Kwando Sichtungen 2011
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Sightings Report Kwando Safaris - December 2011
Kwara Concession
The beginning of December truly proved to become a festive month for all. We began the month with two sightings of leopards: while driving around Marula Island, we spotted a relaxed male, looking a bit hungry, who began hunting whilst we looked on. Unfortunately he was unsuccessful. In the afternoon we spotted another leopard, this one female, she was walking around in the same area that the male had been in the morning, so it’s possible she was interested in mating. Leopards were seen through the rest of the month, including a mother with her cub feeding on an impala.
Predator sightings in the Kwara concession have been quite successful. Lions topping our wish list and rarely disappointing, seeing them almost every day. There is nothing better than observing social behaviour and interactions and what better cat than to display all these than a cheetah and her 3 cubs. As we drove towards Wild Dog pan, we spotted the female cheetah and her 3 cubs playing under the shades. We stayed with the cheetahs for a while and through the month these were shay cats were seen in our concession every week. The coalition of three males were also seen often in the Tsum Tsum area but were difficult to follow through the mopane woodland
On the 14th we were so excited after spotting a pack of wild dogs near Tsum Tsum, and to top it all off, the dogs were feasting on a zebra…
Ever since the rains, general game has been quite plentiful, including in and around camp. Usually in the mornings, we have a lot of impalas foraging between the tents. It’s always great to witness these antelopes in large groups, with the baby impala still quite skittish, always staying close to their mothers. We have not been seeing a lot of elephants in camp, ever since the rains, these majestic animals are mostly feeding out in the marshes and plains. On the 11th we spotted 21 elephants whilst out on the boat cruise, crossing the Kwara channel. Quite an interesting sighting, we stopped the boat and witnessed the ellies swimming, feeding and having a great time in the water.
There have been plentiful sightings of antelopes, including tsessebes, wildebeest, reedbuck and buffalos. Also herds of zebras, dust bathing and grazing at four rivers. We also caught a glimpse of a rare sighting: bush pig! Looking a bit like an over-furry warthog, these animals are exceptionally shy, and hard to see.
A huge crocodile was located at Paul’s crossing, not shy at all and on the hunt for fish. We also spotted 8 hippos at Peters crossing and these colossal giants were playing, and of course grunting!
Birding has been wonderful this past month, considering that all you have to do is sit out on the porch in front of your tent with a pair of binoculars and look out in front of our camp. In the trees in camp we hear the birds calling constantly, including the black eyed bul bul, crested barbet and starlings.
There has been phenomenal general game in the area close to the Baobab: zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, tsessebes and baboons all in the same area. Visits to Kubu Pan were also very productive, with 25 hippos squeezed into the rainwater pan! Three roan antelope – normally a very rare sighting – have been seen relaxing around Lebala airstrip each morning. There was also a very unusual sighting of a black mamba fighting a yellow mongoose – we couldn’t tell who the ultimate winner was!
Smaller herds of elephants than last month – about 30 at a time – have been seen coming from the western edge of the camp, crossing the swamps in front of the camp.
Normally in December, the elephants spread out through the area once the rains have fallen, sometimes making it difficult to find them, but this year they have still had a forceful presence.
Leopards were also seen during this month, with an unusual sighting of a large male and younger male seen playing and relaxing in the same area. Males are exceptionally territorial, and do not normally tolerate the presence of other males, but perhaps the older male in this case did not feel threatened by the younger one. As it was, the older male was also seen the next day, being chased by a pack of 20 wild dogs, and he eventually had to take refuge up a tree!
The pride of four lionesses were found several times this month, once feeding on a kudu, with a hyena keeping a watchful eye over them. The three male cheetah were also seen a few times, hunting, but no successful catch whilst we were watching.
The festive season was not a very happy one for some of the young impalas and tsessebes in the Lebala area, particularly around Kubu Pan.
On Christmas Eve, the wild dogs killed a baby tsessebe – it took them about 20 minutes to devour it. On the same day, the cheetah brothers managed to pull down a baby wildebeest, but before they managed to kill it, the wild dog pack arrived and took over the kill, quickly ripping the wildebeest to pieces. Not satisfied, the dogs then moved through the bush and killed three baby impalas. This all happened between John’s Pan and Kubu pan – about 15km – moving through the bush.
Again on the same day, a leopard was found hunting but was unsuccessful.
The wild dogs spent the night Kubu pan, and for Christmas morning, they found Santa had delivered them four baby impalas which the pack caught simultaneously.
The cheetahs, which – sensibly - had moved off away from the dogs, also had a good Christmas catching a male impala. When they finished eating, they moved a long way off – as they had been sandwiched between the wild dogs and the lions.
The lions – one male and a female – were found at Wild Dog Pan, also on Xmas.
The next day, they were seen in the same area, mating.
Ensuring that they make the most of the abundant young, on the 27th December the dogs killed a female impala by Kubu pan, and then a warthog piglet in the afternoon.
On the 28th of December, close to Lebala camp, the dogs again killed an impala. As they were feeding on it, a hyena made a surprise visit – only to be attacked by the wild dogs. As the hyena made a swift retreat, a lioness appeared out of the nearby bushes and grabbed the remains of the kill before the dogs could return to it! Amazing interaction!
With the wild dog pups now completely part of the pack, the dogs are highly mobile, and cover a large territory. This means it’s harder to track them down and keep up with them, but it’s a good sign that the puppies have adjusted well to their life, and are learning the skills needed to sustain them throughout adulthood. This month they ranged over the whole concession, and spent several days close to Lebala. Later in the month they were back close to camp. One morning, they caught a warthog piglet and killed whilst the guests looked on. The next night they switched back to their more usual diet of impala.
Leopards were also seen this month, hunting impala. A shy female cheetah was also seen hunting impala, together with her two cubs.
As predicted, the large herds of buffalo that we have been enjoying seeing the last few months have moved off again into the areas of good grazing. They will be back, but not in the number that they have been for a few months.
Jackals – both black backed and side striped – are often seen in most areas of northern Botswana. However, it’s very rare to see them together, and even rarer to see them chasing each other! Jackals do compete for the same food, but generally keep out of each others way. On this particularly morning, we were watching the two black- backed jackals running along in line with the car, when we realised one of them was actually a side striped jackal – much fluffier and larger looking than the black-backed. It streaked passed us, and was running at pace, being chased by the much smaller black-backed jackal. A second black-backed jackal was following at a distance. We lost sight of the side striped, and a few minutes later the black backed jackal came trotting back to check on his partner.
The carmine bee eaters are still in abundance, and have been joined by their offspring, who have not quite got the same vibrant colouration as their parents. Also still learning to catch, their parents occasionally catch an extra insect on the wing, and offer it to the young.
With the large Kwando channel right in front of camp, it’s essential to get out on the boat and take a trip on it. And this month, the guests are providing some strong competition with the crocodiles that inhabit the water: impromptu fishing competitions! Some huge catfish and bream (tilapia) have been hauled up on the lines, to the glee of those watching. Cast off to live another day – or perhaps end up in the croc’s mouth after all – the end of December marks the end of the fishing season for Botswana, to let the fish breed in peace!
Unusually hot temperatures for December which followed the few days of rain at the beginning of the month led to the Tau Pan lions doing a fair amount of resting from the heat, under the shade of umbrella thorn trees. A leopard was also seen walking along the cut-line, quite relaxed, but no repetition this month of the leopardess drinking from the pool! Tracks are still being seen in and around the camp, so we know she is still around.
Two brother cheetahs were found feeding on a baby oryx, in Passage valley. They were a little nervous and shy, perhaps fearing the arrival of the lion pride that inhabits the area. We also saw a female cheetah that was encouraging her two cubs to try to stalk springbok… not very successfully I am afraid!
The most spectacular – and exceptionally rare sighting for the Central Kalahari – was a group of 20 bull elephants drinking and wallowing in the mud at Passage Pan! Although signs have been seen of elephant activity in the region, this was the first sighting of the actual animal in many months. And then there were 20 of them!
Great birding this month as well, with secretary birds, painted snipes, hamerkops, marabous, lappet faced vultures, and giant eagle owls. General game was also good with sightings of bat eared foxes as well as the black backed jackals, giraffes, springbok, hartebeest, kudus and wildebeest.
The beginning of December saw heavy rains, turning the roads into water channels, more suited to a mokoro! The sun came out, quickly drying things up again, but not before the first of the springbok began to be born… Soon, lots of little springboks were bouncing around, learning to run and jump on their stick-thin legs.
The rain also collected in the pans in front of Baines Baobabs – a magnificent sight at any time, but with the addition of the water birds skimming the pans for frogs and insects, it’s a magical place indeed.
The first two weeks of December saw lots of cats – cheetahs and lions – all doing what cats do best – sleeping! However, there was a leopard who decided not to fit into the same pattern, and was seen walking along West Road.
Perhaps realising she had to set a good example for her cubs, in mid December, a female cheetah caught a young springbok, but didn’t kill it, She gave it to her two cubs to play with – this helps them learn hunting and killing techniques. There is always the chance that the springbok will be able to escape the cubs, particularly when they a first learning what to do, but on this occasion, the baby springbok was not so lucky, and cubs killed it.
After the burst of rains at the beginning of the month, very little else fell, and as things got drier again, the lions and cheetah were seen more and more often relaxing in the vicinity of the natural water holes. Elephants and other animals are also visiting the water holes regularly, as the puddles dry up again.
The zebra migration is currently moving through the park. The zebras appear to have split into two, possibly three groupings this year, spreading further out, possibly due to the late appearance of the rain this year.
Sightings Report Kwando Safaris - November 2011
Kwara Concession
Strangely for November, the rain just never arrived… temperatures got hotter and hotter, with clouds building, but there was no longed-for rain drops to cool the area, and provide relief for the animals. Although the flood waters have receded a lot, there is still enough water in the area for the animals to drink, and a few green shoots of grass peeked their way to the surface after the quick rainfall we had on Independence Day on the 30th September. They didn’t last long!
Moving into the area in search of green pastures was a huge herd of buffalo – “uncountable”, as some of the guides said, but probably numbering around 500 or so individuals. A large number of zebras also mixed into the area, for good measure.
