BOTSWANA Tiersichtungen

Dezember 2018

Kwara Concession – The most dramatic sighting of the month was an enormous bush fire which had been raging in the Moremi Game Reserve for some time and one night jumped the channel into Kwara Reserve. Over the course of that weekend most of the open parts to the south of the reserve was burned flat with dried turpentine grass causing four metre flames. Fortunately, just about all of the trees and bushes survived the hot fast fire and we were blessed with beautiful rain the week afterwards which quickly produced a stunning carpet of green throughout the reserve. This new growth attracted a huge influx of grazers, which in turn attracted predators. Not that life was easy for the predators as they were no longer camouflaged by tall yellow grass.

This was a disadvantage for the cats, but a big advantage for the prey animals – and of course safari-goers – who could now spot them easily at a distance. Towards the end of the month we were often able to spot lions, cheetah and wild dogs in one morning with lots of hunting and killing, mainly young impala, tsessebe and wildebeest.

There was a changing of the guard with the lions at Splash with the two resident males moving out of the territory allowing space for two younger males to come in. The new very handsome boys made a big deal about staking their claim to the land around Splash with lots of roaring and marking. They managed to kill a buffalo near to camp at Lechwe Plains and spent four days feeding on it. The two males were found with a lioness from Mother Eye Pride who was being mated, later the honeymoon couple came to the pan in front of Splash for a drink. The Splash pride of two females with their six cubs were not seen as regularly now that their males had moved, but we after seeing a large number of vultures we located them looking well fed and resting. This pride seemed to be sensibly staying away from the new males who might well kill their cubs, so have moved all the way across to the Kwara camp side of the reserve. They appeared to be in great condition and doing well.

We were lucky to have two packs of wild dogs on the Kwara reserve during December, a pack of twenty-six and a pack of four. We saw them on different occasions hunting around Splash camp, the pack of twenty six were specialising in attacking tsessebe calves, sometimes killing two at a time.

A female cheetah killed an impala lamb in front of camp one day and after she had finished eating spent her day relaxing at Splash Hippos. The following day we found the resident male, Special, tracking the female but he did not manage to find her. We continued to see Special regularly throughout the month, this well-known individual often posing beautifully up on termite mounds as he scanned for prey. We saw him taking down young reedbuck, a species who would usually reply on the cover of long grass but who were now left vulnerable after the fire.

Our guides were happy when a resident female leopard who had not been seen for some time reappeared and seemed to be heavily pregnant. We watched her hunting red lechwe but she was not lucky. Two other leopards appeared north of Kwara and a new very relaxed male leopard has started to show up to the east of Splash.

An aardwolf den was still active at the start of the month giving guests good sightings of this elusive creature. Bat-eared foxes also had an active den. Nocturnal animals such as civets, serval, genets and porcupine were also located in the area frequently. Spotted hyenas were denning at Kwara camp.

The burned area after the fire attracted many birds of prey including tawny eagles, booted eagles, steppe eagles and Wahlberg’s eagles feeding on termites that started to fly out after the rains. Ground hornbills were often seen near to the airstrip.

Lagoon – At the start of the December our guides managed to find a lion den with two females looking after four cubs of approximately one month old, whilst another three lions were resting nearby. Initially the lionesses were keeping their young well hidden in the bushes, but later in the month we were able to see the females nursing their cubs. Occasionally we were lucky to catch them out in the open and playing. One lioness killed a tsessebe and we could tell that she dragged it a very long way to bring it nearer to the den site. Two male lions were seen mating females for much of the month, so hopefully there will be even more cubs soon. We found two lionesses on a tsessebe carcass that they had killed earlier in the morning. Male lions were seen hunting on hippos near to the channel.

The resident pack of six adult wild dogs with their 6-month-old puppy were located finishing an impala carcass one morning. In the afternoon they were hunting again, this time trying their luck on tsessebe and wildebeest. The following day we saw them kill two impalas. One time the puppy tried to chase a family of mongoose who balled up together to defend themselves.

We found a leopard near to camp, heading towards the brown hyena den and different tom leopard was seen a couple of times, once resting up on a tree, but he was shy and eventually he jumped down and ran into the blue bushes.

The brown hyena cubs continued to do well and were seen regularly. The cubs are still playful and guests were able to get lovely shots of them being active. We enjoyed watching them socialising and sometimes nibbling food that they had been brought by their mother the previous night.

Spotted hyena were also seen a few times, mainly patrolling and sometimes within five minutes of camp. They were seen near to the brown hyena den, one time two killed and ate an Egyptian goose right at the den entrance, we will just have to hope that our precious brown hyena cubs do not get attacked by the larger dominant species. Once the summer rains started in earnest towards the end of the month our guides noticed that the spotted hyenas were actively hunting on the rainy nights, specialising on wildebeest.

General game was reported to be very good, with elephants and giraffes crossing through the marshes, though after rains towards the end of the month the elephants started to head deeper into the mophane woodlands. A small bush fire followed by rain meant that grazers including roan antelope, tsessebe, eland, impala, kudu, zebra and reedbuck were in good numbers enjoying the new shoots of green grass. Baboons also enjoyed staying in the same area as these herds, presumably seeking protection amongst the plentiful eyes and ears. Many of the antelope species had given birth to their young. A batchelor herd of buffalo were found north of camp.

In terms of smaller mammals located, serval, civet, jackals, bat-eared foxes, honey badgers, spring hares and mongoose were all seen during December. We enjoyed a lovely sighting of an African wild cat pouncing on and killing a mouse.

There were four species of vultures in the area: white-headed, hooded, lappet-faced and white-backed. Migrants such as the woodland kingfishers, lesser spotted eagles, Wahlberg’s eagles all returned to the Kwando Reserve for the summer. At one point there was a feeding frenzy of some 120 lesser spotted eagles near to the brown hyena den. Saddle-billed storks and the elegant wattled cranes were favourites for some of our guests.

Lebala – The coalition of two male cheetah brothers were located next to Skimmer Pan. We watched them drinking and followed them as they tried to hunt, however unfortunately they bumped into a pride of eight lions and ran away in fright. Later in the month we were thrilled to see a new coalition of four male cheetahs; they were a bit shy but we were able to watch them from a distance.

The three cubs of Wapuka Pride were sometimes left behind whilst the adults were hunting. One time as we were watching the youngsters a clan of seven hyenas came around trying to kill the cubs, but the little ones were clever enough to climb up a tree and escape. One time we tracked the whole pride as it was moving along the woodland and saw them taking down a zebra foal. The two resident males, known as Sebastian and Old Gun, dominated the kill and chased away the females. We also saw the pride lying full-bellied after eating a wildebeest and a different time the males were found feeding on a warthog. Old Gun gave our team a good early morning wake-up call one morning by roaring right outside the staff village! We were quickly able to get out on morning drive to find him.

Bonga Pride were also in the area and these lions seemed to be specialising on blue wildebeest as we saw them a few times on different carcasses. One time the pride we were watching the lionesses and the two big males came in to take over the kill. The females started roaring and we heard other lions respond. We went to check on who was calling and found it was a different pride altogether who were busy hunting baboons.

A clan of three spotted hyena were scavenging on the remains of an elephant calf.

The resident pack of two wild dogs popped up one morning as guides and guests were enjoying a morning tea break. We quickly packed up and followed them hunting impala and red lechwe. Later in the month another pack of six adults and one puppy were tracked for almost three hours and we found them lying under the trees. We returned in the afternoon and the patient work of the morning was rewarded by a hunt, culminating in them bringing down and eating an impala lamb. We saw this larger pack hunting a few times and once finishing off a warthog.

The resident female leopard known as Jane was in the area. One time we followed her hunting, but she seemed reluctant as she was being followed by a hyena who seemed to be hoping to steal a kill from her. A few days later we were watching her as a warthog ran out of the bushes. Jane then investigated further and found a warthog burrow. She proceeded to kill all three piglets, one after another. The following day, we were thrilled to realise that she was nursing newborn cubs and we were able to see her carrying them from one den to another. Jane’s now adult son, known as Fisherman was tracked until we found him. It is so lovely to see different generations of this same leopard family continuing to thrive in the Lebala area.

Right along the airstrip road there was an active den for the black-backed jackals with four playful puppies. A serval was often seen stalking prey along the edge of the marsh and a couple of times we found an African wild cat hunting.

A fallen strangler fig near to Twin Pools attracted a very large herd of breeding elephants who seemed to loved feasting on the tree. Some of the elephants were lying down horizontally whilst still managing to feed.

A herd of twelve buffalo were grazing along the road being followed by lots of cattle egret who were snatching up grasshoppers and other insects disturbed by the large bovines.

At the start of the month there was extremely good general game in the marsh area; the animals were hanging near to the water as the natural waterholes dried up. Species seen at the time included elephant, giraffe, impala, red lechwe, wildebeest, zebra and hippo. A very relaxed herd of six adult roan antelopes and their two calves were found near to Baobab Pan. In the same area we also located a herd of eight sable, also with two calves.

We had lovely bird sightings near to the marsh including openbilled storks, black herons, kingfishers, egrets, swallows and steppe eagles. After some summer rains fell a large number of eagles were seen feeding on termite alates, also known as “flying ants”. We had a great sighting of two rosy-throated longclaws – a very prized sighting for keen birders. There were still a good number of carimine bee-eaters in the area.

Nxai Pan – The resident pride of six lions were seen trying their luck on wildebeest at the Wildlife waterhole. Unfortunately for them the lack of cover made it hard for them to launch a successful ambush. Black-backed jackal were skirting around the periphery of the action hoping to have the chance to scavenge. Two lionesses were also seen hunting springbok in front of the camp, but once again they did not manage. We saw them with three cubs looking very hungry. Later in the month their luck turned and we saw the same lionesses with their young feasting for two days on the carcass of an elephant calf which had died from natural causes. One morning we saw them trying to stalk springbok which were congregated in the vicinity of the waterhole, but failed because the area was too open. We saw the lionesses and cubs in camp one morning, they were calling and trying to locate the rest of the pride.

Three cheetah were seen together on the open plains, a male was feeding on a springbok and being watched by two females. The females tried to approach but the male made it very clear that he wanted the meal for himself. Later in the month we had a spectacular sighting of the two females taking down and killing a springbok. A few metres from camp we spotted a male cheetah hunting springbok. It was not successful and the cat lay panting in the shade of an umbrella-thorn tree after the chase. A few days later it seemed that he had had enough of trying to hunt solo and we saw him as he was calling his coalition partner; next time we came across him the two males were back teamed up again.

There were still plenty of elephants in the area, congregating at the camp waterhole during the days making for interesting viewing from the main area and the guest rooms.

The numbers of antelope increased during the month as they herded towards Nxai Pan to take advantage of the nutritious pan grasses which are so important to support lactation during their breeding season. At the camp waterhole we saw large herds of springbok with lambs. On the way to Baines Baobabs we encountered oryx, steenbok and springbok. Towards the end of the month the annual migration of zebras started to arrive at Nxai Pan.

A wonderful family of two adult black-backed jackals with six puppies were found on West Road and a female bat-eared fox with a single puppy was denning on Middle Road. We watched as lots of jackals worked the area around the waterhole, spreading out the elephant dung in search of dung beetles to eat. We were lucky enough to spot a brown hyena although as we were looking at it a black-backed jackal came rushing in from nowhere to chase the bigger predator away.

A rock monitor lizard was found foraging on millipedes and grasshoppers.

Lots of summer migrants were in the area including steppe buzzards, European bee-eaters, lesser grey shrikes and red-backed shrikes. A pride of ostrich was seen near the waterhole grazing. Lanner falcons were seen close to a termite mound feeding on the winged alates coming out to fly. We also saw many goshawks and kestrels.

Tau Pan – On one exciting morning we barely had to drive any distance from camp at all to have incredible sightings. We had just set out on drive when we came across three lions looking full-bellied as though they had enjoyed a big prey animal. Next, we found two cheetah brothers drinking at the camp waterhole whilst at the same time there were two lions mating close to the sleep out deck.

The Tau pride of lions comprising five big males, three sub-adults and two females were nearby throughout December. One time nine of them were seen attempting to hunt greater kudu and wildebeest near to the camp waterhole. A couple of days later they were lounging around at the airstrip looking well fed and relaxed. The pride followed this pattern of moving between the camp and the airstrip for most of the month. A different pair of lionesses with a single cub were also seen at the airstrip. These animals who are usually resident on the western side of the area never stayed long at the camp waterhole; guides suspected that they were respecting the dominance of the Tau Pan pride and trying to avoid them.

Two male cheetah were seen chasing and killing a springbok lamb and we were lucky enough to witness the whole hunt from start to finish. Black-backed jackals were hanging around hoping for some left-overs. Another time the two males were hunting at the firebreak near to camp, but they were spotted by their prey who managed to escape. A different group of cheetah, a mother with two sub-adult cubs, were located at Tau Pan. At first these animals were skittish, but soon settled down and relaxed under a tree allowing us to take good photos.

A large bull elephant was still frequenting the camp waterhole at the start of the month and we could see how the lions gave him space by moving away when he arrived.

After heavy rains during Christmas week a large tom leopard was stuck in the mud and was very difficult for him to get out. It was sad to see the big cat struggling so much. A female leopard was seen on the move near to camp and a male was hunting on Phukwi Road. Unfortunately he was not successful and we left him climbing a tree to take some rest.

A cape fox was located at San Pan and guests enjoyed watching this active and relatively rare animal. Bat-eared foxes and jackals were plentiful in the Tau Pan area feeding on harvester termites. We also had a lovely sighting of these bat-eared foxes near to San Pan; it was a beautiful encounter as we were able to watch the mother nursing her cubs. A very relaxed herd of springbok showed up at the same time – the perfect desert scene. Other smaller creatures sighted during December included ground squirrels, leopard tortoise, African wild cat and yellow mongoose. On a day trip to Deception valley we came across the interesting sight of an aardvark carcass which the guides suspected was killed by lions judging by the tracks in the area. Black-backed jackals were often found in the vicinity of the lion pride, hoping that they might be able to share in any kills that the cats made.

A pack of seven wild dogs were found a couple of times on trips out to Sunday Pan. We saw the dogs drinking at the waterhole, playing and resting.

Oryx were located near to San Pan and also at Sunday Pan where we also found red hartebeest. Other antelope species for the month included giraffe, kudu, springbok, steenbok and wildebeest.

Notable bird sightings included the pallid harrier, banded coursers, greater kestrels and red-necked falcons. A gabar goshawk was found with the kill of a red-billed quelea. We were able to spot the nest for the lilac-breasted rollers, these colourful birds always a favourite with guests. A pair of secretary birds were seen. We observed a kori bustard displaying by puffing up its feathers to attract the female. Southern black korhaans were also in breeding season and two males were found fighting over a female. The male red-crested korhaans were displaying by shooting themselves up into air and then crashing down as if shot; it is a complete mystery as to why this spectacular feat should be so attractive, but seemingly it is very alluring if you are a female korhaan!

November 2018

Kwara Concession – November was an exciting month at Splash camp. Antelope species such as impala and tsessebe started to drop their young meaning that predators were able to enjoy easy pickings and were making frequent kills. Even baboons were seen feeding on new impala lambs.

The Splash pride of ten were often around camp, the two male lions very vocal in the evenings. One time the two lionesses relaxed for the day between rooms two and three. Although on their own that time, the two lionesses had three cubs each and we found the six cubs of the Splash pride were increasingly left on their own whilst the adults went hunting. Once, surprisingly, they were alone with the fresh kill of a steenbok lamb. A few days later we found two of the cubs separated from the other four and for a worrying time we didn’t see those two at all.  Eventually by the middle of the month, to everyone’s relief, they had reappeared. One of the resident males from the Splash pride was seen fighting with a nomadic intruder. Three females from the Mother Eye pride were seen with a male and the youngest lioness appeared to be pregnant. Two males were seen feeding on a dead hippo surrounded by vultures awaiting their turn at the carcass.

The resident pack of eight adults and nine puppies were seen regularly, mostly specialising on impala but we also saw them hunting zebra. One time they came right into camp hunting, so guests and guides quickly abandoned their early morning breakfast to try and keep up with the dogs. On another occasion two adult and two young wild dogs made a kill of an impala right by the parking area whilst the guests were out on game drive. A different pack of six adults and four puppies were located once with their faces covered in blood.

The resident male cheetah known as Special was seen frequently. One morning he led us on a marshland exploration, stalked a herd of red lechwe and with explosive energy killed one antelope and dragged it to the shade. He lay panting for fifteen minutes before starting to eat and enjoy his reward for a successful hunt. We followed the female cheetah hunting and watched as she brought down and killed an impala. She was also seen hunting reedbuck and feeding on a red lechwe lamb.
Spotted hyenas were seen every few days including a female nursing two cubs at a den near to the old Kwara camp.

November was a good month for sightings of the smaller mammals. An aardwolf den was located on Cheetah Plains and the animals allowed us good time with them. We were able to enjoy a wonderful sighting of an African civet which was unusually relaxed and our guests were able to take great photos under spotlight. We also located serval on more than one occasion as well as African wild cat. A pair of bat-eared foxes have a den west of Impala Pan.

The resident female leopard made a kill of a Common Reedbuck near to Sable Island and feasted for two nights, but she left the carcass on the ground and eventually it was stolen by hyenas. A pair of young leopards who had been moving around as a brother and sister appeared to have separated and we saw the male more than once. Another male leopard was concentrating on hunting the area west of Impala Pan. Not for the faint-hearted, guests watched as a leopard ate a minutes-old tsessebe calf.

As always in the Okavango Delta the mokoro excursions are popular and allowed guests to see smaller creatures such as the painted reed frogs and enjoy beautiful water lilies. More than once after mokoro activity herds of elephants and bachelor buffaloes came to drink and wallow at the mokoro station much to the delight of guests who quickly swapped fishing rods for cameras to capture the moment.

Guests were thrilled to spot the elusive Pel’s Fishing Owl during a boat cruise and we also saw barn owls and eagle owls. An unusual highlight for some keen birders was a black-chested snake-eagle taking down a night heron.

Lagoon – We followed two lionesses until they stalked a warthog. One lioness went halfway into the den and pulled it out. Then, to everyone’s amazement, a leopard appeared and stalked the lionesses trying to steal the kill. One lioness chased the leopard up a tree to round off an incredible sighting. Although these lionesses specialise on warthogs, we also saw them eating reedbuck and wildebeest.

A coalition of three males were tracked trying their luck with some buffaloes at Kwena Lagoon but they were not successful. During the month we found these three male lions fairly often, and they were mating one of the lionesses. The other female led us to a place where she was hiding some very tiny cubs deep in thick bush. We didn’t see the cubs for several days but eventually they came more into the open when we could see that there were four and we were able to watch them suckling. After a few days we watched her moving the two cubs from one set of bushes to another. The two female cubs managed to walk alongside their mother, but the male cubs were lazy and she had to carry them by the scruff of their necks.  A single male lion was discovered feeding on an elephant calf. The cat seemed unusually aggressive, so for the sake of safety first we gave it a good deal of space.

The resident pack of six adult wild dogs were located often in the middle of the Kwando concession. They still have one of this year’s puppies with them (out of an original litter of eleven). They were not always lucky on their hunts but overall seemed to be doing well and were usually found full-bellied. One time they killed two impalas and another time we saw them take down a roan antelope calf. At the end of the month they brought down an impala and two ostrich chicks in a single morning.

The brown hyena cubs were still doing well and we were able to visit them at their den where they could be quite playful. One time we saw them feeding on a fresh impala skin, although the mother hyena was never visible when we visited.

Skilled work by the trackers allowed us to locate a sub-adult female leopard. We saw her a few times afterwards, but she was looking hungry and was even unsuccessfully trying to hunt tree squirrels in her desperation for a meal. Life appeared hard for this young female finding her way in the world. Another time she was resting in a tree and we saw her being attacked by a troop of baboons causing her to jump from the tree and hide in the thickets. We were relieved when we found her feeding on a new-born impala lamb. Another adult female leopard was resident in the riverine areas.

The coalition of cheetah brothers was also picked up after good tracking from their marking post. After two and a half hours our team was chuffed to find them resting full-bellied with blood on their faces. Mostly these males were specialising in hunting warthog, but we also found them stalking and killing tsessebe a couple of times during November.

General game was good, with big herds of elephant, giraffe, kudu, wildebeest, waterbuck and zebra as well as the more elusive sable and roan antelope which were thriving in the mopane woodlands. A small herd of eland were also seen. Some of the antelope species, such as tsessebe and impala were starting to drop their young. Elephants came to the river in front of camp in a daily basis to drink and swim.
During night drive our guides were successful in locating aardwolf, honey badgers, servals, caracals and African wild cats.

The carmine bee-eater colony at Kwena Lagoon was still active at the start of the month and we were able to watch adults coming back to feed their chicks, but by the end of the month the flock had dwindled to just a few birds.  We watched a martial eagle kill a warthog piglet. It is always a pleasure to see the returning summer migrants and in November we were happy to see broad-billed rollers, black kites, yellow-billed kites and blue-cheeked bee-eaters. Year-round residents such as the saddle-billed stork and wattled cranes were also enjoyed by guests. Back at camp the African scops owlet continued to roost by the fireplace whilst Peter’s epauletted fruit bats were identified in the marula tree by the front deck.

