Rains have fallen, the Kalahari dust has settled, and the Gomoti River has started flowing again. “The terrain in the Dinare Reserve has become our Eden”, NT reported. These waters also refreshed the pans too.
When the sun rose at Mma Dinare Camp during December, it was common to be awakened by the roar of the Great Sankindi. This male lion rules the South East side of the camp with many dominating decibels. A pride of two female lions and two cubs was spotted on several occasions nearby, and the Santawani pride has also reunited into a total of nine lions (five lioness plus their cubs) frequently seen near Rra Mochine Pan. A fantastic sighting of lions mating on the road transfer sent guests back to Maun with a super safari under their belt.
Most antelopes, such as impala and wildebeest, have dropped their young ones. One of the impala’s most successful tactics is its breeding strategy. All their lambs arrive in a flood that bets on outnumbering the amount that predators can eat. We also observed plenty of hide-and-seek played by mothers as they taught the babies how to survive in the Okavango Delta.
A female leopard stole the show this month when we ended the year with sundowners on Mma Dinare road. The crafty leopardess killed an impala right in front of guests as they sipped on gin and tonics on 30 December.
We found spotted hyenas on just about every evening game drive. Their unearthly shrieks and haunting whoops sure added to the mystery of nights in Mma Dinare. During the day, buffalos were a common sighting in front of the main area, under the tents and along the Gomoti River.
A pack of three wild dogs were seen feeding on an impala with five puppies next to Gomoti Crossing.
This has been the best time to visit the Okavango Delta for birders. With their different shapes and colours of the feathers, migratory species beautified the trees and coloured the skies with melody.
(Note: Accompanying picture is from our Kwando Photo Library which consists of all your great photo submissions over the years, it may not be the most up to date, but we felt it was worthy of a feature alongside this month’s Sightings Report!)