Some of the feline inhabitants of the area took time to appreciate the influx of the large moveable feast… two male lions pulled down a buffalo from the herd. Not to be outdone, on the same day, 3 lionesses and four young lions were found feeding on a giraffe carcass! Being such a large animal, a giraffe can feed several lions for a few days, so guests were able to return to the sighting a number of times over the next few days. Two groupings of cheetahs – the mother with three young, and three adult cheetahs – were seen throughout the month, mostly resting up in the shade.
Successful hunts were not limited to the large cats in the concession. The diminutive African wildcat – the same size and colouration as a household pet tabby-cat – caught a small rodent and enjoyed his meal whilst guests looked on. One wonders if these cats have slight inferiority complexes when faced with their much larger cousins of the lions, leopards and cheetahs.
Another good sighting of the pack of four wild dogs this month – as the water recedes, we hope to see even more of them. Four individuals is an unusually small grouping for wild dogs, and with no puppies to slow them down, they are highly mobile.
Godikwe lagoon continues to be the highlight of the boat trips, with the wonderful heronry.
Lebala
At the beginning of the month, lions were being a little elusive – extensive tracking by the guiding teams eventually managed to locate some, including four lionesses picturesquely relaxing under the shade of a baobab tree. They were later seen attempting to hunt in the woodland, but were unsuccessful at that time.
Several leopard sightings including sightings of two males, one very relaxed, and the other much shyer.
The three brother cheetahs were seen regularly this month – and even managed to kill an adult female kudu – quite a large antelope for cheetahs to bring down. However, working extremely well as a team enables the brothers to attempt such a challenge and minimise the risk of injury to themselves.
The so-called Kwando pack of eleven adult wild dogs and eight puppies made forays into the Lebala region for several days, making regular successful kills of the baby impalas that arrived this month. Interestingly, another grouping of six dogs – two adult males, three adult females and one puppy – was also seen in the area west of Kubu pan. It has been difficult to identify whether this is a split of the Selinda pack – unusual for there to be only one puppy if that was the case.
The huge herds of elephants – numbering up to four hundred individuals – have been moving into the floodplains south of the camp – a wonderful sight! Large herds of buffalo are also moving throughout the concession, waiting for the rains to arrive and the promise of green grass.
Towards the end of the month, Lebala was lucky enough to get a some rain – quite overdue! No one could have been happier than the bull frogs…. Having been estivating (burrowing into the ground and slowing their metabolism) since the end of the last rains. These large, rather unattractive amphibians dug their way to the surface and found any puddle of water that gave promise of a good breeding ground, and their own handsome prince.
A pair of black backed jackals have denned in the area, and guests are able to check in almost every day how the couple are raising their cubs.
Lagoon
One can appreciate the size of Kwando concession when you hear that although rain was falling heavily in the Lebala area for more than a day, not a drop arrived in Lagoon. Towards the end of the month, they finally got a few drops. Again, a welcome relief from the heat.
The whisper of more rain further off and potentially new grass to eat generally means that in late November, early December the majority of the elephants cross the river for a short holiday before returning en masse again. However, not all go, and there were still plenty to see and enjoy in the Lagoon area – both breeding herds and bulls!
Male lions were keeping a low profile this month – yes, they can really “disappear” in spite of that large glamorous mane! However, the lionesses were seen quite often, in the area around half-way pan – hunting and snoozing during the heat of the day.
A variety of leopards were seen this month, mostly males, but also a sub-adult female was seen attempting to hunt. Other leopards caught baby impalas, and one adult male was seen feeding on a warthog – normally a tough animal to kill due to its vicious tusks and thick neck – hard for a leopard to get hold of.
The highlight of the sightings this month was a ‘two for the price of one’ where the pack of wild dogs got wind of a male leopard in the area they were moving through and chased it up a tree!
Although October we hadn’t had any luck with cheetah sightings, the three brothers were seen each week, looking well fed and relaxed.
The wild dogs had a successful month – also for the guests who witnessed several kills, mostly of impala, though a baby buffalo was also taken down by the pack. With such a large pack, it is necessary for the group to hunt at least once a day, with twice being preferential. Hunting is mostly done in the late afternoon, or the few hours after dawn, before the sun gets too hot. And coincides well with game drive times!
Although the rains have not yet arrived, most of the migrant birds are here already. The carmine bee-eaters have excavated their nests – miniature caves into the side of the river bank, so this makes a great trip for everyone on the boat – watching them fly in and out of their holes at eye-level.
Lots of lovely general game in the area, and great birding with the carmine bee eaters still abounding. Those especially elegant antelope – sable and roan – were both sighted this month. The highlight of one drive was the sighting of a honey badger digging up and catching a mole rat. Mole rats live in tunnels underground, so the honey badger must have heard/smelt the rat moving below and then dug fast to get the animal out. Super determined animals, honey badgers rarely stop once they get fixated on the chance of a meal!
Tau Pan
No sooner had we mentioned it in last month’s sightings report, than the scuffle between the lions happened. The pride from Passage Pan met the Tau Pan pride, and neither side were amused… Used to seeing the Tau Pan lions daily, strolling along, playing with the little cubs, or resting in the shade, it was hard to imagine them working up enough energy to fight any other lions off! However, with two litters of cubs at stake, and an ideal water source, it was worth fighting for. The lionesses from the Passage Pan pride suffered the most, and one especially seemed badly injured, with a suspected broken jaw. On a few occasions, she was seen in the vicinity of the camp, as she obviously felt safer there out of the way of the Tau Pan lions, and yet close to a water hole so she could sneak down to drink. As she seemed to get weaker and weaker, the camp liaised with the Botswana Department of Wildlife as to what to do. As she was injured naturally, and not by human influence, as a rule there should be no human interference. However, we were worried that she was tending to use the camp area as a safe area, which could be a potential threat to the people working and staying in the camp. The decision was made to fly a vet in to dart her, and move her back to Passage Pan area to rejoin her pride, and see if she could make a recovery with them. Some how, she must have got word of the threat of an injection, as by the time the vet was about to get on the plane to come into camp the next morning, the lioness had managed to move herself 5km away! Happily, she was able to rejoin her pride, and a short time later was seen feeding with the rest of them.
Tau Pan pride, could happily rest on its laurels.
You’d think with all the lion activity in and around camp there would not be much chance of other cat viewing. It seems the leopardess from last month has developed a penchant for chlorinated water, and this time brought a friend. The mating pair (room 1 is now going to have to be renamed the honeymoon suite after the leopards called to each nearby this room) didn’t quite share the same taste in water however, and whilst one drank at the swimming pool, the other drank at the waterhole.
Quite a few cheetah sightings – the mother with cubs, and also a couple of individuals – one looking quite lean and hungry, the other fat and relaxed. In the Tau Pan area, a single sub-adult cheetah was also seen for four days in a row before it moved off.
Sadly, although there was no sighting of wild dogs in the area this month, a carcass of a dog was found at Leteahau water hole. It could not be determined what the cause of death was, but this is sad news for the few dogs that are sometimes in the region.
A rough over-view of the birds this month: crested korhaans in courtship display, kori bustards, European rollers, pallid harrier, Montague’s harrier, martial eagle, black chested snake eagle, steppe and Wahlberg eagles, tawny eagles, black shouldered kite, and many assorted vultures!
Drives are also seeing a good variety of general game, including eland, hartebeest, oryx, duiker, and steenbok. Sightings of honey badgers are regular, and caracal has also been seen on several occasions. A rare but very welcome visitor to the camp waterhole was a brown hyena – seen twice drinking.
Nxai Pan
Still no rain in the beginning of the month, so animals are making good use of the waterholes. Towards the end of the month, heavy rain – 38mm in three days – reduced the need for the animals to focus on the waterholes, and they dispersed somewhat. However, when the sun comes out, they spread out over the plains.
The pride of nine lions – six adults and three young were seen for many days by the waterhole, and also at Baines Baobabs. At Baines, they had killed a zebra and her foal, so spent some time feeding on the two zebras. Earlier in the month, they had killed a female kudu.
The 14th November was “hyena day” with three spotted hyenas (including one young) drinking from the camp waterhole, to be followed by one brown hyena also drinking. Once the rain falls, sightings of the brown hyena will become even rarer, as this shy animal will drink from puddles.
Cheetahs have been seen regularly, with the female with young being the most often sighted. Most sightings they have been relaxing in the shade, but two male cheetahs were also seen moving intently along the western road.
The zebra migration has yet to arrive at the pan, but part of it was seen in the vicinity of Baines Baobabs. It’s expected once the grass starts growing after the late November rain, many more zebras will arrive into the area.
Towards the end of the month, the springbok females are looking a little heavy and tired – their babies are almost ready to born, and it’s only a good rain that they are waiting for. They will all give birth within days of each other, increasing the springbok population instantly by 30%.
Sightings Report Kwando Safaris - October 2011
Kwara
As the first rain clouds begin to gather, turning the landscape into a kaleidoscope of colours, good sightings abound this month. Grazers and browsers have been plentiful, with large herds of zebras, kudus, and buffalos being seen throughout the concession.
We have also been delighted to see the young ones, with baby tsessebees following their mothers around, getting accustomed to the area – and their legs! We have also been seeing huge herds of buffalos, with these formidable animals grazing, drinking and fighting as part of their daily activity.
Night drives provide the perfect opportunity to come across interesting sightings including side striped jackals sitting by their dens and hoping to pick up left over’s from nearby kills. Jackals mate for life, and one of their offspring often remains with the parents to help raise the next litter of pups. On another game drive to the Splash area, a very relaxed civet was spotted close to the vehicle, giving a rare opportunity to view this animal at close quarters.
A pride of seven lions managed to bring down a giraffe, on which they spent several days feasting, with their cubs in tow. Three brothers from the popular “seven brothers” followed the buffalos for a few days but did not have any success making a kill. Two females with cubs were also seen being followed around by one of the brothers. The mother grunted each time the large male came to close to her cubs, probably sensing danger. During the nights, we have often heard the lions roaring – a wonderful sound to serenade us to sleep!
This month, after several weeks of not seeing wild dogs in the area, we were lucky and came across fresh tracks. Such a discovery could not be ignored, and we followed the tracks until we came face to face with a pack of four – two males and two females – the guests snapped away with their cameras! As the dogs were resting, we were able to stay with them for about 1.5 hours, before they attempted to take down a reedbuck – and caught!
Godikwe lagoon has been top of the birding parade, with its own heronry. Boat trips make use of this wonderful sighting. Pink backed pelicans have also been seen this month!