An African python was seen strangling a baby impala at Kwena Lagoon and a black mamba was briefly seen in the riverine area but it disappeared into the long grass.

Lebala – The two males from the Wapuka Pride were seen alone with two of the females and were mating one of lionesses when a herd of thirty elephants came and chased the lions with lots of trumpeting. It was fascinating to see how the elephants protected their calves by keeping them in the middle of the herd.  As with the previous month, both Wapuka Pride and the Bonga lions were overlapping their territories near to camp. One night we heard a hideous commotion and in the morning we found the two prides near to each other looking exhausted. It seemed as though there had been a very serious fight.

One of the beauties of driving in the Lebala section of the Kwando Reserve is the wide open areas in which there are many different species of prey such as zebra, giraffe, impala, sable and roan antelope. Although it is an open area, Bonga Pride were cleverly ambushing prey using the base of big leadwood trees as cover. The same lions were often seen near to camp, one day at Room 9 feeding on two wildebeest carcasses that they killed during the night. The two pride males were there with four lionesses and their cubs. Warthogs and wildebeest seemed to be the main targets for the lions in November. Three subadult male lions had been kicked out of the Bonga Pride by the two dominant males. They looked starving and will quickly need to learn how to survive independently of their mothers.

The resident leopard, known as Fisherman due to his preference for the marsh habitats, was seen near to two hyenas who were feeding on a carcass. The guides suspected that the hyenas had stolen the kill from the leopard. We watched as he stalked some red lechwe through the marshes, but in the end the antelope headed into water that was too deep for him to follow. Another time he had killed a warthog up a tree and was enjoying his feast, with a hyena waiting beneath him gobbling up any scraps that fell to the ground. We came across Jane, the well known resident female leopard. Her daughter was now living independently and we found her drinking on another occasion.

A pack of seven wild dogs (six adults and a puppy) were ranging a very large territory between Lagoon and Lebala camps. The guides suspected that they were changing positions regularly in order to avoid other large predators such as lions and hyena who are numerous in the Kwando Reserve. One day we saw them bring down two impala at once. As they were feeding, within five minutes, four hyenas came and tried to steal the carcasses from the dogs. The pack bravely stood its ground and chased the hyenas away who waited until the dogs had eaten their fill. Another time the Wapoka pride of nine lions were on a hunting mission and flushed out the pack. The guides were worried because two of the dogs appeared to be missing afterwards.

The temperatures in November were scorching and we saw many herds of elephants in the river coming down to drink and cool themselves in the mud and water. These breeding herds had lots of youngsters and one evening we watched as the adults helped them across the river by pushing them, some of the calves were holding onto their mothers’ tails. The the river we also enjoyed watching red lechwe jumping across the streams and big herds of zebra and wildebeest drinking.

We came across a dead buffalo along the river with lots of vultures up in the trees. All of a sudden, a clan of eight hyena appeared and began to feed on the carcass, pulling it apart vigorously. Four black-backed jackals came and started to steal small pieces of meat. We also found a jackal den near to the airstrip with four playful puppies. Once we saw the adults coming back and regurgitating food for the youngsters to eat.

After some rains the monitor lizards started to come further from water in search of food. We had some beautiful sightings of monitor lizards, one was eating tortoise eggs and another one was trying to break small snail shells. We saw several small leopard tortoises. Smaller cats such as African wild cat and serval were seen on night drive, we watched the serval pouncing on a mouse. We were lucky to see a rare sighting of a white-tailed mongoose on our way back to camp one night, the animal was hunting. We also saw honey badgers and a large-spotted genet killing mice on different occasions.

Birdlife was also excellent, especially by the river, including egrets, herons, storks and bee-eaters. The trilling call of the Woodland Kingfisher once again echoed around the bush as this beautiful returning migrant came back to Botswana.

Nxai Pan – November continued to be mostly dry, with heatwave conditions reported by the Botswana government. This meant that animals in our desert camps thronged to the waterholes. The Nxai Pan main waterhole right outside camp continued to be dominated by huge herds of elephants, though we also saw buffalo, giraffe, springbok, kudu and wildebeest drinking there.

One morning, as guests were enjoying breakfast, they were surprised and delighted by a pack of wild dogs running through camp. The dogs chased around some wildebeest who were at the waterhole, quenched their thirst and then disappeared into bush. A brown hyena was seen quite often in the early mornings at the camp waterhole and once at the Department of Wildlife waterhole as well.

Elephants were constantly passing through camp, browsing as they went. Guests commented on how much they enjoyed hearing them munching as they lay in bed at night. One lady peeped through her window and said “it was so close I could see its eyelashes”!

For most of the month lions were found at the Wildlife waterhole which is where the majority of antelope were coming to drink. With the hot weather it seemed that they had decided to just conserve energy by waiting for the food to come to them it! After some rains towards the end of the month the lions became a bit more active again, operating between South Gate and the waterhole. We found two lionesses feeding on an elephant calf kill. One of the lionesses had three cubs who were getting quite active, walking around and playing. One time two cheetahs got a bit too close to the lions and the pride of six chased them away. In the evenings the lions were vocalising as they located each other and declared their territory.

The resident female cheetah was seen hunting, but more than once the relentless heat became too much for her and she had to rest in the shade panting. One productive morning we located three different cheetah, two females lying next to each other and a third not far away. They looked hungry. We saw the two females again, drinking from the Wildlife Waterhole. A male cheetah was found near to the southern camp grounds.

Smaller mammals located included bat eared foxes and honey badgers. There was an aardwolf den along Middle Road.
Other general game sightings included gemsbok and steenbok. The springbok had started dropping their lambs and we watched their herds increase in size as more animals started to make their way to the pans in search of the salt grasses that are so important to support lactation whilst the ewes are nursing. Giraffe and impala were seen browsing.
One morning, during the bushman walk, the guides spotted a 3-4 metre black mamba quietly sunbathing on a termite mound.

Keen birders enjoyed seeing returning migrants to the area such as European rollers and steppe buzzards. The male Northern black korhaans were starting to call in noisy displays.

Tau Pan – November was exceptionally hot and dry, even by usual regional averages for the time of year. As a result, there was almost continual action at the camp waterhole. The Tau Pan pride of lions were there on a daily basis, sometimes all together and other times in smaller groups.

Three of the resident lionesses decided to park off under the luggage rack at Tau Pan airstrip. Luckily they were spotted by the guides and they flashed lights to warn the pilot as he was about to get out of his plane! Another time the same lionesses killed an oryx right at the airstrip. One day we were watching wildebeest herding towards water and saw them unexpectedly divert. We followed up and sure enough there were lions lying in wait for them. One day we found the pride eating on a carcass that we suspected had been brought down by a nomadic lioness who was waiting nearby. It looked as though the larger pride had driven her off her kill.  White-backed vultures, hooded vultures and yellow-billed kites were circling above.

A female leopard was spotted a few times in the camp area and also resting in a tree near to the airstrip. Separately, a young tom leopard was also seen near to camp. He was relaxed enough that we were able to spend nearly an hour photographing him on one occasion.

One early morning before game drive we were surprised by two young male cheetah brothers who showed up at Room 6 and then headed straight to the waterhole for a drink. They repeated this behaviour a week or so later so we hope that we will see more of this handsome pair.

A large solitary bull elephant has been living by camp for a few months and on a daily basis he was going to the waterhole to drink and bathe, putting on a high tea show for the guests.

Bat-eared foxes and black-backed jackals have dens in the Tau Pan area and both species were nursing young. Other smaller mammals seen included African wild cat and honey badgers. Guests were fascinated to see the bat eared foxed catching and eating scorpions.

Kudu were often drinking at the waterhole; carefully circling the area and sniffing first to check for lions. A lovely journey of twelve giraffe were often seen, towering above the shrubs and bushes as they made their way between the camp waterhole and the pan where they enjoyed browsing. A big male red hartebeest was seen resting under a shady camelthorn tree.

There were plenty of bird species in the area, and especially around the waterhole where there was almost constant raptor hunting. Yellow-billed kites chased cape turtle doves, Tawny eagles and bateleurs preyed on Burchell’s sandgrouse. Enormous flocks of red-billed quelea gathered and these were hawked by gabar goshawks. Guests enjoyed watching the spectacular mating ritual of the male red-crested korhaan which flies straight up and then suddenly tumbles to the ground as though shot, before gliding to land.

November 2018

Kwara Concession – November was an exciting month at Splash camp. Antelope species such as impala and tsessebe started to drop their young meaning that predators were able to enjoy easy pickings and were making frequent kills. Even baboons were seen feeding on new impala lambs.

The Splash pride of ten were often around camp, the two male lions very vocal in the evenings. One time the two lionesses relaxed for the day between rooms two and three. Although on their own that time, the two lionesses had three cubs each and we found the six cubs of the Splash pride were increasingly left on their own whilst the adults went hunting. Once, surprisingly, they were alone with the fresh kill of a steenbok lamb. A few days later we found two of the cubs separated from the other four and for a worrying time we didn’t see those two at all.  Eventually by the middle of the month, to everyone’s relief, they had reappeared. One of the resident males from the Splash pride was seen fighting with a nomadic intruder. Three females from the Mother Eye pride were seen with a male and the youngest lioness appeared to be pregnant. Two males were seen feeding on a dead hippo surrounded by vultures awaiting their turn at the carcass.

The resident pack of eight adults and nine puppies were seen regularly, mostly specialising on impala but we also saw them hunting zebra. One time they came right into camp hunting, so guests and guides quickly abandoned their early morning breakfast to try and keep up with the dogs. On another occasion two adult and two young wild dogs made a kill of an impala right by the parking area whilst the guests were out on game drive. A different pack of six adults and four puppies were located once with their faces covered in blood.

The resident male cheetah known as Special was seen frequently. One morning he led us on a marshland exploration, stalked a herd of red lechwe and with explosive energy killed one antelope and dragged it to the shade. He lay panting for fifteen minutes before starting to eat and enjoy his reward for a successful hunt. We followed the female cheetah hunting and watched as she brought down and killed an impala. She was also seen hunting reedbuck and feeding on a red lechwe lamb.
Spotted hyenas were seen every few days including a female nursing two cubs at a den near to the old Kwara camp.

November was a good month for sightings of the smaller mammals. An aardwolf den was located on Cheetah Plains and the animals allowed us good time with them. We were able to enjoy a wonderful sighting of an African civet which was unusually relaxed and our guests were able to take great photos under spotlight. We also located serval on more than one occasion as well as African wild cat. A pair of bat-eared foxes have a den west of Impala Pan.

The resident female leopard made a kill of a Common Reedbuck near to Sable Island and feasted for two nights, but she left the carcass on the ground and eventually it was stolen by hyenas. A pair of young leopards who had been moving around as a brother and sister appeared to have separated and we saw the male more than once. Another male leopard was concentrating on hunting the area west of Impala Pan. Not for the faint-hearted, guests watched as a leopard ate a minutes-old tsessebe calf.

As always in the Okavango Delta the mokoro excursions are popular and allowed guests to see smaller creatures such as the painted reed frogs and enjoy beautiful water lilies. More than once after mokoro activity herds of elephants and bachelor buffaloes came to drink and wallow at the mokoro station much to the delight of guests who quickly swapped fishing rods for cameras to capture the moment.

Guests were thrilled to spot the elusive Pel’s Fishing Owl during a boat cruise and we also saw barn owls and eagle owls. An unusual highlight for some keen birders was a black-chested snake-eagle taking down a night heron.

Lagoon – We followed two lionesses until they stalked a warthog. One lioness went halfway into the den and pulled it out. Then, to everyone’s amazement, a leopard appeared and stalked the lionesses trying to steal the kill. One lioness chased the leopard up a tree to round off an incredible sighting. Although these lionesses specialise on warthogs, we also saw them eating reedbuck and wildebeest.

A coalition of three males were tracked trying their luck with some buffaloes at Kwena Lagoon but they were not successful. During the month we found these three male lions fairly often, and they were mating one of the lionesses. The other female led us to a place where she was hiding some very tiny cubs deep in thick bush. We didn’t see the cubs for several days but eventually they came more into the open when we could see that there were four and we were able to watch them suckling. After a few days we watched her moving the two cubs from one set of bushes to another. The two female cubs managed to walk alongside their mother, but the male cubs were lazy and she had to carry them by the scruff of their necks.  A single male lion was discovered feeding on an elephant calf. The cat seemed unusually aggressive, so for the sake of safety first we gave it a good deal of space.

The resident pack of six adult wild dogs were located often in the middle of the Kwando concession. They still have one of this year’s puppies with them (out of an original litter of eleven). They were not always lucky on their hunts but overall seemed to be doing well and were usually found full-bellied. One time they killed two impalas and another time we saw them take down a roan antelope calf. At the end of the month they brought down an impala and two ostrich chicks in a single morning.

The brown hyena cubs were still doing well and we were able to visit them at their den where they could be quite playful. One time we saw them feeding on a fresh impala skin, although the mother hyena was never visible when we visited.

Skilled work by the trackers allowed us to locate a sub-adult female leopard. We saw her a few times afterwards, but she was looking hungry and was even unsuccessfully trying to hunt tree squirrels in her desperation for a meal. Life appeared hard for this young female finding her way in the world. Another time she was resting in a tree and we saw her being attacked by a troop of baboons causing her to jump from the tree and hide in the thickets. We were relieved when we found her feeding on a new-born impala lamb. Another adult female leopard was resident in the riverine areas.

The coalition of cheetah brothers was also picked up after good tracking from their marking post. After two and a half hours our team was chuffed to find them resting full-bellied with blood on their faces. Mostly these males were specialising in hunting warthog, but we also found them stalking and killing tsessebe a couple of times during November.

General game was good, with big herds of elephant, giraffe, kudu, wildebeest, waterbuck and zebra as well as the more elusive sable and roan antelope which were thriving in the mopane woodlands. A small herd of eland were also seen. Some of the antelope species, such as tsessebe and impala were starting to drop their young. Elephants came to the river in front of camp in a daily basis to drink and swim.
During night drive our guides were successful in locating aardwolf, honey badgers, servals, caracals and African wild cats.

The carmine bee-eater colony at Kwena Lagoon was still active at the start of the month and we were able to watch adults coming back to feed their chicks, but by the end of the month the flock had dwindled to just a few birds.  We watched a martial eagle kill a warthog piglet. It is always a pleasure to see the returning summer migrants and in November we were happy to see broad-billed rollers, black kites, yellow-billed kites and blue-cheeked bee-eaters. Year-round residents such as the saddle-billed stork and wattled cranes were also enjoyed by guests. Back at camp the African scops owlet continued to roost by the fireplace whilst Peter’s epauletted fruit bats were identified in the marula tree by the front deck.

An African python was seen strangling a baby impala at Kwena Lagoon and a black mamba was briefly seen in the riverine area but it disappeared into the long grass.

Lebala – The two males from the Wapuka Pride were seen alone with two of the females and were mating one of lionesses when a herd of thirty elephants came and chased the lions with lots of trumpeting. It was fascinating to see how the elephants protected their calves by keeping them in the middle of the herd.  As with the previous month, both Wapuka Pride and the Bonga lions were overlapping their territories near to camp. One night we heard a hideous commotion and in the morning we found the two prides near to each other looking exhausted. It seemed as though there had been a very serious fight.

One of the beauties of driving in the Lebala section of the Kwando Reserve is the wide open areas in which there are many different species of prey such as zebra, giraffe, impala, sable and roan antelope. Although it is an open area, Bonga Pride were cleverly ambushing prey using the base of big leadwood trees as cover. The same lions were often seen near to camp, one day at Room 9 feeding on two wildebeest carcasses that they killed during the night. The two pride males were there with four lionesses and their cubs. Warthogs and wildebeest seemed to be the main targets for the lions in November. Three subadult male lions had been kicked out of the Bonga Pride by the two dominant males. They looked starving and will quickly need to learn how to survive independently of their mothers.

The resident leopard, known as Fisherman due to his preference for the marsh habitats, was seen near to two hyenas who were feeding on a carcass. The guides suspected that the hyenas had stolen the kill from the leopard. We watched as he stalked some red lechwe through the marshes, but in the end the antelope headed into water that was too deep for him to follow. Another time he had killed a warthog up a tree and was enjoying his feast, with a hyena waiting beneath him gobbling up any scraps that fell to the ground. We came across Jane, the well known resident female leopard. Her daughter was now living independently and we found her drinking on another occasion.

A pack of seven wild dogs (six adults and a puppy) were ranging a very large territory between Lagoon and Lebala camps. The guides suspected that they were changing positions regularly in order to avoid other large predators such as lions and hyena who are numerous in the Kwando Reserve. One day we saw them bring down two impala at once. As they were feeding, within five minutes, four hyenas came and tried to steal the carcasses from the dogs. The pack bravely stood its ground and chased the hyenas away who waited until the dogs had eaten their fill. Another time the Wapoka pride of nine lions were on a hunting mission and flushed out the pack. The guides were worried because two of the dogs appeared to be missing afterwards.

The temperatures in November were scorching and we saw many herds of elephants in the river coming down to drink and cool themselves in the mud and water. These breeding herds had lots of youngsters and one evening we watched as the adults helped them across the river by pushing them, some of the calves were holding onto their mothers’ tails. The the river we also enjoyed watching red lechwe jumping across the streams and big herds of zebra and wildebeest drinking.

We came across a dead buffalo along the river with lots of vultures up in the trees. All of a sudden, a clan of eight hyena appeared and began to feed on the carcass, pulling it apart vigorously. Four black-backed jackals came and started to steal small pieces of meat. We also found a jackal den near to the airstrip with four playful puppies. Once we saw the adults coming back and regurgitating food for the youngsters to eat.

After some rains the monitor lizards started to come further from water in search of food. We had some beautiful sightings of monitor lizards, one was eating tortoise eggs and another one was trying to break small snail shells. We saw several small leopard tortoises. Smaller cats such as African wild cat and serval were seen on night drive, we watched the serval pouncing on a mouse. We were lucky to see a rare sighting of a white-tailed mongoose on our way back to camp one night, the animal was hunting. We also saw honey badgers and a large-spotted genet killing mice on different occasions.

Birdlife was also excellent, especially by the river, including egrets, herons, storks and bee-eaters. The trilling call of the Woodland Kingfisher once again echoed around the bush as this beautiful returning migrant came back to Botswana.

Nxai Pan – November continued to be mostly dry, with heatwave conditions reported by the Botswana government. This meant that animals in our desert camps thronged to the waterholes. The Nxai Pan main waterhole right outside camp continued to be dominated by huge herds of elephants, though we also saw buffalo, giraffe, springbok, kudu and wildebeest drinking there.

One morning, as guests were enjoying breakfast, they were surprised and delighted by a pack of wild dogs running through camp. The dogs chased around some wildebeest who were at the waterhole, quenched their thirst and then disappeared into bush. A brown hyena was seen quite often in the early mornings at the camp waterhole and once at the Department of Wildlife waterhole as well.

Elephants were constantly passing through camp, browsing as they went. Guests commented on how much they enjoyed hearing them munching as they lay in bed at night. One lady peeped through her window and said “it was so close I could see its eyelashes”!

For most of the month lions were found at the Wildlife waterhole which is where the majority of antelope were coming to drink. With the hot weather it seemed that they had decided to just conserve energy by waiting for the food to come to them it! After some rains towards the end of the month the lions became a bit more active again, operating between South Gate and the waterhole. We found two lionesses feeding on an elephant calf kill. One of the lionesses had three cubs who were getting quite active, walking around and playing. One time two cheetahs got a bit too close to the lions and the pride of six chased them away. In the evenings the lions were vocalising as they located each other and declared their territory.

The resident female cheetah was seen hunting, but more than once the relentless heat became too much for her and she had to rest in the shade panting. One productive morning we located three different cheetah, two females lying next to each other and a third not far away. They looked hungry. We saw the two females again, drinking from the Wildlife Waterhole. A male cheetah was found near to the southern camp grounds.

Smaller mammals located included bat eared foxes and honey badgers. There was an aardwolf den along Middle Road.
Other general game sightings included gemsbok and steenbok. The springbok had started dropping their lambs and we watched their herds increase in size as more animals started to make their way to the pans in search of the salt grasses that are so important to support lactation whilst the ewes are nursing. Giraffe and impala were seen browsing.
One morning, during the bushman walk, the guides spotted a 3-4 metre black mamba quietly sunbathing on a termite mound.

Keen birders enjoyed seeing returning migrants to the area such as European rollers and steppe buzzards. The male Northern black korhaans were starting to call in noisy displays.

Tau Pan – November was exceptionally hot and dry, even by usual regional averages for the time of year. As a result, there was almost continual action at the camp waterhole. The Tau Pan pride of lions were there on a daily basis, sometimes all together and other times in smaller groups.

Three of the resident lionesses decided to park off under the luggage rack at Tau Pan airstrip. Luckily they were spotted by the guides and they flashed lights to warn the pilot as he was about to get out of his plane! Another time the same lionesses killed an oryx right at the airstrip. One day we were watching wildebeest herding towards water and saw them unexpectedly divert. We followed up and sure enough there were lions lying in wait for them. One day we found the pride eating on a carcass that we suspected had been brought down by a nomadic lioness who was waiting nearby. It looked as though the larger pride had driven her off her kill.  White-backed vultures, hooded vultures and yellow-billed kites were circling above.

