Most of our camps have outdoor showers, so that guests can experience showering under the sky, and if lucky, perhaps enjoy an animal sighting at the same time. At Lebala, one couple got a little more viewing, and a lot less shower than anyone had anticipated… Early evening in the mid June, attempting to shower before dinner, the guests noticed an elephant near the back of their room. For some reason, the elephant got a little “tangled up” in the solar panel and geyser, and totally dismantled it. I mean, completely: geyser, timber frame, solar panel and all the fittings. This was not because the elephant wanted water to drink – the Lebala rooms are located on an island with permanent water surrounding – but simply because he was a little clumsy, or curious. So, the guests got a great view of elephant activity up close and personal, but didn’t get a full length shower. And the insurance assessors received an interesting claim….
A leopard and her sub adult daughter were seen every day from the 27th – 30th June, not far from camp. The mother had killed a reedbuck, and she and her daughter stuck close to the kill until it was completely finished.
At the end of May both the Southern pack and the Northern (aka Lagoon) Pack of wild dogs were seen in Lebala area. The southern pack currently comprises of six adults and three yearlings. They were seen on several days, and hunted successfully, but have had to fend off both hyenas and lions at their kill – successful when it came to the hyenas, but not so lucky when the lion arrived and claimed the young kudu they had killed. In early June, they spent a couple of days close to – or in – the camp and scuffled with the hyenas there as well.
There is another pack of five dogs, that have also been seen several times in this area – possibly a splinter group of the Lagoon pack. Interestingly, a male and a female were seen mating in mid June, so if the female becomes pregnant, there could be another denning season in September/October!
Lovely sighting of a herd of elephants crossing the marsh in front of camp, with lots of baby elephants. The babies were too short to cross without the help of the adults, who kept them supported with their heads and trunk above the water. It was a nicer scene than early on in the month where five hyenas had been found to have attacked a baby elephant and killed it. The hyenas were soon thrown off by a lion, who managed to secure the kill for himself. Not to be outdone, the hyenas moved off and then scuffled with a pack of wild dogs, and successfully forced the dogs off their kill and ate everything.
An interesting late afternoon in camp as the staff noticed a male lion resting up in the open area next to the camp. Soon, the pack of five wild dogs arrived in the same place, looking pretty shocked to see a large cat lying around. The gave a sharp alarm bark, and kept a safe distance, whilst the lion ignored them completely.
The next day, both the lion and the pack of dogs were still in close proximity to the camp: the lion probably having picked up the scent of a few individual buffalo. A male lion was also found feeding on a dead elephant close to Steve’s Pan.