonged drought has forced many expectant hog families to leave their parched savannah homes for the still relatively healthy pastures of the mountain slopes. Here they compete with the rest of the game living under the protection of the MKWC and we wonder how long the food will last with the added burden.

As the martial eagles patiently wait in the trees, their powerful eyes focus on the warthog dens. A few days after giving birth the

sow gets ready to move her new litter to confuse nocturnal Jackals and foxes. She is not aware of the imminent danger from the sky. With his over 2 meters of wingspan the eagle descents silently casting a sudden shadow over this happy family outing. By the time the sow sounds the alarm and her piglets scatter, the powerful claws of the mighty bird have already grabbed one of their number and in one hasty swoop the bird and its prey are airborne – the spectacle of nature is over in seconds. This is how inexperienced mothers lose inexperienced piglets. When she stops to count noses one or more fugitives are already out of her earshot and unaware of her call. By night the jackal, the smaller cats, or the fox will find the easy meal.

Not this time, as one of our alert game scouts found the lone piglet squeaking for help he became its saviour and delivered it unharmed to Fundi at our animal Orphanage.

Our loyal friend and Conservancy supporter Chuck Simmons came through at once with a significant sponsorship for the comical piglet, hence named: “Chucky”

Chucky has already dutifully taken up his position as Orphanage clown endearing himself to all he meets. Not unlike most parents that see their own children as smarter and nicer, I must say, “I think this one is different, he really is smarter!!”

He not only follows Fundi all day, he also delights in greeting those of us he can already identify, such as my blue car for instance which sends him racing up to the gate to greet me.

I think we have a winner: “World’s smartest mini hog!!”