A female leopard was spotted a few times in the camp area and also resting in a tree near to the airstrip. Separately, a young tom leopard was also seen near to camp. He was relaxed enough that we were able to spend nearly an hour photographing him on one occasion.

One early morning before game drive we were surprised by two young male cheetah brothers who showed up at Room 6 and then headed straight to the waterhole for a drink. They repeated this behaviour a week or so later so we hope that we will see more of this handsome pair.

A large solitary bull elephant has been living by camp for a few months and on a daily basis he was going to the waterhole to drink and bathe, putting on a high tea show for the guests.

Bat-eared foxes and black-backed jackals have dens in the Tau Pan area and both species were nursing young. Other smaller mammals seen included African wild cat and honey badgers. Guests were fascinated to see the bat eared foxed catching and eating scorpions.

Kudu were often drinking at the waterhole; carefully circling the area and sniffing first to check for lions. A lovely journey of twelve giraffe were often seen, towering above the shrubs and bushes as they made their way between the camp waterhole and the pan where they enjoyed browsing. A big male red hartebeest was seen resting under a shady camelthorn tree.

There were plenty of bird species in the area, and especially around the waterhole where there was almost constant raptor hunting. Yellow-billed kites chased cape turtle doves, Tawny eagles and bateleurs preyed on Burchell’s sandgrouse. Enormous flocks of red-billed quelea gathered and these were hawked by gabar goshawks. Guests enjoyed watching the spectacular mating ritual of the male red-crested korhaan which flies straight up and then suddenly tumbles to the ground as though shot, before gliding to land.

Oktober 2018

Kwara Concession – There was incredible predator action at Splash during October with lions being seen every single day.

On average our guides and trackers managed to find three predator sightings per day and on some dates there was a “full house” of lion, leopard, wild dogs, cheetah and hyena.

A pack of four wild dogs, two adults and two sub-adults, were seen chasing impala around camp and were successful in bringing down their prey making a fantastic end to the afternoon safari that day. They were seen often hunting around the camp after that, sometimes making kills. One time they interrupted early morning breakfast with a kill right by the front entrance, Another time they almost lost their kill to leopards. A different pack of five adults and four young were located near to Motswiri Pan where they had just finished devouring an impala. A third pack of eighteen, the dogs who denned in June at Little Kwara, were seen one day resting next to the airstrip, much to the delight of departing guests who had mistakenly thought that their safari was finished. When staying on the Kwara Reserve you shouldn’t pack your camera away until the very last second!

An alarm call from a side-striped jackal alerted us to the presence of a predator one morning. We picked up cheetah tracks and followed them until we found the beautiful resident female looking relaxed and well-fed. A resident male was seen on the majority of days during October. He was mostly resting or patrolling his territory but a few times he was hunting and we were lucky enough to be able to see him make his kill.

The Splash pride of lions was seen in front of camp drinking water, making for a wonderful photographic opportunity. The pride consists of two males, two females and six cubs. The mothers were very protective of their cubs, always hiding them away in the Kalahari Apple Leaf during the days before venturing out to drink at the camp waterhole. A male lion was heard roaring north east of camp so we explored in that direction and came across him with two females relaxing in the early morning sun.

Two male lions known as ‘Puffie’ and ‘Big Man’ had killed a hippo but they were displaced from their hard-won carcass by the two resident males of the Splash pride. When we visited the area the next day all the lions had gone and been replaced by an impressive clan of twenty three hyena gorging themselves on the huge carcass, surrounded by vultures. We also came across spotted hyenas bathing in water, trying to find relief from the soaring temperatures.

We enjoyed tracking a leopard to New Bridge and our guests appreciated the effort taken to locate the handsome tom. After an hour and a half we found the cat in the process of killing a baboon. Spotted hyenas were also in the area as they had also been following the leopard, but the tom was successful in driving them away and hanging onto his carcass. Two female leopards, a mother and daughter, responded to the call of a side-striped jackal. We followed them as they discovered that the jackal was alarmed by wild dogs who had killed an impala, but the wild dogs had finished their kill by the time the leopards arrived and moved off.

General game in the area was rewarding, including beautiful roan antelope. Elephants, giraffe and buffalo were plentiful. Other plains game species included zebra, kudu, wildebeest, warthog, waterbuck, impala and red lechwe. Troops of baboons and vervet monkeys entertained guests with their playful antics.

We saw an encouraging number of vultures in the area including hooded, white-backed and a few white-headed. We were excited to see lappet-faced vultures nesting east of Splash camp. There were plenty of ground hornbills, some of whom had chicks. A pair of secretary birds was nesting near to Impala Pan.

Lagoon – The brown hyena cubs continued to be big favourites with our guests. They were mostly seen playing in the mornings. The youngsters are growing past and were starting to separate to occupy different dens. Their mother remains elusive, visiting them in the middle of the night to bring them food that this month included an impala carcass.

Bonga Pride were sometimes seen by John’s Pan and Lechwe Corner, but in general have been towards Lebala camp over the past few months. This has opened up the Lagoon territory for several new coalitions of males and during October we saw a group of four, a group of three and several pairs hunting buffaloes. Two very big males and a female were found at Kwena Lagoon feeding on an elephant carcass and mating. Several lionesses were roaming the area including three pregnant females who have broken away from the Bonga Pride.

Spotted hyenas were regularly sighted around the area, mostly at abandoned buffalo carcasses that the nomad males had killed, including some exciting interactions between lions and the hyena clan.
Other times spotted hyenas were seen patrolling the area or cooling themselves in the muddy waterholes which were drying out

Female leopards were seen patrolling and hunting during afternoon drives. We had lovely sightings of a female with her kill up a tree and a male with a warthog kill on the airstrip road.

The resident coalition of two cheetah brothers were found resting under a tree.

The pack of six wild dogs (five adults and one sub-adult) were found well-fed and quenching their thirst after a successful hunting expedition. We tracked them hunting a couple of other times but they were not lucky on those occasions.

Smaller predators encountered included African wild cats, servals, mongoose (yellow, dwarf and banded), bat-eared foxes and honey badgers. Black-backed jackals were denning and guests were able to see the cubs.

General game was frequenting the hot spots along the flood plains. There were plenty of eland , sable, roan, buffalo and heavily pregnant plains game species, some of whom started dropping their young after a storm build-up in the middle of the month. There were big herds of elephants all over the area throughout the day. Other species included zebra, giraffe, kudu, impala, red lechwe, waterbuck, warthog and tsessebe

Aquatic bird species were seen wading and foraging on the flood plains. Summer migrants continued to arrive in the area. Carmine bee-eaters were still nesting at Kwena Lagoon and John’s Pan. Guests enjoyed sightings of kingfishers, including giant and the colourful malachite. Four different species of vulture were identified feeding on the buffalo carcasses (hooded, white-backed, lappet and white-headed).

Lebala – A young female leopard, named by our guides as Jenny, was seen walking on the road and we watched her as she started to hunt squirrels. She jumped up a tree to hunt the squirrel and was successful in catching and eating it, though this would be a very small snack indeed for a leopard! We watched a female leopard make a kill of an impala, but unfortunately two male lions came onto the scene and chased her up into a tree. She waited in the tree for quite some time, but eventually gave up on the kill and ran away. A very shy male leopard was picked up under spotlights on night drive. He was not one of the resident toms, but an intruder from another area. We saw him later in the month with a kudu kill up a tree.

Diligent work by the guide and tracker team led us to the Wapoka Pride of lions lying down on the road, we went back after a while and followed them hunting where they brought down a wildebeest – our guests rewarded for their patience by a spectacular kill sighting. The Wapoka Pride were then not around for couple of weeks, but returned towards the end of the month. They seemed nervous and were regularly climbing trees and mounds as they hunted; our guides suspected that they were being so vigilant because they knew that the Bonga Pride was also in the area. A couple of days later Wapoka Pride brought down a buffalo bull near to the camp at night. Our guides were flabbergasted when Bonga Pride also showed up at the carcass and the two prides ate side by side without any apparent friction. This was highly unusual behaviour and a fantastic sighting, to which was added hyenas and jackals trotting around and vultures roosted in the trees waiting patiently for their turn. By the next morning it was just Bonga Pride lying round-bellied at the carcass. The vultures came down and started to feed and hyenas tried to sneak a few mouthfuls but were too scared of the lions to feed properly.

We saw Bonga pride hunting and bringing down two wildebeest right in front of the vehicle and watched with interest as the two pride males refused to let the lionesses eat, only allowing the cubs to approach the carcass and join in the feeding. The following day the pride killed a big male warthog but once again one of the male lions took the carcass and ate it alone. Once we followed them as they were stalking a herd of kudu which were hidden in the bushes, but the antelope saw them in time and took off. The lions continued heading towards the marshes where they often hunt warthogs and aquatic species of antelope such as red lechwe. Another time we tracked the lions to Tsessebe Pan where we were able to get lovely shots of them lined up drinking, with reflections in the water.

The resident pack of just two wild dogs were seen lying down in a pool of wet mud to cool down before trying to hunt impala. Unfortunately for them the long grass impeded their hunt so they eventually gave up and went hungry. A different pack of six adults and one puppy were ranging between the Lebala and Lagoon sides of the Kwando Reserve and we found them a couple of times in the Halfway Pan area, always looking well fed with round bellies.

Big herds of red lechwe were in the area and our guests enjoyed photographing them as they splashed through the water in the marshes.

A huge herd of buffalo were seen grazing very close to camp. Elephants were also plentiful and guests enjoyed watching them mud-bathing. A lovely herd of endangered sable antelope comprising twelve adults and five calves was in the area.

A big number of carmine bee-eaters were still by their nests at John’s Pan and summer migrants, such as yellow-billed kites, were busy coming back into the area.

Nxai Pan – Huge herds of elephants made a spectacle at the camp waterhole every day, drinking and mud-bathing. Their antics continued through the night, with their noisy splashing and rumbling a constant sound track. Although elephants dominated, it was not uncommon to see a queue of up to seven mammal species at once waiting for their turn to quench their thirst. These animals commonly included giraffe, kudu, impala, springbok, zebra and wildebeest, but we were also lucky enough to find a male eland and some buffalo.

The resident pride of ten lions were seen most frequently at the wildlife waterhole. This is a favourite spot of theirs to ambush antelope as they come down to drink so we were often found watching the pride, who were watching their prey, in anticipation of some action. Our patience was rewarded and we saw them trying unsuccessfully to catch both wildebeest and kudu there on a few occasions. A pair of lionesses with three tiny cubs of about a month old were seen for the first time. We were able to enjoy a lovely sighting of them suckling their cubs.

A male cheetah was located more than once. The first time we saw him he was mobile and looked hungry, so it was good to find him on a springbok carcass a couple of days later. There were many jackals waiting for a chance to scavenge. The next day we saw the female cheetah drinking at the wildlife waterhole. This was the resident individual who the previous month had lost all three of her cubs to lions. We were pleased to find her on carcasses during the month and know that she was doing well.

A pair of spotted hyenas visited the camp waterhole for a drink more than once.

Honey badgers were seen in the middle of the pan digging for rodents and on occasion we were able to see them catch their prey. Bat eared foxes were also sighted regularly.

We managed to find a pair of ostrich accompanied by seventeen hatchlings. From birth ostrich chicks are able to accompany their parents as they graze. Some black-backed jackals were darting around hoping for the opportunity to snatch a chick, but the male ostrich defended his family vigorously.

A pair of secretary birds were seen foraging on the pan and could be seen roosting after sunset. It is a magnificent sight to see these huge birds perched in a tree. An unusual sighting was a dark chanting goshawk feeding on a cape turtle dove. An African cuckoo, which is a regional migrant, was spotted. Other notable ticks were sabota larks, marico flycatchers, Burchell’s sandgrouses and kori bustards.

Tau Pan – The Tau Pan pride of five males, two females and three cubs were seen drinking at the camp waterhole and resting at various places nearby. One day four of the males were resting when two male cheetahs approached the waterhole and we witnessed an exciting confrontation between all six big cats before the cheetah were driven away. As usual these resident lions were extremely relaxed around our vehicles. The cubs are at an extremely playful age but they were learning to be quieter when their mother was hunting; she often looked for prey alone as her cubs stand a better chance of eating if they do not have to share with the dominant males. Sometimes the males separated which then meant a lot of roaring across the plains as they re-established contact again later on.

A different pride of three females were in the northern part of Tau Pan area, towards Passarge Valley, but they occasionally ventured south and used the camp watering hole if they were in the area.

A single male leopard was seen drinking at the camo waterhole in the early morning. A lovely sight for the guests to enjoy as they sipped their coffee.

Two cheetah were located at Lion Den looking full-bellied and in good condition.

Guides were surprised to still be seeing a lone wild dog in camp. There is no sign of the rest of its pack, so they thought it was probably an individual dispersed from its natal pack trying to find others to start a new family.

A lone bull elephant is still frequenting the camp and guests enjoyed watching him drinking and mud bathing at the camp waterhole in the afternoons. Often he just lay in the cool water to escape the relentless October heat.

Honey badgers were seen often at Tau Pan busy digging for prey such as lizards, mice and ground squirrels. They were sometimes accompanied by pale chanting goshawks or black-backed jackals looking for an opportunity to snatch the prey before the badgers.

Day trips to Deception Valley yielded other good lion sightings at Letia Hau and in Deception Valley itself. Cheetah were also seen there, including at the woodland area known as ‘Mark and Delia’s’. This area is named after the camping spot of the couple who famously researched in the area,  documented in the book Cry of the Kalahari.

The eastern part of Tau Pan was the productive in terms of general game and we saw many species such as springbok, kudu, wildebeest and giraffe coming to the camp waterhole to drink. For now this was the only water available in a vast arid area, so there was almost always some kind of action to be seen in right in front of the lodge main area.

There were many kori bustards down on the pan, together with secretary birds who we were able to see roosting in their favourite tree each evening. In the mornings large flocks of Burchells sandgrouse and Cape turtle doves flocked in huge numbers to the camp waterhole where the yellow-billed kites, a returning summer migrant, lay in wait for them in order to catch an early breakfast. As the dry weather continued the numbers of queleas started to increase into their thousands.

September 2018

Kwara Concession – Two lionesses had a den near to Mabala Dikgokong where they were raising six cubs. They were seen very often and our guiding team now fondly refer to them as the ‘Splash Pride’. They were often near to their den, feeding on impala, reedbuck, and zebra kills (the pride was so effective that they were collectively described by one guide as “a killing machine”!) The cubs were very active, usually playing around, and we enjoyed watching them nurse from their mothers. One day we had a gorgeous sighting of them drinking at a waterhole, their perfect reflection making for a wonderful photo opportunity. They were disturbed from their original den by two females from the Mma Leitho pride, but continued to be sighted most days. After chasing off the Splash Pride the females of Mma Leitho joined up with two resident males and ended up killing a tsessebe together. Two new male lions were seen to the east of Splash.

A big pack of twenty two wild dogs was seen on the eastern side of the Kwara reserve and were regularly targeting impala. The Kwara pack of wild dogs appeared again after about a month’s absence. During their time away they appeared to have lost one of their puppies, but still had ten youngsters, now hunting with the adults. We saw that they managed to kill a red lechwe, a reedbuck and also an impala, although lions drove them off the latter and took over the carcass. A third pack of just three adults with two puppies were found on the eastern side of the Kwara reserve and were seen feeding on an impala.

The resident male cheetah, affectionally known as “Special” was following his usual pattern of traversing the whole Kwara reserve from east to west. He was seen feeding on a warthog piglet and we also saw him chase down and kill and impala. He killed an adult warthog near to the Old Mokoro Station where we saw him feasting, surrounded by hungry vultures and side-striped jackals.

On one day we saw a fascinating intraspecific competition: the male cheetah killed an impala but was driven away by a leopard and in turn the carcass was stolen by the lions. We followed a new female cheetah as she hunted, although she was not lucky on that occasion. There was also a new male cheetah in the area.
To gain respite from the steadily-increasing daytime heat the leopards were enjoying resting on shady branches of the Sausage Trees which were now in full bloom displaying striking blood-red flowers. We found a male and female leopard together on such a tree, but the female was a little skittish and jumped down. A female leopard in the Splash area was gradually getting used to the safari vehicles and one day was seen drinking at the camp waterhole. We managed to drive around to take a closer look and after initially ducking into some bushes she came out and rested on a termite mound giving us a better opportunity to enjoy her. There was also a young male resident in the area.

Spotted hyena were often seen in the Splash area, and inside camp itself.

There were lots of elephants in the area, with a breeding herd coming to drink at the camp waterhole in the afternoons. Further afield we enjoyed watching elephants cross the channels and especially seeing how they worked together to help their calves climb up the steeper banks. Bachelor herds of buffalo bulls were seen regularly in the marsh where we watched them feeding and mud-bathing. Overall, the general game was very plentiful.
A honey badger was seen killing a rock python in an incredible tussle.

By the start of September the flood waters were high and had attracted lots of waterbirds to the area including herons, slaty egrets and carmine bee-eaters. The heronry sites at Xobega and Gadikwe were both active. Yellow-billed kites had returned to the area for the summer months.

Lagoon – The two brown hyena cubs at their den near to camp continued to be the star attraction at Lagoon during September. This incredibly rare opportunity to see a usually shy species romping around our vehicles in broad daylight was enjoyed by all of our guests. The cubs were extremely playful and starting to show dominance behaviours, such as neck wrestling, which will help them to establish their place in the clan as they get older. Their mother was still as elusive as ever, but continued to bring the pups meals at night including a warthog carcass.

Two lionesses were seen hunting red lechwe north of the camp. They didn’t manage to make a kill that time but a few days later they brought down a wildebeest not far from the airstrip. The next morning there was a big battle between these lionesses and a clan of six spotted hyenas. In the end strength in numbers won the day and the hyenas took over the kill. Both black-backed and side-striped jackals joined in the scavenging. A different pair of lionesses managed to catch a wildebeest near to Zebra Pan and once again spotted hyenas were around to make sure that they stole whatever they could. In the same area two male lions brought down a buffalo calf; we came across them just a few minutes after the kill. One morning there was a big roaring match between the coalition of four at Zebra Pan and a different pride of three towards the airstrip, their deep vocalisations echoing in the still morning air. Towards the end of the month we found two of the lions mating whilst their companions feasted on a nearby carcass.

As the season changed to hot, dry weather, herds of elephant and buffalo congregated in the riverine areas to bathe and drink every day. Sometimes different family groups came together to form a ‘superherd’ with up to 300 elephants being seen together at one time. Guests loved seeing the elephants crossing the river right in front of the camp and playing in the water. At night the elephants herded back towards the woodland areas to browse and graze. A breeding herd of over 200 buffalo were found drinking at Watercut.

The wild dog pack had been away for about a month so we were very relieved to see them when they appeared on the 12th. Sadly though, another three of the puppies were missing which means that there were now only two survivors of this year’s litter accompanying the six adults. They stayed in our area for the remainder of the month and we were able to see them hunting

Leopards were seen a few times. One morning a leopard was found sitting on a fallen log and as if that wasn’t a good enough photo opportunity it helpfully moved to the top of a termite mound to pose further. One morning we saw a male make an ambush on a herd of tsessebe, but they saw him just in time and managed to gallop away. Another time the tom was found resting up on a tree.

The resident coalition of two male cheetah brothers were seen enjoying an impala kill near to Zebra Pan

A very relaxed herd of ten sable antelope with seven calves were enjoyed by guests as well eland and roan antelope. Other general game included plentiful giraffe mixed with zebra, wildebeest, tsessebe, warthogs, red lechwe, baboons, waterbuck, kudu and impala.

African wild cats, honey badgers, servals, genets, porcupines, bat-eared foxes, scrub hare, springhare and African civet were all seen under spotlights during night drive.

Huge flocks of carmine bee-eaters were nesting at Kwena Lagoon. The spectacle and noise was incredible as the brilliantly coloured birds swooped and chattered in their hundreds. White-fronted bee -eaters were also seen by the river bank. Other great bird sightings included martial eagles, Verreaux’s (giant) eagle owls, secretary birds, slaty egrets and white-faced owls. We saw four types of vulture during September: lappet-faced, white-backed, hooded and white-headed. Hundreds of openbill storks were seen gathered at Second Lagoon feeding on snails.

Lebala – A pack of six wild dogs with their two puppies was located near to John’s Pan where they had a big confrontation with some honey badgers. A smaller pack of two wild dogs was in the area throughout the month. One day they came right into camp as we were having morning breakfast. We followed them hunting a couple of times and once they led us to the remains of an impala which had been previously killed by the resident tom leopard.

The same leopard was seen hunting red lechwe in the marshes (he is known by the guides as ‘Fisherman’ due to his preference for this habitat). A different male was located at John’s Pan where he was feeding on a red lechwe, surrounded by vultures.

One day we found a leopard cub sitting in a branch near to Motswiri Pan. We went back in the afternoon and found her mother lying nearby. The female is known as ‘Jane‘ and has been resident in the area for many years. A few days later we saw Jane and her cubs sharing a red lechwe kill with her adult son from a previous litter. It was unusual, but very heartwarming, to see the different generations together in this way.