While enjoying the mokoro activity, we have been enthralled by the plentiful painted reed frogs, and also the Angolan reed frogs that have been appearing in good numbers. On the reptilian front, a large African rock python was found on close to Bat Eared Fox den. The python was dead – there were no indications of injury from another animal, so its death remains a mystery.
The favourite sighting this month was of a cheetah with three cubs which we were able to see for several days. On the first day, the mother cheetah killed an impala, and on the second day after tracking it, she had pulled down a baby tseseebe.
Lebala
A young female leopard cub has been the star of the show this month, having been seen several times on her own, and with her mother. The young cub was spotted clambering down from a tree, and trying to hunt birds, before becoming exhausted and lying down for a nap.
A variety of lions were seen this month, including one large pride with seven cubs who were feeding on a buffalo carcass. Tracks for the two shy male lions that have been seen in the Lagoon camp area, were found also not far from Lebala camp, but were too skittish to be seen.
Huge herds of elephants are moving continually to and fro across the marsh in front of camping – perhaps living proof that the grass is always greener on the side! Both at night and during the day, their rumblings can be heard resonating through the camp rooms, as the amble along, feeding as they go. Since the camp itself is built on an island, its only elephant traffic jams that delay guests getting to their rooms.
Beautiful birdlife in the marshes, with special displays from the black egrets – their hunting technique of creating an umbrella out of their wings to encourage the fish to swim into the shadow, is always a pleasure to watch.
Genets, wild cats, spring hares, porcupines, honey badgers have all been seen on the evening game drives. The rarest sighting was of a striped polecat – a small weasel or skunk-like animal that also goes by the name of a zorilla.
Lagoon
Swimming lessons continue – hot temperatures without rain, have increased the daily visits to the river by the numerous elephants. Hundreds are crossing the river each day, near camp, and enjoying cooling off in the deep water. As guests lounge in the camp swimming pool looking out, the river gives the impression of a giant paddling pool with elephants of all sizes ‘frolicking’ – if that’s the word to use for a 5 ton animal? Breeding herds cross with a little more decorum than the bulls, the little trunks of the youngsters peeping out from the top of the water, as their feet paddle away to keep up with mum.
An unusual sight called in by the guides one day – a “nesting leopard”. Not some hybrid of a cat and a bird, nor a leopard that had ‘changed its spots’, but a young male leopard that had used his initiative and climbed into an African Fish Eagle’s nest, and devoured two hatchlings. A hard lesson for the mother eagle, to perhaps next time build a nest on not so sturdy a branch…
Although we had no luck with cheetah sightings this month, the lions were seen several times. A couple of intruding young male lions have been seen in the area, always nervous and running away – just waiting for the chance to sneak in and try their strength if the pride males falter in some way. However, the Masalek pride ensuring they kept ‘bulked’ up by feasting on a beautiful Roan antelope, with a couple of warthogs for ‘chasers’.
The big breeding herds of buffalos are still in the area, waiting for the rains to fall so that they can enjoy the new grass. Most of the young will be born around this time, which provides good pickings for the cats of the area.
Now the wild dog pack have left the den – the pups are more mobile – its hard work keeping up with them. The pups are still too young to participate in the hunt – without mucking it up that is – but they are getting used to the idea of being on the move. Although this can make it more difficult to see them, our trackers and guides do an excellent job at finding them regularly, as they move around the Kwando concession.
The good news is that there are still 9 pups – so no mortality amongst the young – always a risk when they leave the den and encounter the dangers of the big wide world.
Although the rains have not yet arrived, most of the migrant birds are here already. The carmine bee-eaters have excavated their nests – miniature caves into the side of the river bank, so this makes a great trip for everyone on the boat – watching them fly in and out of their holes at eye-level.
Night drives this month have featured large porcupines (including one right in the camp!) , a nervous little African wild cat, and seven noisy and rambunctious hyenas feeding on a dead elephant carcass.
Tau Pan
Let’s face it; it would be bigger news if lions were NOT seen at Tau Pan. Well, that certainly wasn’t the news this month. The resident pride (so resident, the camp staff wouldn’t be overly surprised to see them relaxing in the armchairs in the lounge) have been doing their morning stroll to the waterhole before moving off to rest from the heat under the shade of the small trees. Another pride of three males and three females have been venturing in from Passage Pan, and sneaking down to drink at the waterhole whilst the dominant pride is napping. It’s only a matter of time before scuffles break out – and a scuffling group of lions is something to be reckoned with.
When the lions frequent an area in such heavy numbers, it can be hard to see other cats, as cheetah and leopard normally slink around the outskirts and keep a low profile. It appears not every leopard follows the same handbook – or perhaps she was away from class that day? At the end of October, a hot Kalahari afternoon proved too much for one leopard, who decided that the crystal blue plunge pool next to the lounge was the perfect place for an early sun downer. In spite of a number of people being in the lounge at the time, the water was just too tempting, and she spent several minutes lapping up the cool water before slinking off.
Large fires in the Kalahari have helped reduce the amount of moribund vegetation that was building up – this clears the way for the green shoots of grass to grown once the first drops of rain have fallen, and provides a well needed food source for the antelope. As the long dry grass is burnt away, it also provides less cover for the shyer animals, and increases the chances of seeing some more unusual critters. Not really known for the shyness (certainly not around our camp anyway!), honey badgers are, in most places, difficult to see. So it was a very excited group of guests that managed to see a grand total of eight honey badgers in one game drive! Perhaps some kind of convention that we are unaware of?
Good birding this month as well… yellow billed kites breeding close to the camp, black shouldered kites (one of the few birds that can actually hover) and plenty of other raptors.
Nxai Pan
Without rain, the water hole has become a major meeting point for all the animals …. From the comfort of camp (even from the comfort of their beds!) guests have been able to see lions, spotted hyena, brown hyena, kudu, springbok, zebra, wildebeest, steinbok, duiker and many elephants all drinking at the waterhole! The star of the waterhole visitors this month was one lone wild dog – a rare visitor to the park.
Cheetahs have been our most ‘common cats’ these months, with many sightings of the one adult and two young. They have been have been seen regularly out on game drives, hunting and resting, and one occasion where when they were feeding on a springbok.
Lions, doing what they do best, have been lounging around in the heat, near the water hole. Four adults and five youngsters took a chance to try and hunt around the edge of the waterhole, waiting for appetising antelope to wander on down, but there was no success whilst the guests were watching.
Lots and lots of wonderful general game milling around the area, waiting for the rain as well, and queuing for the waterhole. Black backed and side striped jackals have been adding their calls to the evening sound effects, together with the soft-shoe shuffle of the ghostly white elephants drifting by.
As for the birds – the summer arrival of the Wahlbergs eagles has made life as a small rodent or lizard a tad perilous…These birds too visit the waterhole, together with goshawks and martial eagles. Not a very comfortable time of year for the three scrub hares that normally live in comfort under the main deck… sneaking out for a late afternoon snack of grass roots has become a little trickier!
Sightings Report Kwando Safaris - September 2011
Kwara Concession
As always, Kwara Concession has been teeming with the majestic wonder and intimate sightings which it is so well known for! A lioness was spotted, attempting to imitate one of her closest rivals, the leopard, as she gracefully perched herself atop a Sycamore tree. As the sun began to set, she vacated her lofty hide and descended silently only to disappear in to the blue bush. Shortly following, a chorus of welcoming from her new cubs floated through the air to the nearby game vehicle. She has cubs! It is always an exciting day to discover new additions to a family!
Nearby, another pride amused themselves with a baboon kill – a mere snack for these vivacious eaters! Though guests are lucky enough to see these proud beasts quite often in the concession, it is always special to see them, especially when they are joined by the awesome presence of three large males!
The resident hyenas entertained some of the visitors. Two clans clashed with long, unfriendly confrontations and threats. These territorial displays between the eleven adults did not, however, evolve in to any physical contact, but a thrilling sighting nonetheless!
The cats continued to demonstrate their presence in the concession with a female leopard taking down an impala which she and her two cubs dined on at sunset. This delicate antelope provided a substantial feast which they were seen feeding on for three days!er game was also found in abundance. Elephants with their slow, methodical gate were ever-present companions to guests on their daily drives as well as buffalo, giraffe, impala, wildebeest, tsessebee and kudu along with the smaller versions of the cat family – wild cats and cerval. Even the often shy and elusive sable antelope was spotted this month, with his princely curved horns which glean in the sunlight. Though a rare sight, they do appear occasionally to the delight of all to see!
As we move in to a new season, the surrounding flora is exploding in all its beauty bringing with it some extraordinary bird sightings. The Xobega Heronry is an extraordinary sight boasting exquisite populations of storks, egrets and herons, amongst others which have been roosting there for some time now.
Lebala
Massive herds of elephant, typical for this time of year, have been spotted roaming the Lebala plains this month, feeding on the rich abundance of foliage which starts to appear around this time of year. In fact, the guests do not need to venture far from camp to enjoy the sight of these peaceful pachyderms as they enjoyed a refreshing dip whilst crossing the channel that runs through Lebala camp. These intelligent creatures are frequent visitors to the camps and they are heard most evenings as they wade through the water and lumber softly by the tents. Visitors are gently lulled in to a restful nights sleep with this nightly Lebala lullaby!
A massive herd of buffalo – numbering nearly one thousand – also wondered through camp as they headed South to Twinpools, the old daggaboys bringing up the rear in the protective fashion of the wisened sentry as the calves mewed from within the herd, seeking their mothers.
Twinpools offered some incredible game viewing as usual – with elephant herds numbering up to two thousand at a time! Even the lions which proved elusive in other parts of the concession chose Twinpools as their resting place for a few days. The pride of seventeen lions consists of three lionesses, four sub-adults and eight cubs and is often seen throughout the concession engaging in a variety of activities for the guests to see.
Leopards, luckily, are a regular site in the concessions, but one particular female decided to remain in the nearby vicinity of the camp for a few days, checking out her old routes, used the time to teach her cub a few of the life lessons it had yet to learn. She was also found with a kill – a full-grown male impala! Her kill proved too heavy to drag up to the safety of the nearby tree, making her vulnerable to any competition. Sadly, the hyenas were attracted by her successful hunt and she lost her meal to their determined efforts. It was an exciting encounter to view from the game vehicle!
