March is one of the hottest months in the Kwando Private Reserve, so elephants arrived in herds of hundreds to drink and mud bathe, especially on the eastern side of the reserve. The ground was also soft and malleable following good rains, making it easy for Damaraland Mole Rats to excavate their tunnels, which they do with their very impressive front teeth. These near-blind creatures are rarely found above ground, so are highly unusual to see, but we were lucky enough to find one digging out in the open. We encountered a Black mamba snake following one of these rodents around the Skimmer Pan area in yet another remarkable sighting!
These odd-looking creatures tend to emerge from the earth when it is cooler, and the soil might succumb more quickly to the diggings. Did you know? A true mole is an insect-eating animal, but these mole-rats only eat vegetable matter and favour bulbs and roots.
A much bigger rodent, the porcupine, was often seen around Lebala Camp in the early mornings, and we frequently found a Water monitor lizard worshipping the sun on the bridge at the entrance.
The ebb and flow of predator species
Lions are the largest terrestrial carnivores of the African wild and dominant over sympatric (occurring within the same or overlapping geographical areas) apex predators, such as leopards, cheetah, Spotted hyenas and African wild dogs. The Kwando Safaris guides have noticed increased lion numbers across the Kwando Private Reserve. This inevitably affected other predator numbers.
The wild dogs have been fairly scarce, but we did have several sightings of a small pack of three. We located just one full-bellied female cheetah at Motama Pan, resting in a deep sandy area below Kalahari apple-leaf trees. Our expert guide Barcos noted that “They are more than enough leopards around the Lebala area, but these cats are shyer. It is their survival skill”. We witnessed this typically ‘shyer’ spotted cat species, the leopard, more often this month and especially to the north of camp.
The Wapoka Pride, dominated by Old Gun and Sebastian, was rarely seen in the north (their typical territory) and Barcos reckons this is because of a second coalition, the Golden Boys. “The Golden Boys have started fighting with the sub-adult male lions of Wapoka. Another war is burning between these young males and the Golden Boys from the south. Let’s wait and see!”
The Wapoka Pride has split into two smaller groups, and two lionesses of this pride have been seen with three cubs of about two weeks old cubs. We have witnessed the mothers drinking water and then disappearing into the bushes to feed their hidden cubs. The Golden Boys have made their mark as they are now in the company of these two lionesses (one of them is the elderly lioness of Wapoka).
The underrated sounds of safari
Water levels have increased in the Kwando River, and the pans were still full, attracting a variety of birdlife, including storks, herons and ducks.
There were several nocturnal sightings of African wild cats and African civets, Servals and Honey badgers. One evening we found a Spotted hyena enjoying the leg of a buffalo and carrying the comically big bone in its strong jaws while running. We hear these hyenas calling each evening from camp. Speaking of sounds, guests were treated to the amazing audio of a lion roaring in the distance one morning during a walking safari.
A reminder that stepping down from the game drive vehicle provides a far more intimate experience of the African wilderness.
(Note: Accompanying picture of the mole rat was taken by Kate Nelson and others are 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!)