The Bonga Pride of nine were seen hunting right in front of camp where they brought down and killed a blue wildebeest. The hot dry weather meant that buffalo were starting to come back towards the riverine areas, so they were also targeted. We watched the lions ambush a herd at Tsessebe Island, but they didn’t manage to make a kill before the buffaloes crossed the channel. Later in the month they had better luck and we came across them feasting on a buffalo carcass that they had just killed. In the same area we saw two lionesses with six cubs take down two warthogs right in front of the vehicle. We watched them for about an hour enjoying their first meal in days. The pride tried warthogs many times during the month. One time the prey dashed into a burrow and the pride of 10 lions determinedly dug it out, but it was a lot of effort for relatively small reward. Another time, elephants came to the rescue of the warthogs and succeeded in chasing the lions away.

At the moment both the Bonga and Wapoka prides’ territories are overlapping, right over Lebala camp itself. One day the Bonga Pride stretched out and rested all day at the camp. Two days later three lionesses from the Wapoka Pride were spotted walking right in front of the main area in the early morning. We quickly jumped into vehicles to follow them as they stalked a large warthog. That afternoon we found two spotted hyenas finishing up the carcass. We were lucky enough to find two of the Wapoka lionesses with three tiny cubs. This was the first time that we had seen the new litter. A big male lion, Sebastian, has was seen mating one of the females from the Wapoka Pride.

Large herds of elephant started to move into the marsh area. They were seen mudbathing and crossing the channel along with their very young calves. Hippos and elephants were heard munching vegetation around the rooms at night.

A herd of roan antelope and calves was a special sighting, with sable antelope and eland also being seen during the month. Big herds of red lechwe splashing as they ran through the water always makes for a beautiful photo opportunity. Other general game included giraffe, kudu, tsessebe, impala, zebra, wildebeest, warthog and baboon.

There was plenty of water in the pans and channels, attracting wetland birds such as spoonbills, whistling ducks, black-winged stilts, and openbilled storks. We saw a huge flock of pink-backed pelicans flying. Carmine bee-eaters have arrived for breeding at John’s Pan and it was amazing to watch them as they were busy excavating their nests.

Nxai Pan – Huge herds of elephants made a spectacle at the camp waterhole every day, drinking and mud-bathing. Their antics continued through the night, with their noisy splashing and rumbling a constant sound track. Although elephants dominated, it was not uncommon to see a queue of up to seven mammal species at once waiting for their turn to quench their thirst. These animals commonly included giraffe, kudu, impala, springbok, zebra and wildebeest, but we were also lucky enough to find a male eland and some buffalo.

The resident pride of ten lions were seen most frequently at the wildlife waterhole. This is a favourite spot of theirs to ambush antelope as they come down to drink so we were often found watching the pride, who were watching their prey, in anticipation of some action. Our patience was rewarded and we saw them trying unsuccessfully to catch both wildebeest and kudu there on a few occasions. A pair of lionesses with three tiny cubs of about a month old were seen for the first time. We were able to enjoy a lovely sighting of them suckling their cubs.

A male cheetah was located more than once. The first time we saw him he was mobile and looked hungry, so it was good to find him on a springbok carcass a couple of days later. There were many jackals waiting for a chance to scavenge. The next day we saw the female cheetah drinking at the wildlife waterhole. This was the resident individual who the previous month had lost all three of her cubs to lions. We were pleased to find her on carcasses during the month and know that she was doing well.

A pair of spotted hyenas visited the camp waterhole for a drink more than once.

Honey badgers were seen in the middle of the pan digging for rodents and on occasion we were able to see them catch their prey. Bat eared foxes were also sighted regularly.

We managed to find a pair of ostrich accompanied by seventeen hatchlings. From birth ostrich chicks are able to accompany their parents as they graze. Some black-backed jackals were darting around hoping for the opportunity to snatch a chick, but the male ostrich defended his family vigorously.

A pair of secretary birds were seen foraging on the pan and could be seen roosting after sunset. It is a magnificent sight to see these huge birds perched in a tree. An unusual sighting was a dark chanting goshawk feeding on a cape turtle dove. An African cuckoo, which is a regional migrant, was spotted. Other notable ticks were sabota larks, marico flycatchers, Burchell’s sandgrouses and kori bustards.

Tau Pan – The Tau Pan pride were seen very regularly, often giving away their location by roaring heartily as the sun rose. The pride had split into two with the main family comprising five males, two lionesses and three cubs. They were often seen full-bellied at the camp waterhole and appeared to be in great condition. The young cubs were sometimes left on their own at the waterhole whilst the pride went hunting. A smaller group of three lionesses, mother and her two sub-adults were seen away from the rest of the main pride most of the time but they were also doing well and managed to kill an oryx. We also managed to find the Passarge Pan pride of four adults and five cubs, though this group was notably more skittish than the lions who reside nearer to our camp. Four of the Letiahau lions were also located during a day trip.

A lone bull elephant continued to stay near to the camp, drinking and mudbathing at the waterhole. One day as we were watching him enjoy his daily ablutions we suddenly spotted a lone male wild dog. He was calling as though he had lost the rest of his pack. This is a very unusual sighting for us to have at the Tau Pan waterhole.

A sub-adult female leopard was seen a couple of times on our western firebreak. One time we saw her trying to hunt but the kudu spoiled her ambush by making alarm calls. A leopard was also seen in camp itself and dragged a steenbok kill under the deck of Room 9 to eat it. The pilot staying in the room that night was alerted to its presence by the sound of crunching bones during the night…..!

The resident male cheetah was seen a couple of times near to camp. One time he seemed to have his eye on a herd of kudu, but the prey animals, including some giraffe, herded together for protection. Towards the end of the month a coalition of two male cheetahs was seen trying to hunt springbok on the pan, although they were unsuccessful on the times that we saw them they were full-bellied a day or so later.

A shy aardwolf and many families of bat-eared foxes were found at Tau Pan.

Oryx, kudu and springbok started to drop their young. A kudu bull was seen checking if the cows were in oestrus, but apparently not as he then returned back to a bachelor herd.

Honey badgers were seen often. We watched a male hunting for rats for a long time at San Pan. He was successful many times, but had his kills stolen by jackals and goshawks. Her persistently continued to hunt though. We came across a group of six black-backed jackals fighting near to three lionesses. At first we thought they might be fighting over food but as we couldn’t see any carcass nearby the guides deduced it was most likely a territorial fight.

Ground squirrels were observed popping out of their burrows and searching the skies for threats from raptors. Smaller birds, such as queleas and finches flocked around looking for seeds that the ground squirrels might have left behind. Unusual behaviour from a flock of black-faced waxbills alerted our guide that there might be a predator in the vicinity and all of a sudden an African wild cat sprang out from the bushes.

Birdwatchers enjoyed colourful species such as the lilac-breasted roller, crimson-breasted shrike and black-faced waxbills. Raptors such as the tawny eagle, bateleur and gabar goshawk could be seen hunting sandgrouse at the camp waterhole in the mornings.

The sleep out deck at Tau Pan was enjoyed by many guests during September. The temperatures were extremely comfortable and the clear night skies made for incredible stargazing. Guests told us how it was to wake in the early hours and see the milky way spread above as a dazzling ribbon of light, complete with shooting stars. The deck faces east so they loved the intense orange glow on the horizon just before sunrise, accompanied by the distant roar of a lion. Africa at it’s finest.

August 2018

Kwara Concession – As is often the case in the Kwara Reserve, the fierce intra-specific competition between predators led to some interesting sightings. One morning a sub-adult female leopard was located feeding on an impala carcass up a tree. Whilst we were watching her a pack of wild dogs appeared opposite her and then a male lion came along the same road. The lion killed one of the puppies meaning that there are only eight left with four adults. Although the guests were sad at the way the morning turned out for the dogs, it was a fascinating to witness the interaction between three of the major predators in the region.

The same sub-adult female leopard was located on a giraffe carcass. She leapt up into a nearby tree and started to eat a kill she had previously stashed there of a side-striped jackal. Two sub-adult leopards who are brother and sister were seen in the Machaba area for over two weeks. They were very relaxed around the game viewers and we were able to enjoy watching them stalking francolins.

We were blessed with separate packs of wild dogs during August, a pack of two with three puppies were often hunting impala around Splash camp and we found them on their kills. Another pack comprising four adults with eight puppies (having lost one to the lions). They also came right through the middle of Splash camp just as the guests were finishing their tea. We immediately dashed to the vehicles and were lucky enough to see the dogs make a kill east of camp. Each time we saw this pack and their puppies they seemed a little bit more relaxed around the vehicles than the previous time.

A female cheetah with two cubs was seen moving away from a troop of baboons; she was being followed by the resident male known as “Mr Special”. We left them looking well fed and resting under the Kalahari apple-leaf trees. It was a busy month for the male cheetah as he traversed huge areas from west to east and was seen actively marking his territory. Towards the end of the month he was tending to stay on the west of the Kwara Reserve, the guides thought that this was perhaps because of the increased lion activity on the eastern side. We saw the cheetahs regularly on impala kills. On one particularly rewarding morning we saw both Special and the female with two cubs on two separate kills.

The resident pride of lions near to Splash comprised two males and two females. The younger male was seen mating with a female with the others resting about seventy metres away. We found two of them scavenging on a carcass that they stole from the wild dogs. In another area two lionesses with their six cubs were having a productive time, successfully killing two kudus on two consecutive days. For the first times we saw this pride together with the two males who had fathered the cubs and it was great to see them all socialising together. On another game drive we found the pride of eight on a fresh impala kill. A few minutes later a clan of eight spotted hyena came and stole the kill from the lions. On a different day we discovered the hyenas looking well-fed and covered in blood. We back-tracked and found a giraffe carcass loaded with vultures.

Big breeding herds of elephant could be seen feeding and bathing near to Lechwe Plains.

Two honey badgers made themselves at home foraging around the camp paths on a daily basis. A relaxed serval was discovered twice in one week at Lechwe Plains.

Wildcat were also hunting around Splash Hippos.

A Slaty Egret was resident east of the airstrip at the bridge crossing. Ground hornbills were encountered at the Splash Camp walking range.

Lagoon – The sighting of the month, if not the year, at Lagoon was the discovery of a brown hyena den just five minutes from the camp. Initially the brief glances that we had of the cubs had us scratching our heads as brown hyena are not even shown on the species distribution maps for the area, so the possibility of aardwolf still seemed more likely. However once the cubs became bold enough to let us have a good look at them we were thrilled to be able to announce definitively that we had brown hyena resident in the Kwando Reserve. Our guides were very patient in terms of getting the youngsters habituated to the vehicles, and their efforts were rewarded by the cubs allowing incredibly relaxed sightings of them playing at the den site. The mother was still very shy and only seen fleetingly by the trackers. We believed that she was visiting the den between midnight and 6am, the only sign of her appearance being the carcasses that she delivered for her cubs. Her meal offerings included a goliath heron, an aged caracal carcass (previously killed by lions) and a piece of buffalo skin. One time a female spotted hyena came and started digging at the brown hyena den, but luckily she didn’t harm the cubs.

The Lagoon resident pack of wild dogs were seen regularly at the start of the month; the six adults and five puppies all seemed to be in good shape. We were able to follow them hunting near to camp and saw them having some commotion with spotted hyenas. One of their more spectacular hunts saw them chase an impala into the river where it was promptly caught and eaten by a crocodile. Not a successful day for the dogs, but an incredible safari experience for our guests. As the month progressed the puppies started to join the adults on hunts and therefore the pack became more nomadic.

The spotted hyena clan comprising more than ten adults and eight cubs moved to a new den site after one of the cubs was killed, most likely by a lion. The adult hyenas took in turns to be at the den, usually no more than six individuals at a time. As well as suckling from their mothers we were able to watch the youngsters tussling over a buffalo leg which had been brought to the den by one of the adults.

Two different coalitions of male lions were located during drives, six individuals in total. Two females, a mother and daughter, appeared to be excellent hunters and we found them feeding on zebra and wildebeest carcasses. One time we witnessed them killing a small warthog, but their meal was snatched up by hyenas. Another time we were able to follow them hunting a wildebeest and making the kill. We picked up the tracks of a lioness with three cubs on the western part of the camp; we followed up into the mopane woodland and found her feasting on a buffalo. This was the first time that we were able to see her cubs in plain view. Another time we saw her on a wildebeest kill. The Bonga pride of ten lions were back into the Lagoon side of the Kwando Reserve and we watched them following the buffalo herds.

The two cheetah brothers were only occasionally spotted but seemed to be doing well.

A shy tom leopard was located near to the airstrip and the resident young male seen at the riverside. There were also two female leopards in the area, mother and daughter but now separated. We found them hunting at saw that they were each making successful kills of impala.

Sable and roan antelope were seen feeding together as a mixed herd. Giraffe, wildebeest, red lechwe. tsessebe, impala, warthog, baboon and zebra were all present in plentiful numbers. Big herds of buffalo and elephant (up to 100 strong) were in the area, with many elephants swimming and drinking at camp. Sitatunga were seen during the boat cruise.

A lioness was seen stalking a caracal and eventually ended up killing the smaller cat. A mother porcupine was walking down the road accompanied by her baby. Honey badgers were located digging for mice, and one time they were following a honeyguide bird through the bush. A serval was found hunting in the marsh areas a couple of times. Other smaller mammals seen by guests included African wildcat and bat-eared fox.

An African scops owl was seen at the camp almost every day at the start of the month. Brightly coloured carmine bee-eaters were starting to arrive earlier than usual at the Kwena Lagoon – a nesting site which they use annually. Another summer migrant, yellow-billed kites, have also started to be spotted again. Slaty egrets, black herons and ground hornbills were found near to Watercut. There was a great sighting of a martial eagle killing a helmeted guinea fowl and taking it up a tree to eat it.

Lebala – At the start of the month we could hear a big commotion between lions at night. In the morning we found Sebastian, one of the resident males, with a big scar on his face and it appeared that he had fought with his brother lion, Old Gun, over the mating rights to one of the females from the Wapoka Pride. They had been together for a week and were both looking very skinny having had other things on their mind apart from food. Old Gun appeared to be the winner of the battle for dominance and was growling at his brother when we saw them the next day. We watched a sensational kill on an impala by the Wapoka Pride; one female circled around and drove the impala right into the mouths of the rest of the lionesses. The same pride also killed a wildebeest and we saw one of the young males on an elephant carcass.

The Bonga pride of nine lions were found close to camp and one time fighting with a honey badger, although the smaller creature managed to get away. One of the Bonga lionesses who has cubs of 3-4 months old was discovered feeding on a fresh warthog carcass and was also seen hunting lechwe along the marsh. At one stage this young family was joined by the two big resident males. Four new lions, three young males and a female, were located seen feeding on a buffalo. These animals haven’t been seen in our area before and were quite shy.

Our resident female leopard, Jane, reappeared back in the area after having been absent for a long while. When she left she had two cubs, but there now appears to be just one remaining. When we first saw them they were feeding on a red lechwe carcass that seemed to be a few days old. Some lionesses came and took the kill from them, but they seemed like they had a good feast before they were robbed. A few days later they were hunting in camp and managed to kill a bushbuck and drag it under some bushes to eat. A tom leopard was located very close to camp and we followed him as he was hunting along the edge of the marshes. A male leopard who is a brother to the resident Fisherman was identified as he was found finishing up a reedbuck that he had killed a couple of days previously.

One afternoon we were lucky enough to come across an elephant who had only just given birth. The calf was still covered in blood and helplessly trying to get up. The rest of the herd gathered around to help. A truly magical time was had watching a huge herd of elephants bathing and splashing in the marshes.

The resident pack of two wild dogs came through the camp a couple of times hunting bushbucks but didn’t manage to make a kill.

The two cheetah brothers were seen in the Lebala side of the Kwando Reserve, sometimes posing beautifully on termite mounds or on their marking trees. One time we were following them and they came across mating lions who chased them away. Luckily the cheetah managed to escape.

On evening drive we were lucky enough to find a pangolin; an incredibly rare species that we are doing well to find a few times already in Lebala this year. Two honey badgers were seen chasing mice near to the airstrip. Black-backed jackals were also in the area.

A large number of carmine bee-eaters started to flock into the area for breeding season and could be seen gathering at John’s Pan.

Nxai Pan – At the start of the August a female cheetah with her three cubs were seen hunting. Or at least that was the mother’s plan – the three cubs were more interested in playing than stalking, meaning that their chases were unsuccessful. A couple of days later they tried again and the female successfully brought down and killed an impala but this was not a story with a happy ending for the cheetah family. The Nxai Pan pride of lions were hunting nearby and took over the carcass, killing one of the cubs on the spot. The next day the mother appeared to still be calling for her dead cub when they bumped into the lions for a second time and once again they killed a cub. The female bolted with her sole remaining baby but sadly in a weak and hungry state she then abandoned her youngster for a couple of days. It was seen surrounded by black-backed jackal and eventually disappeared, our guides suspecting that the jackal killed it in the end. For the rest of the week the mother was mainly seen mobile, behaving as though she was still seeking her cubs. We were glad to see her looking full-bellied and more relaxed a few days later. A male cheetah was seen north of the lodge trying his luck on impala but didn’t manage to succeed.

Three lionesses with their six sub-adult cubs were seen a few times. One night they came into camp whilst we were serving dinner and started calling. Two males arrived, but seemingly not the ones that the lionesses had been expecting or wanting as a noisy fight ensued which continued throughout the night. Eventually the male lions were chased away. The pride spent a lot of time near the Wildlife Department waterhole where they laid in the shade, but always with an eye on the possibility of making an opportunistic kill of antelope coming to drink. We were able to watch them make a kill of a kudu in this way after waiting patiently for one and a half hours. A new lioness accompanied by a sub-adult male were seen on Middle Road. They were extremely skittish, hiding when vehicles approached and even charging.

A brown hyena was located near to the Wildlife Department waterhole just after sunset. Two spotted hyena were seen at the camp waterhole. Tracks from a male leopard were found in camp a couple of times, though the cat remained elusive.

As the temperatures rose the herds of elephants coming to the camp waterhole started getting larger and larger. The elephants continued to assert their dominance over this precious resource. Even a lone bull elephant refused to let the pride of nine lions come to drink. Such was the competition for water at the waterhole that many elephants came into camp looking for alternative sources. They eyed up the camp swimming pool making for some spectacular photo opportunities.

There were good herds of mixed game species such as wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, kudu, impala, springbok and steenbok at the Wildlife Department waterhole. Bat-eared foxes, honey badgers, scrub hares and black-baked jackals were smaller mammals observed.

In the early mornings lots of doves and guinea fowl came to the camp waterhole to drink. Black-backed jackals were usually there as well hoping to snatch breakfast from the flocks. Ostrich, secretary birds and kori bustards were regularly seen striding across the pans. Smaller birds identified included the marico flycatcher, capped wheatear, black-eared waxbills, crimson-breasted shrike and southern white-crowned shrike.

Tau Pan – The Tau Pan pride roared their way into August with an all-night declaration of their territory near to camp. They were seen at the camp waterhole in the morning and were there very regularly as the dry weather continued throughout the month. The five big males made an impressive sight as they laid by the water, watched nervously by thirsty oryx and springbok who were waiting to drink. One of the females with her three cubs was seen hunting giraffe. The sub-adult cubs reacted very well and they were nearly successful in bringing down this formidable prey. In the end the giraffe managed to escape from the dangerous situation which lasted almost two hours. Another time we watched as three lionesses tried to catch an oryx, but the large antelope was too quick for them.

A lovely herd of kudu frequented the Tau Pan camp waterhole and sometimes came into camp. The four large bulls had beautifully spiralled horns and they were accompanied by six large females and 5 calves. One day, a solitary tom leopard tried to sneak up on them, but the experienced adults spotted him quickly and snorted an alarm call before galloping away. The next day the leopard returned and guests enjoyed getting beautiful photos of him as he lay resting under the Kalahari apple-leaf trees.

Bat-eared foxes could be seen huddled up together in the early mornings, trying to stay warm whilst the outside temperature was about 5 degrees Celcius. It was interesting to see how they pushed their ears backwards and closed their eyes to camouflage perfectly against the winter grass. Ground squirrels were observed up on their hind legs, scanning for threats from raptors such as the pale chanting goshawk. Black-backed jackal were plentiful in the Tau Pan area and we watched them feeding on the buffalo thorn berries. Guests enjoyed listening to their haunting contact calls. The jackals, along with pale chanting goshawks, tried to raid food from some honey badgers as they dug for rodents.

A large lone elephant bull continued to visit us, hanging out to browse between rooms 3 and 4 or drinking at the waterhole. Springbok and giraffe were also seen coming to drink. One time we came across some giraffe bulls fighting by swinging their necks at each other.

Ostriches, secretary birds and kori bustards were seen at Tau Pan. Red-headed finches and red-headed queleas flocked in huge numbers in front of the camp main area, sometimes hunted by a Gabar goshawk. A single tawny eagle and some crows started to wait patiently by the waterhole for the Burchell’s sandgrouse who were arriving daily in a huge flock at around 9.00am. It was quite a spectacle as the sandgrouse played hide and seek with the raptor, but most times the eagle claimed his breakfast. One morning the guests decided to stay behind in camp to watch this amazing birdlife and were rewarded with a bonus sighting of a female leopard! White-backed vultures were seen at Deception Valley feeding on a springbok carcass, from the tracks on the ground it appeared to be a cheetah kill.

