In early May, the Lagoon pack of wild dogs paid a visit to Lebala, hunting impala in the area around Water Cut. They weren’t successful when we saw them, and they then sat down to relax.
The 10th of May was a great day for predator sightings, with a pack of six dogs chasing and managing to kill an impala. Unfortunately, they weren’t to have their kill for long, as a male lion soon approached and took it from them! Although they outnumbered him vastly, with his huge size and power, it is too big a risk for the dogs to try and face him down. They left quickly. Later that day, the southern pack of 11 dogs were seen in the area where the six had been seen that morning! The lion was seen again the next day – full bellied, and fast asleep in the middle of the road.
Following wild dogs (a rare sighting in many parts of Africa, but thankfully not in the Kwando concession) led to another exceptionally rare sighting: pangolin! All thoughts of following the dogs were temporarily suspended, as this very weird creature was observed. Normally nocturnal and very shy, these scaly anteaters often disappear down their burrows before being seen.
The lack of rain this year (we have not had any rain since February, though often the rainy season pushes through April) has meant that animals are congregating along the floodplains, to drink and in the hope of getting fresher vegetation.
Leopards were the order of the day on the 15th May, with three different individuals being sighted in the one morning – one male, and two females. Later that night, a smaller cat – the caracal – was also seen.
Any animal passing away is a ‘free lunch’ for predators and scavengers, but an elephant provides a meal for many. With so many elephants moving into the area, the odd one will succumb to old age or illness. One such elephant carcass was found to be providing a very large banquet for twenty or thirty hyenas – if you have ever seen this many hyenas feeding at once, you will understand why the number is uncertain. They have a tendency to ‘grab and run’ and scuffle with one another for the choicest cut. Although they are excellent hunters in their own right, an elephant would be too big a size for even a big clan to bring down, so that night the hyenas were simply being opportunists.
The other big opportunist – and great scavenger in their very own right, contrary to whatever Disney says – is the lion. Sure enough, a male lion was also seen next to carcass, probably having consumed his fill. The pride of six were also in the area – much easier to have a ready-made meal than to have to do all the hard work yourself…