Being on the Eastern side of the Okavango Delta, the Dinare Private Reserve is privileged to get flood waters after other camps in the region. Filled with the very final floodwaters of the season, the Gomoti looked gorgeous in August with the view in front of both camps brimming with life.
Dinare has an African wild dog den!
Dedicated guides discovered a new African wild dog den with great excitement! The pups must be around two months old as they have begun to develop their permanent coat patterns. These are as unique as the human fingerprint! Wild dog puppies have sharp teeth by this time, so the mothers are not as keen to provide them with milk.
This has not been a problem as we watched the pack feeding the puppies with meat following successful hunts. One day, we witnessed one of these chases very near to Mma Dinare Camp. We had been spending time with the pack when their lazy antics and chatting suddenly gave way to intense concentration – they had spotted an impala not more than 30 metres away. The moment of canine contemplation was broken as the Impala made a break for the perceived sanctity of the forest. The dogs immediately pursued the Impala, and our game drive vehicle joined the hunt behind the rapidly accelerating predators.
Navigating the terrain as fast as the dogs proved tricky, and we sadly lost sight of the chase. It seemed that the Impala had vanished until it suddenly reappeared, looping around behind us!
Wild dog hunts are often presented as long-range stamina-busting pursuits where they wear down prey. However, this isn’t always the case. The Impala was already tiring, barely four minutes from when we had last seen him. The pack took their opportunity and took him down close to where we had stopped.
As the feeding frenzy began, we got our photos before heading towards the den for what we hoped would be the “second serving” of seeing the pups being fed. By the time we arrived, the dogs had beaten us to it. However, we did witness some very content young puppies who had gorged on freshly regurgitated impala meat.
Leopards, hyenas and the light of the moon
Impala featured on the menu for various other predators. Leopards were seen multiple times on the hunt, but the best sighting was on the road next to Rra Dinare. A leopard with a fresh kill, taken down mere minutes before we came across him. Curiously, he made no effort to move his kill to the safety of a tree and seemed perfectly happy to lie in the middle of the road like a lion, contentedly chewing on his prize.
Given the competition he would face once word hit the bush telegraph (lions and hyenas spent much time between Mma and Rra Dinare in the past few weeks), we were surprised that he happily ate for 30 minutes before eventually dragging his kill into thick bush.
Spotted hyenas regularly made appearances on night drives in the vicinity of our two camps and lions provided an outstanding night-time soundtrack. Buffalo and giraffe were their preferred species this month and we watched them feeding on these large herbivores on various drives. The lion sighting of the month came at the expense of a warthog close to Mma Dinare one evening. We found the pride alert and staring into the middle distance. With a full moon giving us more than enough light, we turned off all our lamps and watched as the lions began to stalk before suddenly bursting into a sprint. It was not until we heard the squeals amongst the dust that we learned a warthog wouldn’t make it through the night.
Relishing the last waters
As the reserve became a stable and reliable water source, we saw the herds of elephants and buffalos moving through the area in large numbers. The buffalos have chosen a route that skirts the camps and we have regularly seen them with their feline shadows.
Much of the lion and buffalo interaction took place late at night, and we often found the aftermath of their nocturnal duels on morning safaris.
The dust the herds throw up late in the afternoon made for spectacular sunset and silhouette photography.
The flood has brought a further flash of colour to our corner of the Delta, with the water birds at the water’s edge searching for fish, frogs, and other tasty morsels that the waters bring. Keen birders ticked off African jacanas, African fish-eagles, White-browed robin-chats and Crested barbets.
(Please note: For the safety of the animals, we do not disclose the location of either rhino or pangolin sightings. Accompanying pictures 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. Still, we felt it was worthy of a feature alongside this month’s Sightings Report!)