Juli 2018

Kwara Concession – At the start of the month the wild dog den near to the airstrip was still very active and guests enjoyed fabulous sightings of the two-month-old puppies playing and being fed regurgitated meat by the adults. There were still eight adults and eleven puppies and all of the dogs looked in great condition. Towards the end of the month, as the floods started to rise in the area, the pack relocated out of the Kwara Reserve but luck was on our side because around the same time a different pack of dogs turned up at Splash camp and on two consecutive nights made kills very near to Room 8. We subsequently found that they had a den near to the Old Mokoro Station.

Two big resident male lions were occupying the territory near to Splash and we found them mating with two females. It seemed to be a marathon double date, with the four lions mating every fifteen minutes over the course of five days. The same lions were spotted stalking zebras at the waterhole in front of Splash camp and sometimes came into camp itself. One night they stole a kill from the wild dogs just in front of our Head Guide’s room and then continued with their mating. The guide had just popped back to his room to pick something up before dinner only to find that he couldn’t leave because of the lions. When he didn’t appear for dinner a vehicle was quickly dispatched to collect him! Two new females near to Mabala Motlotse were found with six young cubs. One-eyed pride was located scanning for potential prey species with lots of red lechwe antelope in the area.

The female leopard with two cubs changed her den to a spot at Third Bridge. The cubs were very playful and curious, even coming right underneath our vehicles. The mother seemed very relaxed sleeping in a nearby tree. We also found her with impala kills in the trees, usually by herself whilst the cubs stayed behind in the den. Another time we found her with a reedbuck kill near to the airstrip. A different young female was found hunting a honey badger, but true to its reputation the honey badger defended itself very aggressively and eventually won the encounter. Another time we found the same leopard feeding on an African civet.

The resident male cheetah, known as “Special” was found hunting and killing a reedbuck. We also saw him at other times feeding on kills or resting on termite mounds. Nearer to Splash we were excited to find two young cheetah males who were new to the area. We spotted them hunting and followed them for a couple of days, eventually being rewarded with seeing them kill an impala by Tsessebe Pan.

A large honey badger was frequently seen shuffling along the paths at Splash camp and encountered by guides and guests as they were walking to and from their rooms in the evenings and early mornings. He was not in the slightest aggressive, and it was a treat for guests to see this animal whilst on foot. Other small mammals spotted were servals, civets, genets, jackals and mongoose.

General game was excellent with big herds of elephants, zebras, giraffe, wildebeest, impala, reedbuck and red lechwe. Big herds of elephants were coming down to the waterhole in front of Splash camp to drink every evening.

Notable bird species recorded included Verreaux’s eagle owl, marsh owls, secretary birds, ground hornbills, wattled cranes, African fish eagles and martial eagles.

Lagoon – Wild dogs were seen most days during July including a thrilling chase of a kudu right through the middle of camp which nearly ended up with kudu falling into the swimming pool! The adults moved the puppies to a new den site about seven kilometres from their original den where we were able to watch the pack’s wonderful interactions including greeting rituals and the adults coming back to regurgitate food for their young. Sadly, the pack of wild dogs continued to lose puppies; from the original litter of thirteen there were only five remaining by the end of the month. The guides have noticed that this pack choose rather shallow holes for their dens rather than using deeper aardvark holes which would give the puppies greater protection from predators. The adults were seen hunting frequently including warthog, kudu, wildebeest and impala.

Ten members of the Bonga pride were mostly located at the midway point between Lagoon and Lebala camps. They have been pushed into this area by the coalition of four new males who have taken over the territory at the northern part of the Kwando Reserve. Three of the males appear to be more dominant and seem to be fighting with the fourth male who picked up a fresh scar to his face as a result. There was a pair of lionesses with a cub who seemed nervous of the males and were keeping well into the marshlands where the cub could be hidden in the reeds and sedges. We saw them raiding a kill from a big male leopard, other times they seemed to be preying on warthogs. A lone lioness was seen following the buffalo herds around and once we found her feeding on a successful kill. We came across a male and female lion mating.

The resident female leopard was seen feeding on an impala up a tree in the Kwena Lagoon area. It appears that her two sub-adult cubs have now separated from her completely. The young female was seen mobile but appeared to be sniffing and tracking. She succeeded in flushing out and mobbing a hyena who was dragging a tsessebe carcass. The young male was found resting on the river bank as we were doing a boat cruise.

The hyena den was active with up to nine cubs being seen at once, accompanied by various numbers of adults. The mothers were usually seen suckling their young in the evenings. Some of the cubs were starting to nibble on leftover meat brought back to the den by the females and were becoming quite playful.

Several species of mongoose were seen (banded, yellow, dwarf and slender). Honey badgers were located digging for mice. Night drives yielded sightings of aardwolf and African wild cat. Jackals, bat-eared foxes, African civets, caracal, genets, bush babies and were other smaller mammals spotted.

The coalition of two cheetah brothers were located hunting through the woodland and were seen chasing giraffe, a surprisingly large prey species for them to try and tackle. They were unsuccessful on that occasion but at other times we saw them looking relaxed and full-bellied.

Big herds of elephants were coming through camp to drink at the lagoon in front of the rooms, some making a foray into Namibia and back again. Bachelor herds of buffalo were all over the mixed woodland and riverine areas with breeding herds showing up on the floodplains. Eland, roan and sable antelope were seen along with giraffe, waterbuck, zebra, wildebeest, impala, reedbuck, tsessebe, red lechwe and kudu.

Along the river bank we saw hippos basking in the sun and huge crocodiles out of the water. Sitatunga were spotted during the boat cruise as well as monitor lizards, red lechwe, waterbuck and reedbuck.

Birdlife was great with raptors, kingfishers, bee-eaters and lots of water birds such as storks and ducks. Vultures, tawny eagles and bateleur eagles were seen near to wild dog kills.

Lebala – July was a great month for lions at Lebala with both the Bonga and the Wapoka prides being seen. The Bonga pride of nine stayed in the northern area where they were often seen following a huge herd of buffalo leading to some magnificent sightings. One day we heard the lions growling in the woodland and found them fighting with a big buffalo. The fight lasted for at least fifteen minutes before they eventually killed the bull. It took them a couple of days to devour the whole animal. Another time we saw two adults and seven sub-adults trying to drag down a buffalo and were jumping on its back, but the rest of the herd returned and drove the lions away. Other times they got luckier and we found them eating buffalo carcasses.

Six members of the Wapoka pride were found north of the camp feasting on a wildebeest carcass that they had just killed. The following day we tracked them towards the airstrip and were lucky enough to see them taking down an impala right in front of our vehicle. We also located them stalking zebra. Two male lions known as the Selinda Boys were found back in the south of the Kwando Reserve after having been away for about six months. We noticed that a resident female lion with three cubs about eight months old appeared to be very nervous of the intruders and was quickly mobilising her family to be as far away from them as possible.

The resident tom leopard known as “Fisherman” was seen more than once in the marsh area targeting red lechwe. We saw him try and miss one time, but on another occasion we were lucky enough to see him bring down and kill a young ram. To the west of the staff village we watched a great interaction between a male leopard and a spotted hyena. The leopard took a kill from the hyena and ran away with it but was quickly caught by the hyena who took it back. The carcass was passed back and forth four times before the leopard eventually managed to drag it up a sausage tree and out of the hyena’s reach. A female leopard was seen hunting, providing some wonderful photo opportunities as she climbed termite mounds and trees to scan the area.

A pair of spotted hyenas accompanied by a sub-adult were seem mobile towards the old hyena den by the airstrip.

The resident pair of wild dogs were seen running around camp searching for something to eat. At that stage they had a single puppy trailing along behind them, leading our guides to suspect that the rest of the litter may have been killed by predators. Unfortunately as the month progressed the single remaining pup also disappeared.

Big herds of elephants have returned to the riverine area and guests really enjoyed watching them bathing and playing in the water. General game was plentiful including very relaxed herd of sable antelope.

Honey badgers were seen digging for mice. Guests enjoyed seeing a big colony of dwarf mongoose and watching how they used a sentry system to look for danger.

Guests were thrilled with some great sightings of rosy-throated longclaw. This species is often hard to see well as they are usually found in deep grasses and marshland, so it was a treat to be able to show keen birders the bird out in the open. Another incredible rare sighting was the African swamp hen which was located by the marsh. Unusually we spotted some carmine bee-eaters; these are usually summer migrants, so it is strange that some have decided to over-winter in the area.

Nxai Pan – As the seasonal cool dry weather continued elephants visited the camp watering hole in ever increasing numbers. Several big breeding herds turned up each day, as well as smaller groups of bachelors and solitary bulls. The bulls competed quite aggressively for dominance over the waterhole. One morning there was a big fight between two bulls which resulted in a calf falling in the water. The mother couldn’t see her youngster and was extremely upset until a different bull herded her towards the waterhole as though to show her where her baby was and she helped the calf out of the water. A fascinating interaction to watch.

The Nxai Pan pride of ten lions also showed up at the camp waterhole. There was one lioness who was heavily pregnant and the guides expected her to give birth towards the end of the month. We watched three lionesses with their six cubs hunting giraffe for well over an hour, but eventually they gave up trying to bring down the huge prey animals. Another time the pride had tried the camp waterhole but were driven away by elephants so they relocated to the Wildlife Department waterhole. Whilst they were resting some kudu came down to drink and the lions tried to stalk them, but the kudu spotted them and managed to bolt away just in time. A solitary lion roared his heart out all night near to camp, but didn’t manage to locate his pride. He was seen resting near camp the next day.

A female cheetah with three delightful cubs aged approximately seven weeks old was seen hunting.

Unusually, spotted hyena were seen a few times, including two who were drinking from the waterhole right in front of camp. They approached nervously due to the presence of the elephants, but eventually managed to sneak in for a drink before settling down to rest in a shady spot nearby.

Black-backed jackal were seen regularly, including a very bold individual who was trotting around near to the guests as they sat around the fireplace in the evenings and early mornings. One day we watched three black-backed jackal feeding on a big chunk of meat. A fourth jackal appeared but was promptly chased away as though he was an intruder in the territory.

General game included herds of giraffe, wildebeest, springbok and zebra. Good numbers of oryx and warthogs were seen on the way to Baines Baobabs.

We had a wonderful sighting of a martial eagle at the camp waterhole. After perching on a tree for a while, the bird swooped down to take a helmeted guineafowl, but was chased off his kill by black-backed jackal before he had a chance to fly off with it. Ostrich were seen regularly and the males were in full breeding plumage, showing red on the front of their legs and a bright red bill. Other species identified included larks, titbabblers, shrikes, flycatchers, prinias, warblers, penduline tits, batis, snake-eagles and korhaans.

Tau Pan – Tau Pan camp was closed for refurbishment during June but the maintenance team were kept on their toes by the regular appearances of lions and an elephant in camp. The elephant enjoyed browsing on the camp ridge during the day and made trips down to the waterhole to drink.

The Tau Pan pride walked though camp frequently, one time stopping to bring down and kill an oryx just in front of the lodge. They could often be seen at the waterhole, and we also spotted a brown hyena drinking on one of the days.

Juni 2018

Kwara Concession – The wild dog pack of 8 adults and 11 puppies were denning close to Little Kwara camp. We were able to witness them making successful kills and then returning to the den to regurgitate food for the alpha female. Guests really enjoyed seeing the mother nursing her pups. From the 10th of June the pack relocated to an old hyena den nearby and by that stage the puppies were also starting to eat the meat that the adult pack members were providing.

The spotted hyena den was also very active with five young cubs. Guests enjoyed watching them playing with their siblings and the adults. The cubs also seemed to take a liking to our vehicles and came close trying to chew the tyres.

A female leopard with her two cubs was located very often at her den site and the cubs appeared to be in good condition. Hyenas stole reedbuck kills from her a couple of times, but we also saw her with impala carcasses, taken up the tree for safety. Her cubs were about two months old and very playful. We had delightful sightings of them climbing trees and playing with their mother’s tail.

The resident male cheetah known as “Special” was seen throughout the month. At the start of the June we saw him by the old mokoro station trying to hunt a warthog, but in a dramatic encounter the warthog fiercely fought him and he suffered an injury. Luckily he was not hurt too badly and to everyone’s relief we saw him the following evening chasing red lechwes though he was not successful that time or the next day. By the end of the month he seemed to be back on form and we saw him eating well on impala.

Four male lions had formed a coalition, although often seen in pairs. They appeared to be in good condition. One day we saw two of them in a stand-off with one of the Zulu Boy males. They were fighting over the carcass of a baby hippo and roaring at each other. Two lioness sisters were located nursing cubs of about 3-4 months old and were seen again feasting on a tsessebe carcass. The six cubs were initially nervous, but were getting used to the vehicles and settling quickly after the engine was switched off. There was another lioness seen often at Splash drinking from the waterhole in front of camp. The guides suspected that she was lactating so perhaps had cubs nearby.

Guests enjoyed watching a very relaxed honey badger who was digging for mice. Aardwolf, porcupine, serval and African civet were all seen during night drives.

General game included plentiful giraffe, zebra, tsessebe and wildebeest. Elephants were seen in good numbers, especially towards Splash hippos. A breeding herd of forty buffalo was located.

At Splash the general game and birdlife in front of camp was excellent, with many species coming to the waterhole to drink. Lions and hyenas could frequently be heard at night calling from within camp. Elephant and buffalo were also seen nearby.

Bird species seen during the month included martial eagle, saddle-billed storks, marabou storks, secretary birds and the endangered ground hornbill. A Verreaux’s (giant) eagle owl was roosting every night in the camp island. A large flock of pelicans were seen at Splash camp. The boat cruises continued to provide lovely bird sightings including African fish eagle herons and spoonbills.

Lagoon – Wild dogs were still denning near to Lagoon camp in June giving incredible sightings of the mother nursing and the whole pack interacting, including their “greeting rituals”. The pack comprised six adults and they hunted every day to give the alpha female and her puppies sufficient food. Towards the end of the month the eleven puppies were getting quite bold and were curiously approaching our vehicles. The female who lost her puppies to the alpha female the previous month appeared to have recovered well from their fight. The dogs had good success hunting in the riverine area where they were seen feeding on a female kudu and sub-adult waterbuck.

Spotted hyenas also had a den in the area with seven cubs of varying ages. Most appeared to be doing well, though towards the end of the month we noticed that one youngster was getting weaker and was being bullied by the other cubs; this is quite normal dominance behaviour within the clan. There were usually a few adults left behind to guard the den site and guests enjoyed watching the mothers tenderly nursing their young. The cubs were being very playful and one day we watched them having a tug of war over a warthog skull which the adults had brought back to the den.

Two sub-adult leopard cubs aged 10-11 months are now more independent and were seen increasingly on their own, as well as with their mother. The cubs were now at a stage where they were practicing their hunting skills on mice and birds meanwhile their mother was keeping their bellies full with impala, warthog and baboon carcasses. The young male appeared to be splitting away from his sister and mother completely and one day paid us a visit at camp, passing between Room 1 and the main area. The female leopard came into oestrus and then was seen together with a very nervous adult male.

A group of five lions were seen in Lagoon during the month consisting of three males and two females. One of the males is markedly more skittish than the others and tends to keep himself a bit more separate, especially when vehicles are around. The other two brothers were patrolling huge distances to mark their territories, sometimes splitting apart to cover different areas. One of the females came into oestrus during the month and was duly mated. As a pride, they seemed to be specialising in wildebeest as a favourite prey species, but the lionesses were also seen visiting warthog burrows in the late afternoons as the temperature cooled down.

The coalition of two cheetah brothers were seen occasionally. On one occasion they were hunting a huge male warthog, but he stood his ground and eventually chased the cats away. They were also seen hunting red lechwe.

Aardwolves were located more than once during night drives. We saw a caracal successfully hunting mice through the grasses and it eventually moved into a more open area giving everyone a good view. Other smaller mammals located included African wild cat, honey badger, African civet, genets, bat-eared fox and side-striped jackal.

General game was very good throughout the month including large herds of elephant, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, impala, kudu, red lechwe, tsessebe, eland and waterbuck. Endangered roan and sable antelopes were also enjoyed by our guests. Large buffalo herds have come back out of the mopane woodlands and were often found drinking by the river.
Notable bird sightings included saddle-billed storks, ground hornbills, secretary birds, pearl-spotted owlet, Verreaux’s eagle owl and black herons. Short-tailed and tawny eagles could be viewed following the hunting wild dogs, hoping to be able to scavenge the carcass. A large group of vultures were seen at their bathing spot.

Lebala – The Bonga Pride of lions comprising eleven adults and three cubs of about nine months were still in the area. One of the lionesses had split away from the rest of the family whilst she was nursing her two smaller cubs. We found the pride together enjoying kills of buffalo, wildebeest, warthog and zebra on numerous occasions. They spent time during the day at the various waterholes, always with an eye on the opportunity to ambush prey coming down to drink. The two big dominant males, Old Gun and Sebastian, were starting to give the two-year-old males a hard time, injuring one of the youngsters, and our guides feel sure that they will soon be driven out of the family group. Another time two of the boys were seen fighting with a honey badger. True to its reputation the honey badger put up a ferocious defence and it took almost an hour for the lions to eventually kill it but after all that effort they decided not to eat the honey badger’s remains.  The Wapoka Pride were also seen including two of the lionesses hunting warthogs near to the river.

As usual for the Lebala area, hyenas were often found near to the lion prides hoping for the chance to steal a kill. We also found a clan of twelve hyena on a kudu carcass which we suspected had died of natural causes. They were eating vigorously and didn’t take long to finish the meat off. Vultures were nearby to pick the bones clean, giving our guests a wonderful opportunity to see nature’s clean-up crews in action.

A leopard was located near to the staff village and guests were lucky enough to watch him kill a civet right as we followed him. This beautiful tom, known to the guides as The Fisherman, was seen often in the marsh area.

African wild cat was located on night drive hunting and more unusually also seen in the open during the day.

Elephants were seen crossing the river and it was fun to see them playing and bathing in the water. Herds of buffalo were also starting to come back out of the mopane woodlands and back towards the wetter areas. A lovely herd of ten sable adults with six calves were located. As the floods started to come into the Kwando Reserve we had fantastic sightings of red lechwe herds splashing through the water. Other general game species located often included giraffe, zebra and kudu.

A resident pair of two wild dogs came into the camp one morning and seemed to be in a hunting mood as they were running around the camp. Eventually they seemed to decide that luck was not on their side and they spend the day lounging by Room 9. Another time they were managed to kill a kudu calf and we were delighted to see that they had a puppy trailing along behind them. All of a sudden, a hyena appeared and managed to confiscate the carcass from the pack. The dogs were also found feeding on an impala east of our airfield.

The coalition of cheetah brothers spent time on the Lebala side of the Kwando reserve where they were seen spraying on trees to mark their territory. This lovely pair of cats can be quite playful with each other as they scamper up and down trees.

Birding was good, especially by the river where we saw saddle-billed storks, egrets and ibis. A remarkable sighting of twenty wattled cranes shows that the Kwando reserve is doing well in augmenting the Okavango Delta as a stronghold for these endangered birds. Guests also enjoyed a lovely sighting of a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl.

Nxai Pan – Nxai Pan camp was closed for refurbishment during June, but although there were no human visitors, the animals continued to make full use of our facilities. As the dry weather continued, our maintenance team saw many species flocking to our waterhole to drink including lion, buffalo, kudu, impala, giraffe, wildebeest and springbok. As always, elephants visited in large numbers, some coming into camp to browse and ostriches could be seen striding out across the pans.

Tau Pan – A couple of extremely unusual sightings happened in Tau Pan during June, the first of which involved no animals at all. On 2nd of June an asteroid collided with earth over western Botswana and our team at Tau Pan were some of the last humans to witness the huge flash it as it turned into a meteor fireball. Hearing the loud explosions our guests came running out of their rooms thinking that our generator had blown up, only to find very startled staff looking at a trail of smoke across the sky. Experts descended on the area from all over the world and partly helped by our team’s eye-witness accounts were able to retrieve fragments of the asteroid. This was only the second time in history that remains have been able to be recovered from a meteorite hitting earth.

Closer to home, another extraordinary sighting at Tau Pan was a leopard who approached our vehicle and then decided to crawl straight underneath it. Guests held their breath as the animal could be heard underneath banging against the metal. It eventually came out and then lay down to sleep right next to the game viewer in a most unconcerned way. A really incredible encounter which thrilled the guests.

Another complete surprise was the appearance of a bull elephant at Tau Pan camp who was frequently seen by the rooms and at the camp waterhole. Elephants are not common in the area and definitely not something our team expected to come across as they walked to the rooms. It goes to show you never know what will happen next in the bush!
The Tau Pan pride of lions were doing well. They were seen regularly at the camp waterhole and seen feeding on wildebeest carcasses.

An aardwolf was located in the evenings heading southwards across the pan. Honey badgers were seen much more regularly than they had been during the summer months and could be viewed digging at the pan for rodents and barking geckos most days. Bat-eared foxes and black-backed jackals were also regular sightings. Guests enjoyed watching ground squirrels digging and foraging around their burrows, always keenly checking the skies to ensure that a raptor wasn’t about to swoop down on them.

The resident cheetah was seen towards the west of Tau Pan and another cheetah mother with two cubs was seen on day trip to Deception Valley.