Other game included giraffe, wildebeest, warthogs, steenbok, lechwe, zebras and hippos. The roan antelope, equally timid and regal as the Sable which was seen in Kwara, was also spotted in the area! As always, the birding was exceptional, from the friendly little carmine bee-eater flaunting its fabulous colours in the air, to the water birds wading through the water on the ground. The painted reed frogs also played their part as their choir twinkled their chorus through the night.
Lagoon
As the season changes and the heat of the African summer descends upon us, the elephants have found the perfect plunge pool in the Lagoon channel which they have been witnessed frequently crossing in to the Kwando water body system! Both bulls and breeding herds have made this their stomping ground. Calves were also witnessed making the crossing, using their trunks to ‘snorkel’ their way delightedly to the other side. What a magical sight to see them emerge unscathed!
It seems the buffalo also made their way over to the Lagoon area and were spotted, nearly a thousand of them in the area. It is quite a sight to see when they all move together, kicking up as massive cloud of dust that surrounds them in the midday heat.
The wild dogs were seen at their ‘new’ den. The parents appear to be doing a great job in caring for their pups as all appeared well fed and in excellent condition! Not only did the wild dogs have successful hunting this month, seen feeding on an impala, but a female leopard with her cub was also seen feeding on the calf of an eland. Another leopard shared her hunting behaviour as she frolicked from termite mound to termite mound scouting the area, to later settle comfortably up a tree. The Malasera Lion Pride seems to have found eland the choice for the menu as well and was seen at two Eland kills. They were accompanied by the two ‘shy boys’ who lived up to their name and slowly sauntered off after being sighted. The pride was later discovered at the airstrip attempting to hunt some warthogs, though their efforts were in vain!
Inter-African migrant birds have started to appear in large numbers as in common this time of the season, accompanying the graceful yellow billed kites and carmine bee eaters in their daily flights. Vultures and other raptors have also been seen frequently along with batelear eagles.
As with at Lebala, the Black-backed jackal and hyenas were seen on night drives. Upon return to camp, the hippos serenade the guests as they prepared for dinner – a wonderful nightly chorus of grunts and snorts as they communicated between themselves. This is Lagoon’s very own evening song to be heard most nights until the dawn.
Tau Pan
The Tau Pan Pride has continued to be seen, frequently passing by the water hole to drink in the mornings. On one such occasion, they left the pan and after a short walk, found the appropriate resting spot, where the adults lay down whilst the cubs entertained themselves by playing boisterously amongst themselves as the day progressed, to the delight of the guests! The cheetahs also used the pan as their watering hole, however, soon moved off to disappear, expertly camouflaged, in to the bush.
The Oryx Gazella, or Gemsbok, with its long, gleaming black horns, was also seen at the various water holes to then disappear silently in to the surrounding landscape. The springbok, with its exquisite white belly, was spotted on the plains, along with steenbok, wildebeest and kudu. And the cheeky little ground squirrel was seen scurrying along, stopping and rapidly scratching in search of food, to be shielded from the sun with its large, fluffy tail. The slender mongoose also popped its head out of a hole a couple of times to check on the activity taking place around it. And a spotted genet – a rare sighting indeed! – catapulted itself out of its hiding place, and disappeared just as quickly in to shelter of the long grass. This constant activity as guests travel through the area is what makes Tau Pan such an exciting place to visit!
Birds are also seen in abundance in this area - the lilac breasted roller, red crested khorran and the pale chanting goshawk were just a few of the variety of birdlife that has been seen and continues to be seen throughout the days.
Honey Badgers are frequent nightly visitors to the camps; even seen stealthily creeping under the deck of one room to the delight of the occupant! One amazing incident also occurred, where a family of four were spotted as they searched for their breakfast. This interruption in their early morning ritual sent them bounding across the open plain at incredible speed as they sought a hiding place!
Nxai Pan
As with Tau Pan, Nxai Pan also was visited by its own pride this month. The watering hole seems to be the choice spot for many as the temperatures start to climb with the onset of a new season. On more than one occasion, lionesses bought their cubs to drink in the cool, refreshing waters before they continued through the concession. A number of cubs have been seen with various females; some cubs estimated to be but three months of age whereas others are older, possibly closer to a year. Elephants have also found the watering hole a welcome respite from the midday sun and large bulls and breeding herds were seen often, some even climbing in to cool off! They were, however, not in the mood to share this welcome oasis with the lions, which they quickly chased away.
The cats seem to be the common theme through all the Kwando areas as the leopard and cheetah were also spotted throughout the month. The leopard, on one particular occasion, chose to sneak through camp and use the walkway as it silently passed between room six and seven. A female cheetah with her two cubs enthralled guests when she commenced a hunt shortly after being spotted! Fortunately for the steenbok which was her chosen prey, she was unsuccessful this day.
That precise little antelope, the springbok, was also seen prancing around along with the gemsbok, impala, wildebeest and zebras. Scrub hares have been seen, a small family even having taken up residence under the deck in the dining area! Late afternoon drives have also allowed for some viewing of the African Wild Cat and the much loved Motswane (honey badger) was also seen exploring the area. The greater kestrel was seen circling the skies and other sightings of birds included the marico fly catchers, chat fly catchers, white backed vultures, and like Tau Pan, the Kori Busturd!
Sightings Report Kwando Safaris - August 2011
Kwara concession
The pride of eight (that is 3 females with 5 cubs) were extremely hungry this month. They were found on a giraffe kill, and they feasted on that for several days. Other days they were observed watching giraffes from a distance and one lioness even climbed up a tree to have a better look. Later in the month their taste shifted to zebra, and they ate a whole zebra in one night!
Tree climbing must be the latest trend in Kwara for lions, as another lioness was also found relaxing in a tree. She eventually clambered rather inelegantly down the tree and disappeared into thick bush, where we could hear small mewing sounds – she was obviously suckling cubs.
Highlight for leopard sightings was a female trying to catch a baboon. But the baboons turned on her and chased her, and unfortunately injured her too. We hope she will be fine and recover soon.
The cheetah mother and her three cubs provided wonderful sightings again. Many hunts were observed and several times they were found feeding on impala carcass.
We hope to spend some more time with them next month.
There are still lots of trees with fruits in the camp, and this attracts the elephants. Bulls come by regularly, and many dinners get interrupted by an elephant sighting, as does the escort back to the tent!
Special bird sightings were slaty egrets and black crowned night herons. We also saw some Verreaux’s eagle owls and an African marsh owl and two secretary birds. This is of course among the many other birds, which are too numerous to list.
General game has been very good. To name a few, we saw giraffes, hippos, elephants, kudu, tsessebe, red lechwe, reedbucks, impalas, wildebeests, zebras and more….. After dark, we also saw African wild cat and chameleons, jackals, spotted hyenas and lion.
A very unusual sighting this month was a honey badger fighting with the cheetah mother. Small but with a fierce reputation, honey badgers are the renowned for facing off against enemies that are much larger than themselves. It’s likely that both parties were concerned about sustaining injuries, but luckily both the cheetah and the badger emerged unscathed and went their separate ways.
The heronry is now in full swing with hundreds of bird congregated for nesting. That combined with the mesmerising waterways of the Okavango make for a very special afternoon on the river.
Lebala
The 19 strong lion pride in Lebala was no less hungry than the lions in Kwara.
They killed buffalo many times – sometimes several at once. Some guests were lucky enough to see the hunt of an adult male kudu from beginning to the very end.
Leopard sightings were good too. The female leopard with her cub was seen feeding on a buffalo calf carcass. This is an unusual prey for a leopard, and also very heavy to drag up a tree. Hence the leopard had to feed on it on the ground and lost the kill to two hyenas.
The three brother cheetah stayed in the area and we had several sightings of them. None of them hunting or on a kill, but they look generally well fed.
Elephant sightings are a common sighting these days. Breeding herds with babies, but also bachelor herds. Of course there is the frequent visit into camp!
The buffalo herds seem to grow, and are getting bigger and bigger. One sighting was reported at a herd of 2000 animals!!!
Lebala also had a sighting of a slaty egret, to the delight of the guide. Other than that we have nesting activities from the secretary birds and tawny eagles.
We were also lucky enough to see small herds of sable antelopes, as well as roan – both rare to see, and exceptionally beautiful animals. General game included giraffes, hippos, impalas, steenboks, tsessebes, red lechwes and black backed jackals.
After dark we were successful in seeing African wild cat, serval, honey badgers porcupines and spotted genets.
Lagoon
The pride of 5 lion – two lioness with three youngsters were seen many times in the month and one morning killed a buffalo calf and spent some time feeding on it.
The 2 male lions are heard often at night and have also been seen regularly.
Lots of leopard sightings in August, including a female leopard which hunted a francolin – a small snack for the leopard. Another female went for something slightly larger and killed a baboon and could be found with her kill for four days running.
The three cheetah brothers were seen this month, though did spend a couple of weeks ‘on holiday’ keeping a low profile, before they eventually returned.
Wild dogs – still 11 adults, but now we also have 9 puppies! They appeared out from the den at the beginning of the month, and guests are spending a lot of time at the den, watching the puppies gradually learn about their environment.
A morning trip to the den typically consists of arriving to find the alpha female sleeping. A patient wait is usually rewarded with the rest of the pack returning to the den after a kill and regurgitating to the puppies. A daily occurrence.
One guest out on afternoon game drive, spotted what the guide and tracker initially thought was a jackal only to have it confirmed as the alpha male. The car followed the dog to a waterhole where they watched him roll in the mud and quench his thirst. He then diligently led the guests to the rest of the pack who had just earlier killed a large adult male kudu with three twists to his horns. The dogs fed on it, then ran to the den and regurgitated food for the puppies and dominant female who was looking after the puppies, and then ran back to the carcass and continued to eat again.
Lots and lots of elephants in the concession – herds, bulls, small bachelor groupings – every combination you could think of! Some are a little cantankerous with the vehicles, and so there is the odd flapping of ears and mock charges. Other elephants are relaxed and chilled, ignoring everyone and everything.
Big buffalo herds grazing through the concession – sightings of the same large herd that was seen at Lebala camp.
Bird sightings are not limited to the small flying kind: ostriches have been seen incubating their eggs, the male and the female taking turns sitting on the nest.
General game has been plentiful and varied. The highlights were two herds of eland (the largest antelope in Botswana), and even sitatunga – the semi-aquatic antelope. There was also a wonderful sighting of an aardvark.
