The second day of the month looked dark and stormy, but we headed out on drive that morning anyway, to see what we could find. Soon we came upon a male cheetah, that was very relaxed, and patrolled around the pan. That morning we also saw three lioness with three young, and lots of general game, including some of the hundreds of zebras that have moved into the Nxai area, bringing their young with them.
The very next day, we were lucky enough to see two cheetahs mating – quite a rare event to behold. After mating, the male tried to leap out of the way of the snarling female, but was not quite fast enough and received a cut to the nose as she slashed her paw across his face!
January is definitely all about zebra – as they come in Nxai Pan for the fresh green grass that is growing. This provides sufficient nutrition – and plentiful water – to ensure the health of their young, before moving into other areas as it starts to dry out in a few months. It’s a little it and miss – we never know when they are going to arrive, and how many, as it is totally dependent on the rain fall. But this year, they came en masse, and were prolific in January. Hundreds and hundreds, more likely several thousand, have made their way to Nxai this year, with zebra roaming on every plain, and resting under each shady tree. After the rains, there are several natural waterholes with enough available for them to drink, without having to rely on the two pumped pans in the park. But with so many zebra, all watering places have a steady stream of animals moving in and out to drink. Each herd clears out of the way quickly should a dusty grey elephant arrive, as they are liable to throw their weight around in a rather rough manner when it comes to water access …
And its not just the antelope and zebra that are having babies – a lioness was seen walking from tree island to tree island, calling to her little cubs, and moving them from one location to another, after finding a safer hiding place. And when you are a lion, everyone is looking at you – not just the tourists. Another lioness was found lying down trying to relax, but totally surrounded by zebras, wildebeest, springboks and impalas, who were all alarm calling and trying to get her to move out of the area for their own safety!
Cheetahs were also seen several times this month, often around the water hole, stalking the many antelope that are still coming there to drink. Lions were also resting in the area nearby, so the waterhole is still a focus of action in spite of the several pans having water. The cheetah did manage to bring down a springbok, although we did not see the actual kill, we found the cheetah feeding. We were lucky enough to see leopard on the same day.