General game included oryx, red lechwe, wildebeest, steenbok, springbok and large numbers of giraffe.

Every morning huge flocks of birds were descending on the camp waterhole. At around eight o clock it was hundreds of doves and then by nine o clock it was the turn of Burchell’s sandgrouse. Ostriches were seen often during game drive as well as white-backed vultures and white-headed vultures.

The weather in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve during June was exceptionally clear and cold, making for very beautiful star-gazing conditions in the wide open skies.

Mai 2018

Kwara Concession – Once again, Kwara averaged more than 3 predator sightings per day during the month. The most dramatic event during May came after a single nomadic male lion successfully killed a baby giraffe near the Kwara staff village. As dinner was being served in the camp, a tremendous commotion broke out; hyenas started calling each other in to steal the lion’s hard-won meal. The guests were curious to see what was happening, so dinner was adjourned and the guests loaded in safari vehicles to take a closer look. On arrival, we found the lion feeding but surrounded by fifteen hyenas. A few minutes later, the aggression from the hyenas intensified and they started biting the lion from every direction. In the end, they won through sheer numbers and forced the lion to let go whereby he rested a few metres away from the carcass. The noisy fighting continued into the early hours, however by dawn the area was fully cleaned up as though nothing had happened.

The resident pack of seven wild dogs were often seen mobile and hunting; they successfully killed impala twice near to Little Kwara camp. The alpha female was heavily pregnant so it seems likely that she may den in the near future.

Various cheetah individuals and families were encountered during May. The most exciting sighting involved a resident male cheetah who was located by Jackal Den area, resting. All of a sudden, he was keenly focused on a warthog family. He climbed down from the mound and stalked before sprinting and catching one of the sub-adult warthogs. The squeaking of the prey alerted the mother warthog who appeared and jumped on the cheetah, fiercely biting and kicking until the cheetah ran away. Remarkably both prey and predator got away unscathed.

The mother cheetah with her two cubs, now 9 months old seems to have relocated to the Four rivers area where we found her on an impala kill. Towards the end of the month a male had joined the group and were all seen together resting on a termite mound. At one point, the male was testing the female’s urine to see if she was in oestrus.

We were happy to welcome back to the area Juda and Meruba, two magnificent black-maned male lions from the Marsh Boys pride who were last seen 6 months ago. They were joined by two females from the Solo Pride. A different pride of lions comprising one male and two females were seen often and although a small group they provided some dramatic action. On one occasion, they killed a warthog right in front of the game viewers. Another time they made an attempted kill of a young giraffe, missing by only a few inches.
Leopards were found many times, including a female feeding up on a tree with hyena lying in wait at the bottom, ready to snatch any falling bones. A pair of leopards were seen mating, so we hope that they will be successful.

The natural watering holes were drying out after the rains, so large breeding herds of elephants started to come down from the mophane woodlands in order to be closer to the main water channels. The groups included females with small calves. Some of the resident bull elephants were heavily in musth and searching around for females to mate with.

General game continued to be good including sable antelope, large herds of zebra, impala, tsessebe and red lechwe. Giraffe were seen in large numbers – up to fifty individuals in a single drive.

With the water levels dropping there were good sightings of Wattled Cranes, Saddle-billed storks and Yellow-billed storks feeding in and around in the shallow pools. A group of six endangered Southern Ground Hornbills were a regular sight around Double Crossing and could be heard calling in the mornings. Secretary Birds and Lappet-faced Vultures are both nesting in the concession at the current time.

Lagoon – One of the most dramatic moments during May at Lagoon Camp came on the very last day. The two impressive male lions known as ‘Old Gun’ and ‘Sebastian’ were seen passing right through camp. Our guides sensed that they were tracking something so followed up and came across a lioness close to Tent 9 who happened to be in oestrus. The two males, who are usually comrades in a successful coalition, turned on each other and fought fiercely for the right to mate with the female. It was a noisy and prolonged battle which went on into the night. Both lions sustained injuries, but in the end Sebastian was successful in proving himself the worthiest suitor. He has therefore now taken over as the dominant male, a position which has been held by Old Gun for many years. Despite this battle and their changed roles, the two males still patrol as a pair.

Lebala – The resident pack of 12 wild dogs were seen frequently in the Lebala area. After finding them sleeping under a mophane tree one morning we followed up in the afternoon drive and found them chasing wildebeest. The herd managed to stand their ground and in the end the dogs gave up and moved towards the airstrip. Suddenly four hyenas moved in. One of the dogs went directly to the hyenas with his head lowered and his aggressive pose was sufficient to drive the hyenas away. The following day the pack was seen feeding on a tsessebe carcass.

The hyenas have a den in the area and it was very special to see the females interacting with the cubs. Quite at odds from their rather fearsome reputation, hyenas are wonderful mothers. On one occasion hyenas were witnessed mating, so hopefully we will have another family to watch before too long.

A very relaxed young male leopard, who we have known since a cub, was seen feeding on a jackal. We watched him dragging the carcass to the shade, at the same time calling for his partner who was not around at that time. His mother, known as ‘Jane’ is still resident in the area and was found one morning on an impala kill; her position given away by Bateleur and Tawny Eagles who were spotted descending to the ground. Leopards are very opportunistic feeders and other notable sightings included a magnificent male with a wildebeest hung up in a tree, a female with a face full of francolin feathers, and another young leopard pouncing on a mouse.

The Wapoka Pride consisting of four lionesses and 11 young were seen regularly. Once on a zebra kill the three smallest cubs of just 3-4 months old were very active, fighting for the meat. We were also fortunate enough to see the pride take down a warthog right in front of the vehicle. As the pride is so big the warthog was not enough and so there was lots of fighting and snarling over the carcass.

We came across the two large resident male lions calling for each other and once reunited we were able to watch them nuzzling and rubbing their heads together in a bonding ritual. Another time we witnessed them chasing a warthog, but on that occasion the prey got away. Later in the month they were seen on an elephant carcass.

A lioness from the Southern Pride with two small cubs stayed in the area; the cubs were still quite shy of the vehicle and apt to keep dashing into the bushes, however some lucky guests did manage to get a wonderful sighting of them suckling from their mother.
A resident male Cheetah was seen full-bellied and resting a couple of times. We were also lucky to get a rare sighting of a wild cat, although it was shy.

The general game in the Lebala area increased during May. The natural watering holes in the woodland areas started to dry up, forcing large herds of elephants to make their way to the riverine areas. There were mixed herds of zebra and wildebeest in their hundreds, as well as plentiful giraffe. A solitary male buffalo, a well-known “dagga boy”, was found along sable road. This was the first time he had been seen in the area since before the rainy season, so the guides were happy to see this relaxed individual again.

The pans and riverine area were still host to a variety of water birds including Egyptian Geese, Knob-billed Ducks, African Jacanas, Pied Kingfishers and sandpipers.

Nxai Pan – As Nxai Pan approached winter time there were lots of changes to animal behaviour and vegetation. The weather became colder and the pans started to dry up leaving two watering holes as the only sources of water. The camp watering hole was by far the busiest, being topped up daily via an eco-friendly water recycling system from our camp. Several species were seen here including buffalo, wildebeest, impala, a small harem of zebra and giraffe however the elephants remained dominant over this precious resource and were seen in their hundreds over the course of the month. The camp main area provided a great place to sit and watch the animal interactions during the day.

The Nxai Pan pride were covering more ground to search for food but were seen regularly. The pride still comprised two strong and healthy dominant males and seven lionesses. Two of the lionesses each had three young and all six cubs were doing well. During the month four of the females managed to kill a female giraffe and her calf – a massive feast which they and the six cubs enjoyed for a whole week. These tiny cubs appeared to have no fear of the game viewers which they approached in a bold manner.

The Nxai Pan pride were covering more ground to search for food but were seen regularly. The pride still comprised two strong and healthy dominant males and seven lionesses. Two of the lionesses each had three young and all six cubs were doing well. During the month four of the females managed to kill a female giraffe and her calf – a massive feast which they and the six cubs enjoyed for a whole week. These tiny cubs appeared to have no fear of the game viewers which they approached in a bold manner.

A mother cheetah with her now sub-adult cubs were still thriving and seen in different areas, often on a kill. We had great sightings along Middle Road where we saw them trying their luck on a springbok. The cubs were stalking whilst their mother was watching and seemed to be coordinating their behaviour. A single male cheetah was seen resting twice in the southern part of the area and is looking healthy.

An exciting discovery was made towards the end of the month when we identified tracks of a female leopard with very small cubs near to the airstrip. Although we haven’t managed to see the cats themselves yet, we hope that we will find them soon.

As the grasses were cropped shorter by grazers, the landscape opened up and it became easier to see some of the small cats and genets. African Wild Cat were seen, and we were thrilled to see a caracal mother with a kitten around the camp island. Wild dogs were located on the easterly side of the pan. Aardwolf were encountered foraging several times along middle road, sometimes in close proximity with bat-eared foxes and being followed by Cape Crows. We are hopeful that the aardwolf might be denning in the area as they were seen very regularly.

The birdlife in the Nxai Pan was still outstanding. Many birds flocked at the camp watering hole in the early mornings before flying further afield to look for food.

Our trips to Baines Baobabs remained a highlight for many guests during their stay at Nxai Pan. The day is planned to include a picnic lunch so that the guides can take their time to show varied aspects of this semi-arid ecosystem including different terrain, sandy areas, trees and grasses. The salt pan towards the famous trees had less water and was tinted red due to an accumulation of algae. The baobabs were losing their leaves so were starting to look quite different. Animals seen along the route included elephants, oryx, steenbok, springbok and ostrich. General game in the Nxai Pan area was starting to disperse but there were still good sightings also including kudu, wildebeest, zebra and giraffe.

The clear winter desert nights produced a dazzling display of stars. A spectacular experience, especially when accompanied by the musical sounds of jackal calling from the camp watering hole.

Tau Pan – During May Tau Pan underwent a dramatic transformation; the lush green vegetation which had been a feature of the rainy season started to dry and take on autumnal hues of yellows and browns. The Tsamma melons started to ripen and could be seen dotting the landscape like surreal alien soccer balls. These fruits are a forbearer of the domesticated watermelon and provide a vital source of sustenance for a wide variety of desert birds and animals during the dry winter months including oryx, brown hyena and porcupine.

Large herds of oryx and springboks were still resident in the Tau Pan area, making the most of the nutritious grazing. Guests enjoyed watching the evening migration of antelope back into the centre of Tau Pan each evening where the wide-open spaces give a better chance of protection against predators. Regularly the springbok calves started pronking just before sunset, their beautiful colouration enhanced by the evening light. The behaviour of the oryx and springbok started to change with the arrival of breeding season and we saw males of both species fighting for dominancy.

Regular sightings of cheetah were enjoyed, particularly of a female with two sub-adult young. A different female with three younger cubs was around but very skittish as she desperately tried to keep her cubs hidden from the other predators, notably lions, in the area. Two male cheetah were found on a springbok kill near Leopard Pan and a routine visit by out mechanic to our camp watering hole turned out to be anything but boring when a different male cheetah burst into action, hunting a steenbok. Some lucky guests found a cheetah on the airstrip as they were waiting for their flight out of Tau Pan, showing that it pays to stay alert until the very minute that you leave.

Phukwi Pan was home to significant numbers of giraffe. Six adult bat-eared foxes were also seen in the area, competing aggressively for food with some jackal who were nearby.

Leopard were also seen drinking at the camp watering hole and these cats were seen frequently during May, including a female with two cubs.

The Tau Pan pride comprising five males and two females were seen often, including on a kill of a large kudu bull on which the pride feasted for three days. One of the females was initially not interested in being courted, however soon afterwards she came into oestrus and attracted the attention of three of the male lions. Eventually she was seen mating with one of them. Another two lionesses, visitors to the area from the Deception valley pride, killed a sub-adult Gemsbok.

Huge flocks of guinea fowl, doves and other seed-eaters descended upon the camp watering hole in the early mornings and late afternoons. Kori Bustards were seen striding across the pans. Other resident raptors included Pale Chanting Goshawks, Tawny Eagles and White-backed Vultures.

Interesting sightings of smaller mammals during May included African Wild Cat, Bat-eared foxes, duiker and Honey Badger.
As usual, the sunsets at Tau Pan were amazing and there is surely no better feeling than watching the sun going down in a vast expanse whilst enjoying a glass of wine. Perhaps the Big 5 should be renamed Big 6 to include the incomparable African sunset?

April 2018

Kwara Concession – We were excited to see that the alpha female of the wild dog pack of eight was heavily pregnant and that she was busy digging around termite mounds as though looking for a den site. Her chosen location appeared to be very close to Little Kwara’s staff village, so the dogs were seen hunting impala in and around the camp island very regularly. Right at the start of April they came into conflict with a smaller pack of three dogs and a big fight ensued. Luckily none of the dogs suffered fatal injuries, although one of the dogs from the pack of eight lost half a tail. After this, the pack of three moved further to the west of the concession, but the larger pack stayed close to the camps and we stayed hopeful that they would den nearby. Watch this space….

Spotted hyenas had already started denning and in April we were able have lovely sightings of the mothers suckling their cubs. The two cubs were believed to be a couple of months old and were starting to be playful.

A resident female leopard was also believed to be pregnant; this individual was relaxed and in great condition. She was seen stalking reedbuck through the marshes and on another remarkable occasion was seen killing a civet right in front of the vehicle. Towards the end of the month, after not seeing her for a couple of weeks, we picked up her tracks and found her walking along the side of the runway. We were delighted to see that she was lactating, so hopefully we will have some new leopard cub sightings soon. There was a different female on the east of the concession, towards Splash and we were able to watch her hunting a few times. A handsome male leopard killed a female impala and dragged it up a sausage tree where he stayed for at least three days. Very conveniently, this was on the road between the camp and the airstrip, creating some special first and last impressions for guests. The kill attracted hyenas who waited at the bottom of the tree, hoping that some juicy morsels might fall to the ground.

At the start of the month guests were lucky enough to see the resident male cheetah, known as “Special” mating with a female. They stayed together for three days. This individual regularly clambers up onto a large rain tree as part of his territorial marking and it is always a remarkable sight to see this tree-climbing behaviour. We also saw him hunting both zebra and impala. A mother cheetah with two cubs was seen regularly, but the guides were worried for them as she didn’t seem to be having much success with her hunts and the cubs looked hungry.

As always, there was plenty of lion action at Kwara. The Mma Mogotla Pride killed a zebra in broad daylight. Our guides noted that the sub-adult males were growing their manes and fighting with their sisters to get first share of the kill. On the eastern side of the concession near Splash there was a pride of two males and two females in great condition. They were found on a zebra kill and the males were roaring the whole night.

Big breeding herds of elephant were seen and guests enjoyed watching them feeding and bathing. Giraffe were plentiful and mothers could be observed suckling their calves. Impala started their rutting season with the males vocally advertising their territories and vigorously defending their harems of females.

The sunset boat cruise produced beautiful sightings of malachite and pied kingfishers, different bee-eaters species, crocodiles, hippos and water monitors.

Right at the end of the month we had a lucky sighting of a female aardwolf.

Lagoon – A pack of six wild dogs were seen in the area and the guides were excited to note that two of the females were pregnant. This is heard of from time to time, but quite unusual as generally it is just the alpha female who gives birth to pups. We tracked the pack until we discovered them them feeding on a young kudu by the airstrip at the middle of the month and they were seen very regularly thereafter. We saw them hunting impala, warthogs and kudu and witnessed them making kills more than once.

We found a highly active spotted hyena den towards the end of the month. During April we saw six adults and two cubs, but from the tracks we suspected that there were more who were still in the den. We had a lovely sighting of a cub being suckled by its mother before the two started playing a great came of chase around the den site. Eventually the female lifted the pup in her powerful jaws and took it back down inside the burrow.

The resident female leopard and her two sub-adult cubs were seen often, sometimes just 100 metres from camp. The cubs were getting more independent and we encountered them singly as well as with their mother. We enjoyed some fun sightings of them playing together on their own. One time the young female made a brave, or perhaps silly, chase of a hippo that she saw outside the water. Luckily for her the hippo ran into the waterhole rather than attack her. A different female leopard with cubs of 3-4 months old was seen in the Cheetah Valley where she had made a kill.

We were pleased to see the coalition of cheetah brothers in the area and saw them every day in the middle of the month. At one stage we tracked them to discover that they were feeding on a female ostrich, a dangerous and difficult prey for a cheetah as ostriches kick forward viciously to defend themselves and their long claws can do a great deal of damage. When we observed them the following day we noticed that one of them had a fresh scar under his belly, possibly from the ostrich encounter, but it didn’t seem to deter them as a few days later we found them feeding on yet another female ostrich.

Four male lions who recently moved into the area were seen at the start of the month, though their movement was not predictable as they were covering large distances marking their territory.  At one point two of them feasted on a buffalo kill for a couple of days. A different pair of male lions was also seen near to the airstrip. One of the two had fresh scars and the guides wondered if they had come into contact with the larger coalition. This pair linked up with two lionesses, one of whom appeared to be pregnant. These lionesses were seen stalking and hunting zebra without success but they did manage to bring down a warthog whilst we were watching. Unfortunately for them, the clan of hyenas heard the commotion of the warthog squealing and came to steal it from the lionesses. After staying towards Lebala for several months now, the Bonga Pride were occasionally seen at Halfway Pan, getting closer towards their old territory again.

There were plenty of elephants in the area; one day we heard a loud commotion and were lucky enough to see two of them mating. There are some lovely relaxed herds of sable and roan antelope in the area, including calves. Other general game sightings included hippo, giraffe, eland, zebra, wildebeest, kudu, impala, warthog, ostrich and giraffe. We had wonderful sightings of the smaller carnivores including African wildcat, bat-eared foxes, small spotted genets, large spotted genet and jackals.

An African harrier-hawk was observed feeding on the chicks of a Burchell’s startling, having discovered its nest in the hole of a tree. A family of four ground hornbills was seen hunting for frogs at the pans. Raptors seen during the month included martial eagle, tawny eagle, brown snake eagle, African hawk-eagles, secretary birds and bateleur eagles. In an unusual sighting more than ten black herons were seen at one waterhole. We also located a pair of Verreaux’s (giant) eagle owls regularly. Large numbers of vultures were seen on a carcass of a young wildebeest.

Lebala – The Bonga Pride of thirteen adults and three young were seen extremely regularly throughout the month. These lions are beautifully relaxed around our vehicles meaning that we can spend great quality time with them. Although this is a large pride, it is mainly made up of sub-adults and their inexperience with hunting can make it a challenge for the lions to catch enough food to feed the fast-growing youngsters. Luckily, one of the older more experienced females is an expert hunter and she seemed to be specialising in targeting giraffes so the family were seen feasting on these large carcasses more than once. We also found them feeding on other prey species including zebra, kudu, warthog, wildebeest and hippo. One time the pride chased a male wildebeest which ran into a waterhole to escape them. They surrounded the pan and spent the whole day waiting for him to come back out straight into their teeth and claws.  It seemed as though our resident prides were starting to move back towards their more usual territories with the Bonga Pride moving towards Halfway Pan and the Wapoka Pride coming back to the concession from the south. The two territories were starting to overlap and towards the end of the month, the two males from the Bonga Pride were seen chasing away one of the females from the Wapoka Pride.

A female leopard with two very young cubs was discovered and seen more than once. At the end of the month they had an impala kill beneath a Feverberry Tree, but a hyena came and took the carcass from them. The following day, the mother was not around and there was only one cub waiting for her up on the tree, so we will have to wait and see if the second cub reappears. We saw a leopard hunting lechwe through the marshes, but unfortunately, he was unlucky. A sub-adult was seen trying his luck with impala a couple of times, but he didn’t succeed. In any event, he was being closely tailed by two hyenas who would have stood a good chance of overpowering him to steal the kill.

A pair of two wild dogs were back in the area and returned in style, chasing down and disembowelling an impala right in front of the safari vehicle. After eating their fill, they moved off to a nearby waterhole to drink.

There was an active hyena den near to Skimmer Pan and we were able to see two cubs. The hyenas were seen following lions as well as leopard, though they were keeping a respectful distance from the formidable Bonga Pride.
Guests were pleased with sightings of sable and roan antelope, as well as eland. There were large herds of zebra and wildebeest in the area as well as red lechwe who were enjoying the flooded pans. Other plains game species seen included giraffe, warthogs, impala and kudu.

The tall grasses made it a little harder than usual to see some of the smaller mammals, but we managed to spot species such as dwarf mongoose and yellow mongoose. Both back-backed and side-striped jackals were commonly seen. There was an interesting sighting of an olive grass snake eating a lizard.

Some of the migratory birds were starting to depart for warmer climes, but we still had plenty of ticks for keen birders including wattled cranes, kori bustard, tawny eagles, bateleur eagles. There were large flocks of wading birds such as yellow-billed storks and spoonbills. Black-winged pratincoles were seen in significant numbers.

Nxai Pan – The Nxai Pan pride were seen extremely regularly during April and were looking in great condition, which is to be expected at this time of year as they have just enjoyed the benefit of the annual zebra migration. There were still plenty of zebra herds in the area and the lions were seen stalking them. Usually we saw them as a pride of 9, three lionesses together with their six very playful cubs. Occasionally they were joined by a male – especially when there was food to be eaten. The pride of ten were seen feasting on a wildebeest carcass for a couple of days. Another time they were all together on a giraffe kill. Despite the size of the carcass, the male refused to let the rest of the lions eat. When the lionesses were without food, the male lion tended to be seen on his own.