Nxai Pan
Only a few sightings of lions this month, but one week we saw them three times.
One night, Donald the guide escorted the guests back to their room after dinner, and then encountered a female leopard on the walk way coming back to the main area. She was a bit startled, turned around and walked off in the other direction.
The cheetahs were seen regularly – particularly the mother with the two cubs All three of them were seen feeding on a sub adult kudu.
Lots of big bull elephants around, but they are generally very relaxed and not bothered by us.
General game sightings included Springboks, oryx, wildebeests, kudus, impalas, zebras, ostriches, steenboks, honey badger and jackals. The highlight again this month was the brown Hyena who came to the waterhole to drink one morning.
The so called LBJs – little brown jobs – sometimes get forgotten when enjoying the birds at Nxai Pain, but there have been good sightings of scaly feathered finches and violet eared waxbill. The crimson breasted shrike is a little more obvious, and generally more appreciated by the novice birders!
Tau Pan
“Lions seen daily” – it sounds like an advertising feature, but the resident pride have made it almost a reality. Regularly providing a floor show for guests having their early morning breakfast on the deck around the fire, it’s another reason to drag oneself out of bed. They could be heard calling during the night, and looking through the telescope from the camp in the morning, the guides spotted a male lion resting under a bush. 20 minutes later, as guests were finishing off their cups of tea or coffee, the bush bursts into life, and two males, two females, and six cubs start strolling to the waterhole. All the guests jumped into the game drive vehicles and got to the water hole just before the mum and cubs arrived, to watch them gambolling around and playing in the morning light.
Other predator sightings have included a few leopards this month, mostly resting up in the shade, and several cheetahs including two female cheetahs, one with three cubs, and one male cheetah. A more unusual predator sighting was of a brown hyena.
Great birdlife, with excellent raptor viewing including Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, martial eagle and pale chanting goshawks.
The day drives to Deception Valley have been very productive, with large groups of wildebeest and other general game at the pans and excellent predator sightings of cheetah and leopard on the way there. One group of guests were happily watching a female cheetah relaxing, whilst guests in another car on the same road were watching a male cheetah catching and killing a young oryx.
The resident honey badgers are getting a little cheeky – or perhaps we should say cheekier than normal…and have been found in the main area during the day trying to break into the canisters storing the tea, coffee and sugar! More strange behaviour from other animals: a daylight viewing of the rare and elusive pangolin!
Sightings Report Kwando Safaris - Juli 2011
Kwara Concession
As far as lions go, we saw a lot of the boys this month. Sometimes two, sometimes three, sometimes four together. However, the girls were responsible for the best sighting. Four females with three youngsters, managed to kill a giraffe. Unfortunate for them four males took over the kill from them the next day, but the sighting still provided some good observation of lion behaviour.
Several sightings of leopards: we seem to have now a male and a female in the area who are very relaxed. On one occasion we were able to follow the male leopard for two hours. He was hunting impalas but had no luck in the end.
This month the female cheetah and the three cubs were found many times. Once, we stayed with her for an hour, observing how she was hunting impalas. The cubs had to go hungry though, because their mother didn’t manage to make a kill this time.
Elephant sightings are great. We have breeding herds with babies and bachelor herds. The later still do come into camp very often and stay for a while, before moving on to the next spot.
For the birders and even the non-birders, there was a great highlight on one of the boat cruises: the highly elusive Pel’s fishing owl. This large, honey-coloured eagle with huge black eyes and is something that the Delta is renowned for, but is still difficult to find. A long crested eagle was also sighted this month, which is another rare species to see.
The so called general game is also doing very well. Water levels are slowly receding with nice green grass growing on the edges. Among the species seen were giraffes, waterbuck, impalas, common reedbuck, tsessebe, zebras and a lot of hippos.
After dark we saw servals, African wild cat, civet, spotted hyena and one swimming honey badger!
Lebala
The big pride of lions – currently number 19 individuals! - was around at the beginning of the month. Then they went a bit into hiding, but appeared again towards the end of the month. The first few times they were seen at a zebra kill and later at a wildebeest kill. The sighting towards the end of the month was on a giraffe kill.
It was an exciting month for leopards. First we saw mother and cub feeding on a baby elephant carcass and then on an impala carcass in a tree. A male leopard was seen with a porcupine carcass in a tree. One of the quills was stuck in his check and this could lead to a major infection. We hope it won’t affect him.
We also had an extended visit from the three brother cheetah, which spend a lot of time on the Lebala side. Hunts were observed but no kills.
Loads of elephants everywhere! Breeding herds as well as bachelor herds, and they also come into camp often, crossing the water in front of the lodge.
Big buffalo herds are becoming a common sighting at Lebala, especially at their favourite drinking points along the river. Bulls continue to fight each other within the herds over mating rights.
Birdlife was rich in water bird species, but also lots of raptors. Among others we saw martial eagle, black chested snake eagle, tawny eagle, various bee eaters, goliath herons, pied kingfishers and ostriches.
Highlight of the general game was sightings of roan antelopes. The more general ones were giraffes, zebras, steenbok, impalas, hippos, kudus and red lechwes. We also saw various mongooses including the dwarf and the slender.
At the night drives we encountered hyena, honey badger, large spotted genet, civet, serval and porcupine.
Lagoon
Five of “our” lions killed a buffalo this month. Other than that we found them most of the time doing what lions do best: sleeping.
Good sightings of relaxed leopards. We followed a female on a hunt but she had no luck, despite her looking very hungry. But two days later we found her with an impala carcass in a tree.
The three brother cheetahs killed a kudu, and looked well fed at all the other times we saw them.
The den of the pack of 11 wild dogs has been found. For this month though we haven’t seen the puppies yet, but it can only be a question of a few more days! The den is in the mopane woodland about 1.5hrs from camp. A rough ride but worthwhile doing it!
As in Lebala, there is no shortage of elephant sightings in Lagoon. The same accounts for large buffalo herds.
Still very rich on water bird life, a boat cruise is highly recommended!
General game was plentiful too. There we saw giraffe, wildebeest, zebra, tsessebe, warthogs, waterbuck, steenbok and even eland.
Serval, African wild cat, side stripped and black backed jackal, hyenas and honey badgers were seen after dark, but the highlight for a lot of the guests was a magical sighting of a pangolin
Nxai Pan
The lions visited the waterhole in front of camp several times this month, but were being elusive when we were on game drives.
Again a sighting of the female leopard, and she was very relaxed. Observed her hunting, but no catch.
Two more visitors came to the waterhole; two male cheetahs. We were lucky to see the female with her two cubs several times.
A lot of bull elephants drinking from the waterhole, both in front of camp and on the waterhole further in the park.
Giraffes, springboks, oryx, steenboks, kudus, impalas are also around, mostly close to the waterhole.
The two heavyweight birds, ostrich and kori bustard delight everybody. We also have lots of doves and sand grouse at the waterholes, and they are busy trying to stay out of the way of the black backed jackals. The jackals stroll around the waterholes often looking for a bird that doesn’t pay attention.
A very unusual sighting this month: brown hyena seen in the morning drinking from the camp waterhole. These animals are much shyer than the spotted hyena, and are rarely seen.
Tau Pan
It looks more and more like the lions consider our camp as their home. If they are not in camp, we find them normally not far from the pan.
There were a few leopard sightings, something we don’t see too often down here. Two males were spotted one week and a female another week. All very relaxed leopards and one of them actually walked through the camp.
The female cheetah killed a springbok not far from camp, and a male was spotted at the airstrip.
Two wild dogs were seen again this month once, but only a brief glimpse. Still, good to know that such a rare species is surviving in an area that they are not well known for inhabiting.
Springboks and oryx dominate the scene as usual, but there are also kudus, wildebeests, hartebeest etc. The black backed jackals are numerous and you can hear them calling every evening.
Our regular nocturnal visitors to camp – two honey badgers- continue to come into camp every night, looking for anything to eat.
Sightings Report Kwando Safaris - Juni 2011
Kwara Concession
Lion sightings were in abundance in June. Our intimidating coalition of seven male lions were seen once all together – truly formidable sight. That just shows how lucky the guests are who are there at the right place at the right time.
The lions pulled down several zebra this month, but perhaps the best viewing was provided by the lions feeding on a hippo. All the action happened at night, so it is difficult to know the full story behind the scene. However, evidence suggested that the lions had killed it – a rare event, as its risky business for them to attack such a big and strong animal.
Kwara was also lucky with leopard sightings – the highlight was a female with two cubs, feeding on an impala up a tree.
Sadly, the cheetahs were keeping a low profile this month, with the three brothers just being seen a couple of time. There were quite a few days where there tracks were found, and the good news is that the tracks of a female with the three cubs were also seen, so it appears they are doing fine.
Toward the end of the month four wild dogs appeared in the concession. They are in good condition, but unfortunately the guides can not tell yet if the dominant female is pregnant or not.
The elephants are definitely back in force. We have a lot of bull elephants in camp, making it challenging for guests to go between their room and the main area without a large diversion. Out on the drives we are also seeing large breeding herds more often.
Birdlife is good with good sightings of ground hornbills and wattled cranes. Of course there are the more common species around like the majestic African fish eagle, and lots of water birds!
General game is plentiful. Giraffes, red lechwes, impalas, common reedbuck, steenbuck, waterbuck, hippo, greater kudu and tsessebe.
The night drives were blessed with sightings of serval, African wild cat, large spotted genet, side stripped jackals, hyenas with two cubs, and chameleons.
Lebala
The big lion pride was seen again, and they seem to be doing well. All were having a feast on a wildebeest – lots of full bellies and sleepy lions afterwards. Later they were seen following tracks of their favourite dinner; buffalo.
Leopards provided us with very good sightings. We saw a very relaxed female with a cub several times and also a relaxed male. The male was seen once with a warthog kill, and the female with the cub was seen feeding on an impala.
The three brother cheetah were observed several times on a hunt, but unfortunately they had no success on these occasions. However they look very healthy which means they made kills at other times.
We have big breeding herds of elephants in the area, with lots of babies. They seem very relaxed, which makes it possible to observe them closely. There are also bull bachelor herds around, with some enormous guys.
Buffalos are back, and there are big herds in the floodplains. One herd was estimated to be around 500 individuals. The bulls seem are in fighting mood and the lucky winner gets to mate with the females.
