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Pom Pom Camp, May 2024

Aardvarks were seen on four different occasions, a rare and exciting occurrence!

The month started with a bang as we enjoyed watching African wild dogs corner a wildebeest near the campfire area during breakfast on 2 May.

The wild dogs later chased and killed an impala within the camp, providing a thrilling spectacle for our guests. We followed them to their den about 2km from the camp, where the alpha female, heavily pregnant, indicated that the pack might soon welcome new pups. The wild dogs were often seen hunting and drinking from the lagoon in front of the camp, which was slowly filling with water from the annual flood.

Birdlife flourished as these waters from Angola began flowing into our area, attracting wattled cranes, spur-winged geese, saddle-billed storks, open-billed storks, egrets, herons, pratincoles, plovers, and marabou storks.

Wild dogs Pom Pom Camp

Another thrilling interaction occurred during a game drive when 13 wild dogs killed a male red lechwe in the water, only for the kill to be hijacked by 11 spotted hyenas! Two lionesses then attempted to steal the kill but were chased off by the strong clan of hyenas.

Hyena drama and eight leopards on the prowl

Hyenas were a constant presence, often seen during both morning and night drives. One game drive, 12 hyenas stole a wild dog kill in the shallow water near Xinega. A dramatic scene unfolded as a clan of hyenas emerged from the bush, chased off the wild dogs, and devoured the prey alive. This gruesome spectacle attracted three female lions who attempted to claim the kill but were outnumbered and driven away by the hyenas. Additionally, hyenas were frequently seen in front of the camp, sometimes chasing lions or scavenging around kills.

Hyeanas of Pom Pom

Leopard sightings were equally impressive, with around eight different leopards observed throughout the concession. A particularly memorable sighting involved a mother and her six-month-old cub, mostly seen during night drives. On one occasion, we saw them feeding near the camp, only to be disrupted by two hyenas. The cub quickly climbed a tree while the mother circled protectively below. This dramatic scene occurred at Hamerkop Crossing. On another day, we found the mother chasing her elder daughter, both bearing wounds from their fight. 

Another exciting drive revealed the same female was seen walking with her cub near Giraffe Skull area. Another female leopard at Marula Island managed to recover her meal from a hyena and took it up a tree, where she was later found with a second kill, a warthog, enjoying her feast for a week.

What is the lion activity like at Pom Pom Camp?

Two dominant male lions roamed near the camp, frequently seen mating with two females. These powerful lions were repeatedly spotted drinking from the Pom Pom Lagoon in front of the camp during breakfast and dinner times, their roars resonating through the night, giving our guests a true taste of the wild.

The local Pom Pom Pride has split into three groups due to the lack of a dominant male, forcing the females and their cubs into a nomadic lifestyle to evade other male lions. We witnessed a dramatic encounter where two males chased a female and her cubs. One brave female risked her life defending the cubs, resulting in a limp after the confrontation. Further north, a pride of five (one male, two females, and two cubs) was occasionally spotted. Later in the month, after tracking for 25 minutes, we followed two lionesses walking along the Motjimbamo floodplains, leading us to their three cubs near the pan along the boundary.

We observed a male and a female cheetah moving in and out of the area. Late in the month, we found a lonely cub about six months old calling for its mother, who was later found with three cubs about a kilometre away. The coalition was also seen along Xinega floodplains, and the next day, near Letswai, it headed towards the boundary.

Civets, genets, scrub hares, and wild cats were commonly spotted on night drives and early morning outings and the concession offered rich and diverse wildlife sightings during the day. Large dazzles of zebras, wildebeests, tsessebes, red lechwe, impalas, reedbucks, kudus, giraffes, buffaloes, herds of elephants, baboons, monkeys, bushbucks, warthogs, and jackals. Porcupines and aardvarks were also spotted this month, particularly in Motjimbamo Island and the 1st Hippo Pool.

(Please note: For the safety of the animals, we do not disclose the precise 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, but we felt it was worthy of a feature alongside this month’s Sightings Report!)