A mother cheetah with her two sub-adult cubs was seen hunting right in front of camp however the herd of zebras that she was targeting stood together to chase the cats off. We observed that the female cheetah seems to be teaching the two youngsters to be more independent and they were sometimes seen on their own, but still calling for their mother.  A male cheetah was seen hunting between the Department of Wildlife camp and the main waterhole. A different female was seen resting along the main waterhole road before heading east into the woodlands. This is a particularly relaxed individual and we saw her more than once during the month.

Some elephant bulls were still in residence, although less in number whilst the natural waterholes elsewhere were still full. Giraffe were seen feeding on the acacia trees. Plains game species included springbok and oryx who seemed to enjoy feeding under the trees. In an adorable sighting two steenbok were seen playing with their young lamb. Most unusually a bushbuck was spotted outside the camp gate; this is unusual as this species tend to be found in more riverine areas.

Some interesting smaller animals were seen on the way to Baines Baobabs including bat-eared foxes, jackals, steenbok and slender mongoose. The pan by the historic trees still shimmered with water and although it was starting to dry up there were still aquatic birds such as African spoonbill, red-billed teal, glossy ibis and back-winged stilt. The baobabs themselves were still adorned with a crown of green leaves.

At Nxai Pan other bird species identified included northern black korhaan, ostrich, kori bustard and pale chanting goshawks.

Tau Pan – The Tau Pan pride were seen very regularly, and often extremely close to the camp. At one stage the whole pride of ten (five males, two females and three cubs) took up residence next to the Tau Pan workshop, making the servicing of our vehicles a little tricky. The cubs were unfazed and played around the area, but thankfully after a couple of hours they moved off towards the camp waterhole so the mechanic could get back on with his work.

During the month, the pride appeared to be hunting successfully and were seen full-bellied. Guests really enjoyed seeing how tolerant the big males were of the smaller cubs playing with them. One of the females with her two sub-adult cubs split away from the main pride from time to time and they managed to kill a giraffe calf at the camp waterhole. Jackals and vultures descended on the area in large numbers, looking for an opportunity to scavenge. This kill kept the three lions busy for a couple of days before they reunited with the rest of the pride.

A different pride of lions was seen at the Passarge Valley waterhole, resting under a thorn tree.

We enjoyed a wonderful sighting of an African wild cat at Phukwi Pan who boldly came out of the bushes during the morning coffee break and lay on its back, entertaining the guests. It was a remarkable sighting of a species that is usually quite shy.

A lovely relaxed family of four bat-eared foxes were resident at Tau Pan and they could be observed foraging for insects and rodents. Black-backed jackals were often seen.

The day trips to Deception Valley often yielded interesting sightings, including a male leopard near to Letia Hau. A female leopard was also seen at the start of the month nearer to Tau Pan.

A herd of red hartebeest comprising ten adults and three calves were seen at the Tau Pan area as well as an unusual sighting of a single eland. This is not a species that we see often in the Central Kalahari, but it seemed very comfortable grazing alongside some oryx. At Passarge Valley springbok and oryx were plentiful and we saw a female cheetah with two cubs there looking full-bellied after having killed and eaten a springbok.

The Kalahari raptors are beautiful and we saw many different species on a daily basis. A highlight was a lovely sighting in April of two bateleur eagles enjoying the remains of an oryx carcass.

März 2018

Kwara Concession – The pack of 8 wild dogs was back in the area and we were delighted to see that the alpha female is pregnant. Right at the end of the month we saw them having a big stand off with four hyenas who were trying to steal their impala kill. The prized carcass changed hands a few times before the wild dog pack eventually prevailed. It was an incredible encounter. The wild dogs were often seen in camp and towards the end of the month they killed an impala between tent one and two before spending two nights within the camp island. The pack of eight also had a skirmish with a small pack of three wild dogs that appeared to have split away from an original pack of ten. The female from the smaller pack was seen digging out old aardvark holes and so could also be pregnant since she seemed to be checking for potential denning sites. These three seem to be finding hunting harder work since they don’t have the advantage of large numbers, not helped by the grass being very long after good rains.

There were dramatic developments during the month concerning two female leopards. At the start of the month one was heavily pregnant and the other had a cub of about one year old. The pregnant female was seen investigating potential denning sights, but we noted at the time that hyenas were always following her on hunts. When she eventually gave birth to her cub we only saw it a couple of times before it disappeared and we found the mother leopard plaintively calling for it. We can’t say definitively what happened, but perhaps the hyenas were responsible. Then, in a very bizarre turn of events, a few days later we found that the same leopardess apparently feeding on the older leopard cub belonging to another female who was also nearby. The two females were seen for a few days in close proximity to each other snarling and growling. After this rather grim start to the month we enjoyed many happier sightings of the leopards on kills, mainly red lechwe and common reedbuck. One such carcass was draped in a tree for a couple of days and guests were able to get some great photos in fantastic light. Another time we were lucky enough to follow a leopard for 40 minutes and see her make her reedbuck kill.

The water level was rising and so the cheetahs were spending less time on the floodplains and more time in the woodlands. We saw the resident male, nicknamed “Mr Special” hunting and also resting after having devoured an impala carcass. We saw him try his luck on kudu and warthog missing both times, but was seen a couple of days later looking full-bellied after finishing up a reedbuck kill.

There was an active hyena den which was giving guests some great sightings of new-born cubs playing with sub-adults. All around Kwara concession we saw a lot of hyena movement with them travelling in groups of 4-8 individuals, especially in the mornings. We saw a clan feeding on an impala carcass and another time a lone individual feeding on an impala which, judging by the tracks, had been stolen from a cheetah.

As is often the case on Kwara concession there were a remarkable number of different lion prides operating. Mma Leitlho pride of three were keeping close ties with a younger male. They seemed to be doing well and the oldest female is pregnant. Mma Mogata pride of two females and four sub-adults were also seen in very good condition. To the west, the Shindi pride of three lionesses with their five cubs were also seen finishing up on a zebra kill. Meanwhile on the eastern side of the concession, towards Splash, two male lions including one named “Mr Limping” were frequently seen.

There were many elephants in the Kwara concession during March with breeding herds numbering up to forty coming to the islands to feed on marula fruits. In camp itself the marula trees were being enjoyed by solitary bulls. There were plentiful tsessebe and giraffe in the area. At one time we saw some young giraffes staring curiously down and investigated to find an African python killing a spur-winged goose. Sitatungas and bushbucks were both seen during the boat cruises. A sky African civet was also spotted.

A Verreaux’s (Giant) Eagle Owl was seen in camp. The mokoro trips continued to yield great sightings of species such as malachite kingfisher, lesser jacana and red-knobbed coot.

Lagoon – The four new male lions in the concession seemed to be doing well as they were located in different areas patrolling or hunting. This pride appeared to be specializing in stalking eland and were found feeding on different eland carcasses during the month. The four males were very actively patrolling the area to mark their presence and secure their new territory, often splitting up so that they could cover more ground. There were two lionesses in the area who appeared to be very good hunters, seen feeding on wildebeest close to Lagoon camp on a wildebeest and another time on a warthog. The two lionesses were also seen stalking different antelope species late in the afternoons as temperatures cooled down.

During the month of March three different female leopards and two cubs were spotted around Lagoon camp in different locations, the sub adult leopard was located hunting birds west of the airstrip. The mother of the sub adult leopard was also seen east of the airstrip heading west where the sub adult was located. An old female leopard with her two months old cubs was also located east of Lagoon camp feeding on a reedbuck; she was wise enough to take her kill up on a mangosteen tree to ensure that she didn’t lose her kill, or indeed her precious cubs, to hyenas or lions.

Hyenas were very active around Lagoon camp moving from one carcass to another. One brave hyena was spotted running away with a bone from an eland that was killed by the four male lions. It was very risky for a lone hyena to steal a meal from under the noses of the four-male lions, but the hyena seized its opportunity and bolted with its prize. Guests who were on that activity managed to take great pictures of the hyena running with a bone in its mouth.

An aardwolf was located at mid-day walking on the road; although it ended up going into a burrow guests were able to get some good shots before it disappeared. An African wild cat was seen walking through tall grass. Bat eared foxes were seen feeding, and jackals were found scavenging on different carcasses

The two resident male cheetahs were located on a hunting mission, after tracking them for two hours. The coalition managed to kill a piglet and after feeding they spent the rest of the day in the shade. The following day they started moving to start patrolling their territory area. These two brothers cheetahs cover a huge area.

A pack of six wild dogs were in the Lagoon area and seen either hunting or resting during the day. One morning the six wild dogs tried their luck with a pair of zebra but instead the two zebras chased them. The six wild dogs gave up and moved on into the bushes, but their bad luck continued as they then came face to face with a lioness so decided to run away from the area altogether.

General game was great during March. There were large breeding herd of elephants, a good number of zebras, eland, giraffes, impalas, wildebeest and roan antelopes. Hippos were also located outside water during the day.

Birds sightings were good and highlights included lesser jacana, hooded vulture, pygmy goose, white baked vulture, Verreaux eagle owl, scoops owl and pearl spotted owl.

A python was also located on several occasions.

Lebala – The Bonga pride of lions used to spend most of their time between Lagoon camp and Lebala camp, but now seemed to have settled in the Lebala area. The Wapoka pride who have long been the resident pride near Lebala appeared to have been pushed deeper south into the woodland. The Bonga is a pride of seven males and three females and were very successful with their hunting during the month as the lions were found feeding on different carcasses including zebra, kudu, wildebeest and giraffe. The Bonga pride are very experienced hunters and they can kill big prey species like giraffe, which is not an easy animal to kill. They were also seen stalking different antelopes on several occasions, witnessed by lucky guests that stayed at Lebala camp during the month of March. There is another female lioness with three cubs which used to be part of Bonga pride around the Lebala area, this lioness was found feeding on a baby giraffe and was also seen stalking impalas but unfortunately the impalas saw her and run away.

A male leopard, son of our well-known female Jane, has been nicknamed Fisherman by our guides as he likes to spend most of his time in the marsh looking for red lechwe. This is a good strategy to avoid the hyenas who are generally found in the more open areas. He was seen feeding on lechwe more than once and was also seen close to camp. When away from the marsh he was seen hunting warthog, even if this means digging out the warthog from their burrows; a sight much relished by Lebala guests. Unfortunately, there was no sign of the resident female leopard Jane and her two cubs during the month of March but this is not necessarily cause for alarm as she has a wide territory in which she patrols.

A pair of one male and female wild dog were seen around Lebala camp area during the month of March; the two dogs were seen hunting impalas and warthogs. It was very interesting to see these two dogs hunting as they covered a big area in a short time. In a lovely sighting the two wild dogs were found resting in a lagoon trying to cool down during the day.

Spotted hyenas were located in different areas feeding on the left-overs from lions and other predators; the hyenas seemed nervous of coming near the lions whilst they were feeding, but because there were plenty of kills they kept moving between the different carcasses. A lone female hyena with two cubs was also seen not too far from the camp.

A serval was seen busy hunting going into the burrows looking for mice and other rodents, this was one of the special sightings as a serval is one of the more elusive cats to see. Honey badgers were also located hunting on several occasions.

General game was plentiful and many different species were found including zebra, wildebeest, impala, giraffe, tsessebe, kudu and sable antelope. Breeding herds of elephants were in the area. On cloudy days hippos were seen outside the water grazing, another special sighting as hippos usually spend most of their time in water during the day.

Bird life was also great. We still had carmine bee-eaters in the area and guests enjoyed photographing the woodland kingfisher, another seasonal migrant. Guests were amazed to see lappet faced vulture, hooded vultures and white backed vultures all in one area busy feeding on the left-over carcasses.

Nxai Pan – The zebra and wildebeest migration was still in full swing at the start of the month, with thousands of extra animals in the park. By the middle of the month the rainfalls started to become less frequent and slowly the zebra numbers started to reduce. However other species such as giraffe, ostrich, wildebeest and springbok were still very plentiful. As the zebras started to move away, the bull elephants started to return to the Nxai Pan area where we can expect to see herds steadily increasing in number over the coming dry months.

Day trips to Baines Baobabs continued to be very popular with our guests, especially as the pans were full of water making the landscape exceptionally beautiful. A big herd of oryx relaxing their calves near to the historic trees made for some beautiful photographs. Two buffalo were seen on the road to Baines.

The resident pride of lions was enjoying the bountiful food supply as a result of the zebra and wildebeest migration and were seen frequently, looking extremely well fed. The pride currently comprises three lionesses with their six playful sub-adult cubs, with an adult male also being seen with them from time to time. More than once we saw them engaging in roaring stand-offs with the resident cheetah family, although it seemed that neither species was keen to engage in a physical fight. The cheetahs were always quick to move off when threatened by the lions.

This mother cheetah with her two sub-adult cubs was seen often, usually along the middle road of the pan where they were hunting for springbok. Although we didn’t manage to see them actually making a kill, they looked in really condition so it seems that they were being successful. A male cheetah was also seen during the month.

A pair of wild dogs were seen during the month and they appeared to be travelling large distances between the camp watering hole, the Department of Wildlife watering hole, and even out towards Baines Baobabs

Smaller mammals were not as plentiful as they are during the dryer months, but there were still black-backed jackals in the area. Leopard tortoises were also seen.

We experienced some spectacular storms which made driving conditions tricky. The rains encouraged shrubs such as the wild stock rose and trumpet thorn to produce their flowers.

The good rains meant that we started to see some birds more usually associated with wetlands than desert such as red-knobbed coot, Egyptian goose and red-billed teals. At Baines Baobabs there were also black-winged stilts and glossy ibis. Other more common residents seen included kori bustard, ostrich, northern black korhaan and double-banded coursers. Greater kestrels, a seasonal migrant, were also spotted.

Tau Pan – During March there were plenty of wildebeest, springbok, red hartebeest and oryx in the Tau Pan and Passarge Valley areas enjoying the green grasses that emerged following good rains. Guests were able to enjoy seeing them galloping and jumping in the morning breeze before the temperatures started to rise. Giraffe and kudu could also be seen drinking from the camp watering hole.

The most unusual sighting of the month at Tau Pan was a leopard trying to kill an aardwolf. Both animals are elusive at the best of times so it was a special privilege to witness this remarkable interaction. Luckily the aardwolf managed to dash into a burrow and escape to the relief of everyone watching. A female leopard was also seen behind the Tau Pan staff village. Although initially she was walking through long grass we eventually were able to get a better view and spent about an hour with her. Another time two different female leopards were seen on the same morning, one posing beautifully on top of a camelthorn tree before coming down, pausing whilst guests took some lovely photographs, and eventually making her way east.

Another pleasant surprise was locating a pack of 12 wild dogs during a day trip to Deception Valley, a species not often seen in the Central Kalahari. On the same day we also came across plenty of elephant tracks and an impressively full-bellied brown hyena by San Pan.

The Tau Pan pride of lions were seen very regularly throughout the month, sometimes roaring through the night near the rooms to the delight of the guests, and occasionally walking through camp itself. The pride spent a lot of time at the camp watering hole, sometimes all five impressive male lions together accompanied by three females and their three cubs. The cubs were at a very playful age, chasing each other around even when the adults were lying sleeping. A different pride were seen in varying sized groups near to Letitia Hau.

Cheetah were seen regularly. We watched the resident female trying her luck on a steenbok not far from Tau Pan; she pursued for a while but was not successful. The resident male was seen watching and stalking the springbok in the Tau Pan area. A mother cheetah and her two sub-adult cubs, were seen from time to time between Passarge Valley and Deception Valley; but these three females are notably more shy than the animals resident closer to camp, so our guides are patiently trying to habituate them to the vehicles.

A large family of 15 bat-eared foxes, including four puppies were seen regularly near to Tau Pan where they particularly enjoyed relaxing under some shady umbrella-thorn trees. We discovered a group of seven back-backed jackal, two males, three females and two pups catching and eating slender mongoose by the pan. Honey badgers were seen close to Deception Valley

An African python was spotted near to San Pan. Another memorable reptile sighting was a lovely group of seven leopard tortoises, including some babies, feeding on flowers

An unusual sighting for the Tau Pan watering hole was two African painted snipe, these uncommon birds are usually more associated with marsh and wetland regions than the semi-arid Kalahari. An immature martial eagle, the largest raptor found in the area, was seen at camp where it was perched on a camel thorn tree eyeing up some helmeted guineafowl who was scratching at the ground beneath him. Pale chanting goshawks are a common bird species at Tau Pan; some guests managed to take excellent photos of this elegant grey raptor eating a gerbil. The goshawks were also seen following honey badgers as they were seen digging for insects and rodents, hoping for a chance to make an opportunistic kill for themselves. Guests were able to get some lovely images of a bateleur eagle bathing in the camp watering hole. Other species seen regularly were ostrich, kori bustard, secretary bird and northern black korhaan.

Februar 2018

Kwara Concession – There was a new female cheetah in the area who had two cubs in great condition. We located her for the first time as she was hunting close to Honeymoon Pan and we were able to see her successfully kill an impala. Two days later we found her again and once more she brought down an impala in front of the vehicle. She appeared to be a very skilful hunter.  The two cheetah males in the area seemed to be doing well and managing to actively avoid all the lions. One of them seemed a very active hunter who was specialising on warthogs, though on one occasion we watched him being driven off ferociously by a sow protecting her piglets. Another time, we had a wonderful sighting where he was rolling over and over on the same area of a termite mound.

The number of lions in the Kwara concession appeared to be growing and two big new males were actively patrolling and marking the eastern area from Splash, all the way to the Kwara airstrip. The two brothers have formed a coalition and were very vocal when separated from each other – to the delight of our guests who were thrilled with the spine-tingling experience of having lions roaring very close to the game drive vehicle. The new males were seen mating with two lionesses so hopefully they will be successful in holding onto their territory for the arrival of the cubs.

A pride of three lionesses in the 4 Rivers area with their five cubs was doing well. We followed them hunting and watched them kill a warthog, on another occasion they came close to pulling down a wildebeest in front of the vehicle, but just missed. One time we were watching them interacting and grooming each other, with one of the Zulu Boys a short distance away keeping an eye on his females. Whilst we were still watching the lions, we saw some impalas springing out of the bush pursued by a pack of 8 wild dogs. We quickly drove around to follow them and saw that they had managed to kill one of the impala and were busy feeding. Very soon afterwards jackals, hyenas and vultures arrived seeking their opportunity to scavenge. There’s never a dull moment at Kwara!

The pack of 8 wild dogs were seen hunting often, although sometimes the long grasses seemed to be impeding their ability to pursue their prey. Nevertheless, we found them on successful kills including a young kudu and a common reedbuck.

There was a new female cheetah in the area who had two cubs in great condition. We located her for the first time as she was hunting close to Honeymoon Pan and we were able to see her successfully kill an impala. Two days later we found her again and once more she brought down an impala in front of the vehicle. She appeared to be a very skilful hunter.  The two cheetah males in the area seemed to be doing well and managing to actively avoid all the lions. One of them seemed a very active hunter who was specialising on warthogs, though on one occasion we watched him being driven off ferociously by a sow protecting her piglets. Another time, we had a wonderful sighting where he was rolling over and over on the same area of a termite mound.

The female leopard who lost her cub earlier this year was still in the area. One day she was spotted moving through long grass, almost invisibly due to her camouflage, but then obligingly climbed up a tree where guests were able to get some great photos. On the western side of the concession there was a new female leopard. At one stage she had killed an impala and could be seen feeding on the carcass up a tree for three consecutive days. There was also a new male leopard who was beautifully relaxed. One day jackal alarm calls alerted us to the presence of a large predator and we discovered the tom holding a male impala’s neck in the act of suffocating it. Another time, we found him on the kill of a waterbuck calf.

The cooler, rainy weather during February was favoured by the hyenas who were active patrolling during the day. A giraffe carcass in the north east of the concession which appeared to have been killed by the two new male lions was a particularly favoured meal. This large carcass also attracted side-striped and back-backed jackals.

Large herds of elephants were still in the area and guests enjoyed watching them browse and mud-bathe. As the water levels dropped at the start of the month, the hippos changed their feeding habits and were noticeably more aggressive in protecting their territory. No doubt they welcomed the heavy deluges of rain that finally appeared as the month progressed.

Three species of vultures were regularly seen – lappet-faced, hooded and white-backed – true wilderness areas such as the Kwara concession are becoming increasingly vital for the safe future of these endangered birds. The heronry was still active and a highlight for guests during the boat cruises.

Lagoon – A new pride of four male lions have continued to do well in the area and were located in different parts of the concession as they explored their new territory. Sometimes they were seen patrolling alone, each taking a different route to cover the maximum ground, before meeting again. Some of the guests were very lucky to see them roaring, which is also part of marking their presence in the area to other lions. A female was also located with one of the male lions the guides suspected that they might be mating. The male lions were also seen stalking zebras but unfortunately not being successful. The Bonga pride were located resting on a termite mound.