Birdlife was very good, with African spoonbills, martial eagles, dabchicks and Hottentots teals.
Hyenas were the masters of the nights. The carcass of a female buffalo left a rather fragrant scent, which led to no shortage of hyenas having a feast.
But we saw also serval, African wild cat, civet, caracal and one brief glimpse of an aardvark!!!!
Lagoon
We found the lions regularly and had good sightings of them. Still one pride with the two new males and two females together, so they seem to be settling in the area. Most of the lions are following the buffalos close behind.
Some relaxed leopards did appear, with sightings of a mother and son, and also a male on his own. Wild dogs also flushed the mother and son out of a thicket and the leopards had to seek safety in a tree.
The three cheetah brothers were mobile and wandered around, but we had no luck watching them hunt. They do look healthy though, so there is no concern.
The dogs headed into the mopane woodland, which makes tracking them much more difficult. That doesn’t stop our guides, and they do find them, but sometimes only after tracking them for hours. The dominant female is heavily pregnant, and they will have to den soon – already quite late for the time of year.
Elephants are in abundance, from big breeding herds to solitary bulls, you name it. And the buffalos are frequenting the area in big numbers too.
General game sightings were also good, with lucky sightings of sable, roan and even eland.
After dark we saw caracal, African wild cat, side stripped jackals, black backed jackals and hyenas.
The highlight of the night drives was the rarely seen pangolin!
Nxai Pan
It is good to hear that the lions and two sets of cubs are doing well and are in good health. By the end of the month the larger lion pride made a giraffe kill and that kept everyone happy for a few days.
The female leopard was seen again too and is doing fine.
A female cheetah with cubs was also sighted – cheetahs are always a highlight of a safari.
Bull elephants are literally everywhere. Always a big group at the waterhole in front of the camp, but also almost around each corner. As are giraffes, wildebeests, springboks, kudus, impalas, gemsboks and a few zebras.
Birders were delighted to see kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird. But also some raptors and some of the smaller species like finches, larks and prinias.
Black backed jackals never disappoint, and are seen all the time, every day.
The star sighting of the month was the Brown Hyena – it was a rare treat for all who saw it.
Tau Pan
The lions have based themselves again at our camp. The waterhole in front of camp attracts them, and they appear to have settled in for good – several generations in fact, with the cubs one day being left at a ‘nursery’ near room 6, while mum went hunting!
It was also great to observe a cheetah hunting this month: first it had to stalk slowly to reduce the distance between him and the prey (springbok). After that was achieved, the chase started. The cheetah missed this time, but it was still exciting to see the action.
An unexpected bonus for the central Kalahari was a sighting of two wild dogs this month!
An interesting observation on the birding side occurred: a Hammerkop catching insects. With no surface water around to try to catch fish or frogs, this bird adapted his hunting from aquatic animals to insects.
There are lots of springboks and gemsboks around, parading along the road.
Black backed jackals are also in abundance and we also saw a lot of bat eared foxes.
Honey badgers – a rare sighting in most places – are seen a lot around camp. We think they like the smells that are coming from the kitchen around dinner time!
Sightings Report Kwando Safaris - Mai 2011
Another amazing month at Kwando and I think the best sighting has to go to Lagoon - we received this from the camp
Dogs in camp!
Two of the houskeeping ladies could not hold their emotions this morning from the fact that they could not rescue a young male impala that was chased into camp by 11 wildogs - who did suceed in their chase.
The kill happened right in front of the dining room at about 8.30 in the morning as the wild dogs chased the impala through the camp and past the dining room - heading for room 1.
All our guests in camp came back to camp in a hurry for this amazing sighting.
As we move into the what is traditionally known as the ‘flood season’ , the slowly rising water levels may be the reason that the lions stay close by, allowing us to see them pretty much every day. Lions in the Delta are known to swim across channels, if the situation requires it, however it is not their favourite past time – as can be seen when they hiss and hesitantly put their paws in the water. We can expect to have them around for a while!
The five cubs are delighting us with their playful behaviour, and one could spend hours watching them – as some of our guests do!
The lion highlight this month was perhaps the Battle of the Giants: one, of the famous seven males was caught in a fight with the Splash boys, and the noise could be heard in camp the whole night! He survived, but with a few ugly cuts and scratches to show for the ordeal.
A male leopard made a quick escape into a tree with his warthog kill, before the hyenas were able to catch up with him.
Great news on the cheetah front: a female with three cubs has been sighted and she seems to be doing well, with the cubs being in good condition.
We see more and more large breeding herds of elephants, especially in the early mornings and afternoons. Solitary bulls and bachelor herds are also seen very often.
Good sightings of general game, like herds of zebras, giraffe, tsessebe, impala, baboons, red lechwe, wildebeest and tracks of buffalos have been spotted.
Night drives were productive this month. Aardwolf, spotted genet, serval, African wild cat, hyena with pups at the den, and a chameleon! One group of guests had a lucky sighting of honey badger - moving with purpose straight down the road towards the vehicle, the badger seemed completely oblivious of the car that he was heading towards. Only at the last minute, when he was about to bang his head on the tracker’s feet did he suddenly look up and realise what he was about to walk into – at which point he made a swift exit to the left!
Rarely seen even at night, one serval is becoming accustomed to the vehicle, and is being seen regularly around the airstrip, even during day time and this serval also has 2 kittens!
Frogs are competing with each other, and sing their arias every evening. The one sound that dominates is from the painted reed frog, also called the bell frog, and when you hear them you will understand the name!
Sightings of water birds are very good. Lots of egrets, herons, ducks, and geese can be seen swimming and feeding in the floodplains.
Sadly we got news that the pride of 17 is now down to 15. Two of the cubs are missing, and we don’t know what happened to them. The mortality rate of lion cubs is high, so it is not overly surprising, but it still makes it a little sad. Lack of food is certainly not a problem that the lions are facing at the moment: the pride was seen with carcasses of giraffe, zebra and on one occasion they were found with three wildebeest!
Magician, the leopard well known to the Lebala guides made an appearance this month, as well as other more shy individuals.
The three cheetah brothers are doing well, and have been seen with full bellies having a well deserved rest in the shade.
“Our” pack of wild dogs was around, but in the beginning of the month we saw only their tracks. At the end of the month though the guides and trackers were able to track them down again and we had some wonderful sightings of that endangered predator.
Massive herds of elephants are now in the area - breeding herds with babies of all sizes. They are all coming out of the woodland where they spent time during the rains. But now the floodplains are filling up attracting them in great numbers, due to the abundance of nutritious grass growing there.
Buffalo are also coming out of the woodlands for the same reasons as the elephants. Apart from small bachelor groups, we see more breeding herds now.
As in the Kwara concession there are plenty of water birds in the floodplains. Raptors are a common sighting too, with lots of eagles and hawks.
There are regular sightings of both species of jackals - side striped and black backed, and occasionally spotted hyena can be seen, especially close to camp at night.
One night two chameleons made a surprise visit, sitting in a tree just next to the dining area.
Zebra, kudu, giraffe, impalas, wildebeests added to the number of species seen this month.
The two male lions that are recent arrivals to the concession have banded with two lionesses – one of which is now heavily pregnant. The lionesses killed a buffalo to share with the males.
The pride of 13 lions were lucky hunters too, killing a giraffe and a zebra – all well fed and happy lions this month at Lagoon!
Guides are reporting that they had more than usual leopard sightings, most of them on kills. Perhaps interested in a form of nouvelle cuisine, one leopard was observed hunting dwarf mongoose – a slightly small snack for the leopard. The mongoose, however, was swifter and got away.
The three cheetah brothers were seen on several occasions. One time they had an ostrich kill, and the other time they tried to hunt a baby zebra. The zebra mother defended her baby very well though, and after one of the brothers got kicked they decided to give up. The cheetah’s body is build for speed, not for strength, and risk of being injured in such a challenge is high.
The pack of 11 wild dogs has been seen several times. They look fit and healthy, and were followed on a couple of hunts, some more successful than others. No sign of them denning as yet, but it should be within the next week or so.
As in the other camps, the elephants are coming out of the woodlands, and entertain us watching them feeding and bathing. Some of them seem quite happy to enjoy the camp as much as the guests, and one of our walkways needed a bit of repair after an elephant decided to have a closer look at a particularly interesting tree one night. Everyone was tucked up in bed when this happened, so only the evidence was found the next morning – perhaps he was heading for the pool?
Herds of buffalo up to a 100 strong come out of the woodlands into the floodplains, and to have a drink at the river.
General game was good too. Giraffe, zebra, impala, tsessebe, steenbok, hippo, ostrich, warthog, eland and maybe the highlight roan and sable antelopes!
Lagoon had some of the rarer sightings this month like, porcupine, aardwolf and quiet a few chameleons. The two jackal species, side striped and black backed, and also the spotted hyenas were found. African wild cat, civet, honey badger, serval have been encountered on the night drives. Sitatunga have also been seen on the boat cruises.
Snakes were out and about. The endangered African rock python was seen among them.
Lots of water birds, but also numerous raptors, like the brown snake eagle, bateleur and African fish eagle. Along the river banks we find a lot of kingfishers and bee eaters, both known to excavate holes into the bank for nesting.
It was a month with lots of lion sightings. One morning, a male lion was at the camp waterhole, so nobody had to go far to see them.
The four lionesses had 2 cubs last month…..this month there an additional three, only a couple of weeks old!!
There is a female leopard around and the guides did see her several times at the same spot. She is relaxed and provides us with beautiful sightings.
The two male cheetahs were also found and the one female cheetah was seen in camp one morning.
Wild dog tracks were seen near Baines Baobab, and even though we don’t expect to see them in Nxai Pan, you never know!
Lots of bull elephants, who congregate to big groups around the waterholes.
General game has been good with lots of giraffe, wildebeest, springbok, oryx, steenbok, impala, kudu and zebra.
On the birding side, we still get excited by the numbers of raptors, big and small. We also see kori bustard, secretary bird, violet eared waxbill, flycatchers and numerous guinefowls.
Black backed jackals never disappoint, and are seen every day.
The lions went into hiding for a little while, but luckily, towards the end of the month, they were back drinking out of the waterhole in front of the camp. It takes quite a bit of effort for lions to start moving if they are really quite happy where they are…. Such as, right next to the airstrip with planes landing. One guide was driving his guests to the airstrip for the flight out, got to the strip, found the plane and the lions, but no pilot! Concerned that the lions looked a little well fed, he radioed back to camp to ask for assistance. Luckily, the pilot had been picked up by an earlier vehicle, and was enjoying watching the lions from a different vantage point!