The resident female leopard appeared to be doing well raising her two cubs, it takes a very experienced leopard to raise two cubs in an area where there are so many hyenas and lions. She was seen hunting and her biggest target seemed to be baboons; she was spending most of her time around the area where the baboons spend their night. The two cubs were seen playing around chasing each other around the trees. This female leopard was also seen stalking impalas but not being successful. She was also spotted resting on top of the sausage trees during the day, making for great photo opportunities.

A pack of six wild dogs were still in the area and seen often. One afternoon the guides followed them as they were hunting and guests were lucky enough to see them bring down and devour an impala. Another time the wild dogs were found feeding on a warthog carcass. The pack was also seen stalking impala on different occasions.

The two male cheetahs were located in the area during the month of February, the two male cheetahs spend most of their time in the area between our two camps Lebala and Lagoon. The male two brothers were seen patrolling their area to make sure there were no intruders. A serval cat was located one of the afternoons and the lucky guests managed to take good daytime pictures of this species who is more usually seen at dawn or dusk. Six bat eared foxes were seen busy hunting feeding on insects and going into the holes looking for beetles and other insects.

Spotted hyenas were seen in different location feeding on the left-overs from other predators; hyenas could not keep up with the wild dogs to try steal their carcass.

General game was great and we saw good number of zebras, wildebeest, impalas and breeding elephants. A massive herd of over 150 eland were seen often and made an impressive sight; this is the largest of the antelope species and to see them in such numbers is a wonderful sighting. A herd of roan antelope were also located more than once.

There were some good rains end of February and the vegetation was nice and green. The river channel in front of the lodge filled nicely and grunting hippos were always wallowing in front of the rooms.

Bird life was also good as we still have birds coming for breeding including carmine bee-eaters and African skimmers. The African fish eagle was always regularly seen, and a real favourite with guests.

Lebala – February was a great month for spotting some of the more elusive animals. One evening as a game drive was returning to camp and we thought that all the action was over, the sharp-eyed tracker suddenly asked the guide to stop and reverse, whereby he proudly pointed out a pangolin – a highly prized sighting. An aardwolf was also spotted on a night drive as the guides were game driving back to the camp; the aardwolf was very relaxed and going into the termite mounds looking for food. An African wildcat was also seen.

During February the Wapoka pride split into three separate groups, but the majority of the lions were still in the Lebala area. The guides frequently located one female with three cubs and two male lions, as well as a different group of six males with one female. The rest of the pride were not located during the month of February. One of the main reasons why big prides split is if they do not get well fed, or possibly the six sub-adult males were now old enough for the dominant male to eject them from the family group. All two different prides located were being very successful with their hunting, the mother with three cubs and two males was spotted one of the morning feeding on kudu. The same pride was also seen feeding on a zebra carcass, making for some great photographs for our guests. The six boys were found feeding on a giraffe carcass, and they were also seen stalking wildebeest.

A pack of sixteen wild dogs were seen regularly and appeared to be doing well in the area as they were seen hunting and feeding on impala on more than one occasion.

Resident female leopard Jane and her two cubs were back in the area which was very good news as she has been not around for some time. Having been located, she immediately thrilled the guests by chasing and killing a warthog. She took that up a tree where she stayed for a day feeding along with her two cubs. Guests were able to get some fantastic photos. A male leopard was also located feeding on an impala carcass one of the afternoon.

Two male cheetahs were located resting as they were on a mission of patrolling the area, it was getting dark so the guides did not spend much time with them.

The hyenas moved from their den after the lions spent most of their time nearby and posing a great threat to the hyena cubs. The clan were spotted feeding on left over carcasses, and there was one hyena who regularly came through the camp at night.

General game was good and there were large numbers of wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, kudu and breeding herds of elephant. Honey badgers were also located in the area busy looking for something to eat. Hippos could be seen enjoying the natural pans which had filled with water after the rains.

Bird life was abundant due to the summer migrants. Species seen included a breeding pair of endangered wattled cranes, carmine bee-eaters and African skimmers.

Nxai Pan – After an exceptionally dry January which appeared to stop the usual zebra and wildebeest migration, we were hoping for late rains to arrive in February and we were not in the least disappointed. The gathering afternoon thunderclouds made for memorable sundowner stops with the different shaped clouds and colours giving some incredible photo opportunities.

Right from the start of the month we experienced very regular rainfall at Nxai Pan and as the wet weather continued the game started to return in large numbers. Every day, the herds of zebra, wildebeest and giraffe increased, congregating at the natural watering holes which had filled up at last.

With the return of the prey species, came the predators. The dominant male lions had not been seen for a while, they had probably followed the herds as they moved away, so we were delighted to find them back in Nxai Pan on 5th February, full bellied and resting after enjoying a good meal. They announced their return with plenty of calling that night and the following day were found reunited with the rest of the Nxai Pan pride comprising three females and six cubs. The young lions are at a very playful stage, engaging in games of chase and pulling each other down, all good practice in terms of learning essential hunting skills, but making for some charming photographs as well. The lions were making the most of the zebra herds and were seen feasting on kills.

Also back in the area after having been away for a little while was the resident male cheetah. He was looking in great condition. He is a very mobile individual, covering the whole area from the west to the east of the pan. A female cheetah with two sub-adult cubs were seen at the wildlife waterhole, surrounded by some very nervous zebras who were alarm calling.

Two wild dogs, an alpha male and alpha female were seen in front of the camp more than once, but were chased away by a breeding herd of elephants from the waterhole. They were also seen hunting springboks in the pan area.

A family of four bat eared foxes were seen regularly along the Middle Road of Nxai Pan. They could be seen looking for food such as grasshoppers and other insects amongst the grasses. Black-backed jackal were often seen near to the larger predators, hoping for the opportunity to scavenge from their carcasses.

Elephants were still in the area, but not in the huge numbers that we see at Nxai Pan during the dry season. Now that the natural pans had filled, they were using the opportunity to browse vegetation further away from the permanent water sources that they rely on at other times of the year.

Cooler weather provided good birding conditions and we had some exciting summer visitors to admire. Two Denham’s bustards were located during the month. This was an exciting sighting of an uncommon seasonal migrant to the area which has been classified as ‘near threatened’. Big flocks of black-winged pratincoles could be found near to the natural pans and the two permanent waterholes. Lots of vultures were in the area, waiting for the predators to make inroads in to the migrating herds.

Tau Pan – Lions were seen on the majority of the days during February and guests were often serenaded at night by the sound of nearby roars as the Tau Pan pride made contact with each other. As is often the case at Tau Pan, we came across the cats in groups of varying sizes, including a sizable pride of twelve lions which was seen regularly towards Letia Hau, comprising 3 males, 2 lionesses and seven young. One of the times that pride was feasting on a wildebeest kill. The camp watering hole was frequented by the lions very regularly including a female with a cub and the impressive black-maned resident males.

A brown hyena continued to be seen at the watering hole, especially at dawn and dusk. However another individual was less fortunate and we found its carcass nearby, possibly killed as a result of conflict with lions.

An African wild cat was seen a few times hunting mice around the Tau Pan areas and lucky guests were able to capture some photographs of this elusive mammal. Honey badgers were also seen digging for rodents in the same area. Pale Chanting Goshawks were seen keeping a close eye on the honey badgers, hoping to steal some food, but their reactions were too slow to be successful. Black backed jackal, ground squirrels and bat-eared foxes were seen most days, however some more unusual sightings of a Cape fox and the elusive aardwolf were great to have. Cheetah were located at Passarge Valley.

In a very unusual encounter, we came across elephants in Deception Valley – a female and calf. Elephants haven’t been seen in that area by us for many years. They were resting in the shade – although the day was cloudy it was extremely hot.

Following heavy rains towards the end of February plains game species such as oryx, springbok and wildebeest moved into the Tau Pan area to take advantage of the new green shoots of grass. The springbok herds were estimated to be as large as 300 animals and made a spectacular sight as they ran and pronked at sunset. Steenbok were seen regularly and there was a small herd of red hartebeest at Phokoje Pan. A journey of eleven giraffe were seen regularly.

Birdlife continued to be excellent at Tau Pan, especially for the raptors. Species seen included pallid harrier, gabar goshawk, tawny eagle, black-chested snake eagle, brown snake eagle and yellow-billed kite. A pair of bateleur eagles are building a nest near to camp. Kori bustards and secretary birds could be seen stalking across the pans looking for food. We had a remarkable sighting of 45 ostrich chicks in one flock, being looked after by two sets of parents.

The northern black korhaans and red crested korhaans could be seen displaying. In the case of the latter, the male flies straight up and then dramatically tumbles towards the ground as though shot.

Although the first half of the month was fairly dry for the time of year, the clouds were building up each afternoon making for some spectacular sunset shots. Once the rains came the bush sprang to life and was beautiful and green.

Januar 2018

Kwara Concession – Many different prides of lion were seen on Kwara during January. A group of eight were seen feeding on a zebra foal. A smaller pride was also seen eating zebra. At the end of the month two lions took down and killed a large male warthog, right in front of the vehicle. A male and female lion were mating at Pelican Pan for several days and towards the end of the month the guides noticed that another two lionesses had moved away from their pride and suspected that one of them had cubs in the area.

The New Year started with a sighting of a female cheetah desperately calling for her sub-adult daughter. Our worst suspicions were confirmed when the next day we found the younger cheetah’s carcass. Judging by the bite marks on the animal’s neck, we suspect that she was killed by lions. Whilst sad to lose much a magnificent animal, inter-species competition is an important part of the natural world. Despite this incident the adult female was still spending a good deal of time in the same area, but regularly lost her kills to lions. Near Splash camp we found another female cheetah with her cub, feeding on an impala lamb and they were also seen chasing common reedbuck. The resident male cheetah is doing well and usually seen full-bellied. We watched him chase and bring down a common reedbuck, with tremendous views of him accelerating across the open floodplain. He was also seen with a female testing to see whether she was in oestrus.

One morning leopard tracks were found in camp and after following the prints for two hours we heard the alarm calls of a common reedbuck. Rounding the corner, we found a female leopard playing with a newly-born reedbuck lamb whilst its mother looked on helplessly. We then followed the leopard into the marshes. After the female leopard lost her cub in December, she changed her movement pattern and was spending more time in the mopane woodlands where she was seen doing some territorial marking. One time we saw her stalking a herd of tsessebe and seemed to be focused on their calves, but a troop of baboons spotted her and raised the alarm, sending the antelopes bolting. A male and female leopard were seen together on a tree and as we watched they climbed down to mate.

The wild dog pack of 7 has lost one of the two pups from the litter of 2017 – there is now only one pup left from the original nine. Towards the end of the month they were seen hunting and chasing impalas through Kwara camp. The pack of six is doing well and even the limping male is back on his feet. Guests enjoyed seeing them engage in playful interactions and successfully taking down and devouring an impala.

The spotted hyena clan started to take their cubs out and about on their hunting missions.

A very relaxed mother serval with her young kitten were seen more than once and we were even lucky enough to find them feeding on a fresh kill. We were also lucky enough to get great sightings of honey badgers.

The weather during the first half of January was unusually dry for the time of year and as a result large breeding herds of elephants were seen regularly in the afternoons as they made their way towards the main channels of Moremi Game Reserve to drink, feed and dust-bathe. Guests enjoyed watching teenagers playfighting and swimming.

The general game was very good with plentiful herds of zebra, tsessebe, wildebeest, impala, lechwe, reedbuck and giraffe. In addition to the more usual species we were fortunate enough to see sitatunga and bushbuck, the latter not as commonly seen in the Okavango Delta as in wooded areas.

The water levels were receding towards the end of the month and so many water birds could be seen feeding on the fish trapped in drying waterholes. In a most unusual sighting, a flap-necked chameleon was seen swimming across a channel.

Lagoon – At the start of the month the guides were thrilled to find an aardwolf den with three cubs in residence. This very rare sighting was a delight for our guests. Bat-eared foxes also had den sites in the area and were seen on almost every drive as well as both black-backed and side-striped jackals.

Four male lions who were new to the area were initially a bit shy towards our game viewers, but the guides’ patience was rewarded and the lions seemed to get more relaxed as the month progressed. Their presence seems to be influencing the Bonga Pride of 10 who are spending more time in the south of the area whilst the intruders occupy their usual territory. The Bonga pride were seen feeding on a baby giraffe; as they later walking up to the watering hole for a drink some spotted hyenas lying in wait, but keeping their distance at the lion’s kill. The Bonga pride were also seen hunting zebras and a male warthog, but without success. A young male lion who was pushed out of the pride was sometimes seen with his sister and together they managed to catch a warthog piglet. Another time the make was located feeding on old wildebeest carcass

The resident coalition of two cheetah brothers were in the concession and found feeding on an impala

A female leopard with two cubs had been missing from the area for a while, so our guides were pleased to find her back in the concession and feeding well on two kills at the same time – a zebra foal and warthog piglet. A male leopard was located a couple of times as he patrolled his territory, though he was still quite shy.

Hyena sightings were more common than usual during January and were often seen morning and afternoon as they frequented carcasses along the woodlands and floodplains. A hippo carcass in the marshes at Watercut attracted scavengers including hyenas and many vultures. Another single hyena was seen feeding on an old elephant carcass that was been soaked by the previous day’s rain.

The general game was excellent with a phenomenal influx of zebra and giraffe throughout the area. Large herds of eland moved in from the north west of the concession, grazing in a mixed herd with the zebra. Wildebeest were also spotted in large numbers and we also had wonderful sightings of shy roan and sable antelope herds. All of the plains game including impala, tsessebe and warthogs have babies, making for delightful photographs. As the unusually dry weather continued during January, elephants started to return back towards the river area from the mopane woodlands where they would usually be found at this time of year.

The resident pack of wild dogs has reduced in number over time from 12 individuals to just 6 at the moment, although the remaining dogs were looking well-fed and healthy. They were often hunting at the airstrip area, one time flushing out a group of three leopards, a mother with her one-year-old cubs. We saw them making other kills including an impala and warthog piglet.

In terms of smaller mammals, we saw included slender, yellow and dwarf mongoose. Wild cats were seen from time to time.

There were plentiful ostrich and many had chicks following them as they grazed – up to 12 at a time trotting along behind their parents. One time, hundreds of vultures were seen by the river having a bath. Four species of vulture were still being seen in the area; white-backed, hooded, lappet-faced and white-headed, some of them had nest sites. Secretary birds and ground hornbills were also breeding in the area and wattled cranes were seen with nestlings were found at the inland waterholes. Following the first heavy rains insectivores such as bee-eaters were attracted to the alates, sometimes known as flying ants, that took to the wing in huge numbers. Raptors identified included tawny eagles, bataleurs, wahlberg’s eagles and lesser-spotted eagles.

Lebala – One morning, a reedbuck made its alarm call while the guests were having early morning breakfast, so the guides went to check and found a resident male leopard in the bushes. The guides went back to the main area and told the guests, who quickly jumped in the vehicles and drove around to the rooms. When they got there, to their amazement, they found that the leopard had killed a bushbuck in front of room seven. There was no sign of the main resident female, known as Jane, in the area and the guides thought that she moved to a new location to raise her two baby cubs. However, a different female leopard (one of Jane’s daughters from a previous year) was seen stalking impalas though not successfully. She was also observed seen resting on top of the trees on several occasions. The resident male leopard was also seen stalking game and posing beautifully for photographs on branches.

The Wapoka resident pride of lions were kept on top of their game during the month of January, as there was another pride of lions in the area known as the Bonga pride, who were moving down from the north of the concession. This affected the behaviour of the Wapoka Pride who spent most of their time in the southern woodland to avoid coming face to face with the Bonga Pride. Having lost two of their cubs this year already, the Wapoka Pride were being very cautious and they know that if the two prides were to meet then there would likely be a big fight over the territory.

A male and female from Wapoka pride were found mating which was regarded as one of the special sightings of the month, some of the guests were lucky to see the courting couple in action. It was a very busy month because of the two prides of lions in the area stalking the herds of zebra and wildebeest. These antelope were still dropping their young. The Wapoka pride was found feeding on a kudu carcass in the woodland after the guide and tracker tracked them for more than an hour.

The pack of ten wild dogs was been located in the area both hunting and on kills. They were targeting different species, but mostly impalas. It was still a good time for the dogs when it came to hunting as there were so many young antelopes, however the size of the pack means that they need to kill frequently in order for all the dogs to have sufficient food.

Two male cheetahs were spotted hunting by the airstrip; we did not see the two cheetahs for some weeks and it was nice to see them again. The guides and trackers followed them for some time and the cheetahs started stalking some wildebeest but without luck.
The hyena den was still active and some of the guests were able to watch the cubs playing. Hyenas were also found feeding on leftover carcasses from the other predators. The clan was often seen waiting for the lions to finish feeding so that they could scavenge.

An African wild cat was spotted one afternoon walking around the termite mounds looking for mice and small rodents. An African civet was also seen during one evening game drive just after the sundowner drink.

General game was very good at Lebala during January which is one of the reasons why we had more predators in the area. There were a good number of wildebeest, impalas and breeding herds of elephants. Bird life was also excellent as we still had carmine bee – eaters in the area, African skimmers, wattled cranes and flocks of beautiful red bishops.

Nxai Pan – After some good early rains in November and December, January was much drier than expected and as the natural watering holes dried up, the game started to concentrate once again on the two man-made watering holes.  The camp watering hole was extremely productive with lots of elephants and mixed herds of giraffe, zebra, impala, buffalo and wildebeest, many accompanied by their new offspring. Jackals were often seen active in front of the camp. At the wildlife watering hole, the mix of game was a little different including kudu, springboks and oryx.

The unexpected dry spell in January seemed to confuse the zebra, wildebeest and giraffe herds who usually congregate in their thousands at this time of the year. The animals had started to arrive, but as the heat continued we saw their numbers decline again. Eventually towards the end of January the rains started in earnest, so it will be interesting to see what the herds decide to do next. There have been occasions in the past when the migration has returned for a second time in similar circumstances.

Three lionesses with six cubs were located trying to hunt some zebras, but as the area was so open they were not able to stalk close enough to launch a successful ambush. A couple of days later they obviously had more luck and were seen feasting on a zebra kill, surrounded by vultures and about twenty black-backed jackals. One time these cubs provided delightful photo opportunities by climbing some trees, to make the experience even better their three mothers started roaring.

One afternoon the guides spotted a single lioness who was previously known to us as part of the “Seven Sisters” walking from the middle of the pan to some bushes when all of a sudden two tiny lion cubs came out of the undergrowth to greet her. We were delighted to find this unexpected little family in Nxai Pan. The new additions brought the total number in the Nxai Pan pride to twenty, although they were most often seen in smaller sub-groups.

The resident male cheetah was seen looking in very good condition. Meanwhile the female cheetah with her two sub-adult offspring was venturing further afield and even seen towards Baines Baobabs.

At the start of January we started to see migratory birds in the area such as Abdim’s storks, steppe buzzards and blue-cheeked bee-eaters. Once the rains recommenced towards the end of the month we started to see new birds in the area that we would usually associate more with wetter areas such as African jacanas, black-winged practincoles and spurwing geese.

The increase in herbs and flowers in the area made for some interesting explanations during the bushman cultural walks. Along the road to Baines Baobabs there were lots of berries for the trackers to talk about in terms of their value to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of the San tribe. In this area, the guides and trackers were also able to show guests some of the smaller points of interest such as dung beetles rolling their balls, and aardvark tracks. The famous baobab trees themselves were looking beautiful with seed pods and leaves.

Tau Pan – The Tau Pan pride was seen regularly as they spent a lot of time moving between the camp watering hole and their nearby den. The five impressive males were often baby-sitting the youngsters – presumably whilst the lionesses were out looking for food. Two of the lionesses often joined the pride, but halfway through the month the third lioness went missing and the guides though that perhaps she had gone to give birth. Different prides were seen at Passarge Valley and Deception Valley during full day trips.

A brown hyena was visiting the camp watering hole from time to time, usually at dawn or dusk. It was a really special treat to see this usually nocturnal animal in good natural light.

The resident female cheetah was seen hunting springbok at Tau Pan, but the antelopes’ strategy of staying in the middle of the wide-open pan helped them to spot the cat in enough time to thwart her attempts. A male cheetah was having good success in Tau Pan and was seen feasting on a wildebeest calf. A family of three cheetahs were located at Letitia Hau.

General game at Tau Pan included springbok, oryx, kudu and wildebeest. This particular herd of wildebeest are always resident in the area, although they move quite considerable distances within the vicinity to find the best grazing, according to where the most rain has fallen. We saw a big herd of 30 oryx, including 10 calves feeding alongside two male red hartebeest at Makgoa Pan. Guests enjoyed seeing large journeys of giraffes with their young calves browsing on the acacia trees and drinking from the camp watering hole.

Bat-eared foxes, honey badgers and black-backed jackals were all smaller mammals seen frequently around the edges of Tau Pan.

As the dry weather continued, massive flocks of red-billed queleas in their thousands came to drink at the watering hole, their combined weight breaking branches of the nearby trees. The bushes in the area seemed to be made of feathers rather than leaves as the little birds huddled together. Raptors including lanner falcons, steppe buzzards, yellow-billed kites, Gabar goshawks and pale chanting-goshawk swooped in and out of the flocks of quelea, snatching their prey. Guests enjoyed seeing secretary birds and kori bustards stride out across the open grasslands as they searched for food.