Cheetah were consistent throughout the month - several kills were observed, by several different cheetahs. It was a bonus that they were found often at Tau Pan, so we didn’t have to go far to find them!
Amazingly, wild dogs were seen too. Again, we do know that they are around, but do not expect to see them. Central Kalahari Game Reserve is immense, and the dogs home range in this arid country are huge, so it is extremely lucky to see the dogs there!!
Still no elephant to be seen, but plenty of signs around.
Tau Pan always has a lot of black backed jackals, and in the evening you can hear them in the camp.
A more rare sighting was the one of a cape fox, hanging around room1 early in the morning.
General game sightings were of springbok, wildebeest, oryx, red hartebeest, steenbok and giraffe.
Honey badgers were also seen and a black mamba. That mamba is not called the black mamba because of its body colour, but for the colour of its mouth – not something everyone wants to see close enough to tell!
Sightings Report Kwando Safaris - April 2011
Kwara concession
Once again, our Delta camps – typically marketed for the Okavango Experience, delivers stunning cats!!
During April it was virtually impossible not see lions!! A pride of ten has been seen regularly. The 2 lionesses watch carefully as their 5 cubs play in the morning sun. The pride was seen hunting on several occasions with one set of guests witnessing a baboon kill. On another afternoon, the guests saw the pride bring down a young male giraffe which provided a feeding frenzy and grounded the pride to the same place for a few days as they slept off their family meal!!
A new but relaxed male leopard was sighted several times. He was seen relatively close to camp and we are hopeful he will settle in permanently.
The general game has been good, with lots of zebra and wildebeest. Also giraffe, tsessebe, impala, kudu, baboon, warthog, red lechwe and plenty of elephant!!
Large breeding herds of elephant are already moving into the area. These herds, as well as smaller groups of bulls are gorging on the ripe marula fruits.
Several different endangered rock pythons were also spotted this month.
A sighting of an aardwolf provided a “first” for the lucky guests.
Serval, honey badgers and slender mongoose were also regularly seen.
Both the side striped and blackbacked jackals were seen along with the spotted hyena.
Birdlife was plentiful with the colourful saddle billed stork, wattled cranes and an unusual sighting of a pied avocet.
Frogs were also seen in abundance, especially on the mokoro rides – painted reed frogs, long reed frogs, foam nest frogs and the bubbling Kassina. All of these little fellas together produce quite the din in the evenings!!!
Lebala
The camp only reopened half way through the month but the guides and trackers had no trouble finding the game!!
A pride of 17 lions with 5 females, 2 males and nine cubs provided a regular and fabulous sightings for the guests with cameras clicking away. The pride was also seen feeding on a baby giraffe.
Magician, a male leopard know well to the Kwando trackers and guides, appeared a few times.
And the cats continued as another group of guests were lucky to pick up the spoor of the three cheetah brothers close to camp. They tracked the cheetah and caught up with them just before they hunted and killed a sub adult lechwe.!!
And just to add to the excitement, the wild dog pack (12 dogs in total) were around camp for a few days. Many guests spent time with them.
The Elephants were also in abundance all over the area, especially in and around camp!!!
Even some buffalo bulls were seen.
Birding was also great with all of the usual local species in abundance.
The snakes have also started to be seen more regularly- not to everyone’s delight!!
General game was also great with all of the plains game species and most notable, the large eland herd.
Both jackal species and the scavenging spotted hyena were also seen in the two weeks. Porcupine, honey badgers and mongoose were also reported.
The frogs provided the background dinner music (well not so background!!), with the common platana frog added to the list of species above at Kwara.
Lagoon had a spectacular game month!!! Lions, Leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs it was all happening!! (And this is only April!!).
During the first week of the month, lions were seen on every game drive!
There was the lioness with 3 cubs and a sub adult male, a mating couple plus another pride of 13!
Two new male lions have moved into the area of Lagoon/Lebala. They are at the moment not very accustomed to vehicles and people, but they are slowly getting used to being the focus of everybodys attention.
The Large pride of 17 was also seen many times.
Four days in a row, guests were treated to a sighting of 2 leopards on an Impala carcass, close to Zebra Pan.
Other leopard sightings included one shy female up a bird plum tree, and another sighting of a leopard on a kill which was raided by hyena. Lucky hyaena!
And another one got chased up a tree by 11 of the wild dogs.
The three cheetah brothers were seen on numerous occasions and followed while they went hunting, one time successfully when they took down a male kudu.
Wild dogs were sighted frequently. The highlight was probably the leopard feeling sorry for himself in a tree, and the dogs having a rest in the shade of the tree.
General game has been good. Every drive has encountered elephant – usually at or near water holes, or crossing the river down from camp.
The buffalo are also returning with large herds seen on most game drives. They are still very shy having just emerged from the mopane woodlands now that the rain filled pans are dry.
All of the general game was also around – kudu, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, impala, waterbuck, reedbuck and steinbuck, warthog, baboons.
A rare herd of sable was also seen as well as a number of sightings of the large eland herd.
The snorting hippo in front of camp cannot go without a mention as they lullaby guests and staff alike to sleep.
Hyena and jackal were on continuous patrol.
Honey badger, porcupine, serval, genets and mongoose (4 different species) were also seen.
Birdlife by no means took second place to the animals – storks were in abundance and the summer migrants are all still here. Just around camp there has been a family of ground hornbills, kingfishers on the boat and a hornbill nest.
Nxai Pan had plenty of sightings if their resident pride which now comprises 2 males, 4 females and 2 cubs (8 months old). They were mostly sleeping, but at times became more active with 6 of the adults hunting zebra.
In addition 2 male intruders were seen at the end of the month.
Mid month a female leopard was soon hunting springbok.
Cheetah were seen regularly – 2 relaxed males and then a solitary female who was seen hunting springbok.
The statuesque white elephants continue to dwarf the landscape and there are nearly always some at the waterhole at camp.
On the bird side there were good raptors sightings, including goshawks, Bustards, wattled cranes, Korhaans, eagles, harriers etc.
General game was abundant – Nxai Pan at its best, with a lot of elephant bulls, giraffes, zebras, oryx, springboks, kudus, jackals, honey badgers and bat eared fox .
The good news is that the 3 cubs are still well. The even better news is that guests were able to follow the lioness and her 3 little cubs to a bush where we were introduced to the lioness sister and her 2 cubs – estimated at only a week old!!!
Guests, guides and trackers alike feasted on the sighting of the sisters and cousins. The cubs are still too small to even see.
Two lionesses killed an Oryx early morning on Tau Pan, and the 2 males are seen regularly.
Tau Pan is more than living up to its name!!!
A leopard was sighted on the road towards Passarge waterhole. Leopard tracks were found one morning all over camp!!
The cheetahs have offspring too. There is one female with two cubs, and she wasn’t seen for a while so we were all worried. But this month she appeared again with the cubs. One group observed a kill of a springbok, which is always something special. To be able to see the incredible speed they are able to reach, cutting around corners like formula 1 cars, and all ending up in a bowl of dust.
The wild dogs were also seen this month on Tau Pan and followed until they passed a cheetah with a kill and chased her off it. Cheetahs are fragile animals, and rather avoid any fights then take a risk of getting injured, which would almost certainly result in death.
Elephant spoor was seen near Passarge Pan, but still no elephant sighting for Tau Pan!!
A Black mamba was seen down on the pan.
Birdlife was also exciting with eagles, lappet and white-faced vultures, bustards and secretary birds dotted along the horizon.
Jackals are there in great numbers, and it is a pleasure to listen to them at night before you go to sleep.
Loads of oryx, springboks, steenboks, red hartebeests, wildebeests, warthogs, giraffes, and the occasional bat eared fox.
All in all, sightings have been excellent at all of the camps!!!
Sightings Report Kwando Safaris - March 2011
Kwara
Nice sightings of lions including the pride of 10 lions – 3 lionesses, 5 cubs and 2 males, and the so-called Moremi pride – another grouping of 10 lions.
One of the male leopards that are known to frequent the area created a buffet-style menu for himself by killing an impala as well as a water monitor lizard, and hanging them in the tree. He spent four days in the area, going back to feed on the impala, and what little remained of the lizard….
Our airstrip was temporarily closed for repair, which resulted in us using our neighbouring airstrip. Although a long drive to and from camp, it provided us with some excellent sightings of general game, elephants, and even a male leopard out in the middle of the hot afternoon, stalking warthog piglets.
It was hard not to find the lions, at one point in the month they just seemed to be everywhere! Yes, there is a fair amount of water about this year, but this does not stop Delta lions – growing up in an environment where their territories are flooded at certain times of the year, lions learn early that they just have to cope with the water, and swim across it. That doesn’t mean they all enjoy it – a curling upper lip on a lion seems to convey the same amount of distaste as on a human! But they put up with it and cross when they feel they need to.
Closed for maintenance and will re-open on the 15th April
First day of the camp re-opening, the wild dogs were seen on game drive killing a baby kudu. Not a bad start to the month. Sadly they then proved to be a little elusive – plenty of tracks and plenty of time spent tracking them – all part of the adventure – but it was a week or so before they were sighted again.
The lions spent a bit of time playing hide and seek with the guides – roaring at one end of the camp during the early morning, yet leaving no foot prints. No sooner had the guide driven out along the road in the direction of the call, than the snuck across the tyre tracks and vanished. Looping around, the guides were frustrated to see the furry paw prints right on top of where they had just driven. Eventually their work paid off, and the lions were found lolling around near the remains of a kill.
There actually seemed to be quite a reshuffle amongst the lions this month, with some lions that had not been seen before. Four males moved through the area that no one had seen before. One was particularly rambunctious, and would make random charges towards the vehicle, before losing bravado (and a healthy respect for the size of the car!) and slinking off. His brothers didn’t seem overly impressed with this behaviour, and ignored him, for the large part.
Quite a few leopard sightings, with particularly memorable ones of a relaxed female who lost her kill to a male lion (all the effort made and no return!). Another leopard was found on an afternoon game drive, and didn’t mind people watching him for over and hour and a half!
An unusual sighting of the three cheetah brothers – relaxing after an ostrich kill! Unfortunately we didn’t see the actual hunt itself, but one can only imagine the combination of events that happened to bring down an ostrich… Legs and feathers everywhere… Not just a giant chicken, an ostrich has extremely powerful legs, and a kick from an ostrich can be quite disabling.
Lions were heard calling most nights, and the resident pride was seen on several occasions.
An interesting sighting of a male leopard out for a stroll across Nxai Pan… probably not very enjoyable for the leopard as he was being continually harassed by black backed jackals. These much smaller animals work together to make the leopard know that he is not welcome at all in the area.
Early on in the month we also had two great sightings of leopards, including one male on top of a tree, and another male walking along West Road.
Still quite a few bull elephants in the area, and a small breeding herd were also seen drinking at the waterhole.
Living up to its name, Tau Pan did produce some Tau – Setswana for ‘lions’. Although the two males are regularly seen in the area, as well as two lionesses, it was the pitter patter of little paws that made everyone quite excited. Three lion cubs born in early March were seen with their mother towards the end of the month. If she does well and raises them without any trouble from competitive predators such as hyenas or other lions, these cubs will provide months of entertainment to future guests.
Since there is a source of water in the area, and sufficient game for the lions to prey on, the cubs stand a good chance. The two lionesses pulled down an Oryx this month, and were seen feeding on that.
Although cheetah are seen quite regularly in the Central Kalahari, one particular female cheetah with two cubs had not been seen in the area for over two months. We were delighted to see her again this month, with all three of them looking fit and well-fed.
Another surprise sighting was of four wild dogs hunting in Tau Pan. They spent some time trying to catch springbok, but were unsuccessful.
Even more surprising – signs of elephant activity was found along Passage Valley, including fresh dung. Perhaps making their presence felt, they also knocked down the Tau Pan signboard along the cutline.
March being the end of their denning season, honey badger activity is on the increase…. Time to start barricading the kitchen stores again against their greedy nightly attempts at break in!
Sightings Report Kwando Safaris - February 2011
Kwara Concession
Cheeky elephant herds arrived in force, with the little ones in tow. The mums do their best to keep the kids in check, but the baby elephants antics are always cause for amusement. Afternoon and morning game drives have had regular sightings of these herds – a keystone species for Botswana. Luckily, the large herds are not so comfortable in camp, so we only have to contend with the odd male, who comes in for the fruiting figs and marulas. It would be a little more awkward to escort guests back to their tents around 100 elephants, rather than just one….
The seven male lions that are often seen together in the Kwara concession – normally, it’s rare to see so many males together – were having a bad ‘mane’ day when a fight broke out amongst them. Likely to be just a testing of each others strength, rather than a serious dispute over territory, it was still an impressive event. More than the actual sight of them fighting, it’s the noise that is terrifying. The deep guttural roars that accompany a swipe of the paw reverberate around the bush, and the make the game drive vehicle shake when its at exactly the right pitch. The lions themselves couldn’t care less about the onlookers – probably just as well!
A little smaller and cuddlier than seven male lions, two one-month old cubs were also spotted this month. Being so young, the lioness is going to keep a close eye on them, and we are only likely to see more of them when they reach about 6 or 8 weeks.
February is a great time for birds in the concession – particularly the last couple of years where flood waters have not receeded much. It’s a good time for them to stock up on insects and seeds before commencing their flights back to their winter homes – a summer holiday in Botswana doesn’t sound like a bad thing…. The woodland kingfishers – the most vociferous of the summer migrants – start winding down in their calls this month, and by the end of next month, we’ll all be missing them.
Four lionesses were seen hunting zebra this month, sadly not successful when we saw them, but perhaps they were later?! Three brother cheetahs that were seen several times this month had obviously had more luck than the lionesses, and looked well fed and relaxed when they were found. A little later in the month they managed to pull down a large male lechwe – quite an impressive feat for cheetahs which are the ‘lightweights’ of the cat family.
Quite early for this time of year, but the elephant herds have begun moving back from the mopane woodlands into the more open areas. This is great for our viewing – some of the herds group to 80 – 100 individuals – but does beg the question as to why they are here now rather than later? This may be something to do with the large amount of rain that we had in January and February – this promotes grass growth, so a change of diet from the mopane vegetation could be the reason.
A great sighting of the Selinda pack of 12 wild dogs was seen towards the end of February – a tricky time of year to follow dogs if there has been a lot of rain. A hunt ended successfully with the dogs pulling down an impala – it’s a matter of minutes for 12 dogs to kill and completely eat an impala – a much faster process than any of the other predators.
The star predators this month were the raptors: enjoying the excess of insects – and the smaller birds that were feeding on them – the late afternoon game drives saw many of the larger raptors soaring overhead, looking for the chance of a meal. The bests sighting this month was that of a martial eagle (the largest raptor) that managed to kill a comb duck (formerly known as a knob-billed duck).
General game sightings were good all around, with the addition of a herd of Eland numbering over 50 (huge but generally shy animals) as well as two sightings of roan antelope.
Although closed for rebuild, the staff onsite have not had a shortage of visitors of the four-legged variety. The resident male elephants have been in to inspect their favourite trees, and to make sure that everything is where they left it. They appeared happy to discover that the fruiting marula was exactly where they left it, though the tent it used to be next to has changed somewhat in shape. A small amount of confusion occurred in regards to the new pool deck – a large elephant managed to squeeze himself through a two metre gap between the edge of the deck and a large tree, which he then had to turn around and backtrack through.
Lions were seen regularly strolling along the road outside of camp, and heard even more often.
Best sighting for the time the camp was closed however, was of wild dogs. The builders were quite surprised to see an impala charging through where the main area was about to be built, swiftly followed by a group of dogs. Sadly for the impala, it didn’t manage to make it to room 8….
Leopard was seen several times this month – including with a cub. It was great to see the mother and cub totally relaxed – this bodes well for the future, as cubs pick up on how their mother’s react, and if she is not disturbed by the vehicle, the cub will also be completely trustful of the cars as it grows up.
Lions and cheetahs were regular seen in February – including lion cubs as well.
You couldn’t go wrong with the general game at Nxai Pan in February – huge numbers of zebras, mixing in with the oryx and wildebeest. Elephants continue to make their presence felt, especially at the water holes, with reckless spraying of mud over themselves and anything/one nearby.
Although we did receive some rain in Tau Pan, compared with the Delta areas, where the flood waters are starting to creep down, the Kalahari will start getting drier and drier from now on. February is a lovely time of the year to enjoy the last bits of greenery, and certainly the animals do too. As things dry up, the antelope will find it harder and harder to find good sources of nutrition – hard to imagine now that in six months time everyone will be desperately awaiting the rain.
Sightings remain good for general game – from the large to the small – including the manic ground squirrels that dash around the ground, to the elegant oryx and red hartebeest.
The lions remain favourites – two males and two females that frequent the water hole at Tau Pan. Several good cheetah sightings, close to Tau Pan and further afield, including a female relaxing in the shade of acacia trees, non-chalantly observing a herd of springbok walk by.
Sightings Report Kwando Safaris - January 2011
Water levels are rising in the delta, from the local rain. Airstrips are getting flooded and Kwando also had to close the strip for Kwara concession. We are using our neighbours strip at the moment. This is a common problem this time of the year, and because of the localised, but heavy rainfall it is impossible to avoid water getting accumulated on the airstrips.
Anyhow, the rise of the water level at the moment is not to confuse with the annual floods. The flood will arrive much later, because of the small gradient between Angola and Botswana, it will take two to three month to arrive in the delta.
Other sightings
A pangolin and an aardwolf were the stars of this month. These shy and nocturnal creatures are hardly ever seen, and there are guides and trackers who still only saw their tracks, but never the actual animal. Some of them having worked in the bush for many years. What was even more unusual is that the pangolin sighting happened during daylight hours. I do hope that everybody got a picture…..
A big python was also seen. The length was about 4m long, which is rather impressive. Guests ask often in camp about encounter snakes, and we see them only very rarely. Especially a python that size is very much a rarity. Snakes being shy in nature, try to keep out of our ways, and generally are only seen when they don’t have an escape route.
Breeding herds of elephants are moving back into the area, to the delight of everybody. Still not much to see of the buffalos, but they are normally not far behind the elephants. Impala, kudus, zebras, tsessebe, giraffes and wildebeests, plus all the birds rounded the sighting up.
From the lions only one thing for this time. The magnificent seven were seen all together this month, and heard during the night. What a concert!
Lebala had a good week of predators.
Several leopard sightings, one female with a cub. We hope all goes well with the offspring. On all the sightings were kills hanging in a tree, meaning the leopards are doing well at the moment.
On the other hand the cheetahs were seen to have a kill only once this month. We are not worried though, since we don’t see them every time when they have a kill.
Wild dogs also were seen several times and added to the action. They are still hunting a lot of baby impalas, and it’s good to have so many of them around.
Birdlife is also very good, with a lot of the migrant species. Raptor sightings in general have been good.
Side stripped and black backed jackals were seen and numerous sightings of hyenas.
General game has been good too, with lots of elephant breeding herds.
On the night drives porcupine, African wild cat, civets, honey badgers and servals were observed.
Closed for rebuild
Very good general game came to Nxai Pan with the rains. We see lots of zebras, wildebeests, spring boks, oryx, elephant bulls, steenboks etc.
The elephant bulls in particular are responsible for the entertainment in camp. They do spend a lot of time on our water hole.
Black backed jackals have four puppies and they can entertain you for a long time.
Cheetahs were found regularly this month. There is a mother and daughter together and a coalition of two males.
Also the lions showed a good presence, and came out in full force. Cubs, females and males were seen, together and in small groups.
A lot of mating seems to be going on in the lion pride. We are all looking forward to the cubs. The headlines in the predator department made the wild dogs though. They saw four dogs, and it is extremely rare to see them in Tau pan. One had a collar on, which means that researchers are monitoring their movements.
Bat eared foxes are a species, specialised to live in such dry area and also a species.
Lions still visit camp almost every day. We see them also on the drives, and not only lions but also cheetahs.
General game is good too. There are a lot of Oryx, a extremely well adapted animal to desert conditions. They are able to allow their body temperature to rise over 40 degree Celsius. A specially designed capillary system in their nose, makes sure the blood gets cooled down to below 40, so the brain doesn’t get damaged
