Botswana Safari, Okavango Delta

Lagoon, May 2014

Published May 31, 2014 by Kwando Safaris

The lions are firmly established, with four adults (two males and the two females) and three young of around 4months at Grass Pan, feeding on a zebra. The two males fought with two nomadic younger males, and these have been pushed out of the territory, not to be seen again. The young cubs are slowly growing up, enjoying each day as it brings new adventure and the every present curiosity of cats. The cubs have been introduced to the rest of the pride, with no animosity from the males. The mother still has to be careful of intruder males, as if they find the cubs, they will be killed. There is another female in the area with two five month old cubs that are doing well. The pride males, on the last day of May, killed a calf buffalo near Zebra Pan and consumed it in its entirety in one morning. They were rather full and sloth-like afterward!

The pack of eight dogs were seen along Pan road in early May – reading emails (as one of the guides termed it) from the rarely seen pack of twenty from the North. Essentially, picking up on the scent marks that larger pack had left behind. 500m away from this investigation, a female leopard was spotted hunting. We could see from her shape that she is a nursing cubs hidden somewhere.

Later in the month, it became obvious that three females of the pack of 8 dogs were pregnant. This is highly unusual, and has been caused due to there being no female being clearly dominant, so the alpha male has been mating with all females possible. We hope that we are able to get one healthy litter out of the three dogs, for there is little chance of all there sets of pups surviving – even with the best intentions, the remaining five adults would not be able to hunt enough to provide for three mothers.

The two shy young male cheetahs we saw for the first time last year arrived back this month, having grown and matured. No longer shy, they are totally relaxed around the cars, and seem confident in their manner.

Regular sighting of several leopards – including an unusual one of a female feeding on a side-striped jackal. Killed as competition for food, predators rarely feed on other predators. As it was, she eats only a small portion of the jackal, and then abandoned the kill. Closer to camp, a male leopard killed a reedbuck, but the leopard was forced to give up his kill to a group of hyenas. Other hyenas were also ‘spotted’ – with the best sighting being of ten individuals clamouring over the remains of a baby elephant carcass.

The breeding herds of elephants are back in full force, with all and sundry crossing the river in front of camp. Little ellies are dipping their feet in the chilly water, and then forcefully plunging in after their mothers, trunks raised for breath. Aunty pushes them along from behind, helping them up the bank as they tire. For the big males, a water crossing is often a good excuse for a tussle in the water, diving and plunging and knocking about with friends, to see who is the big boy at the pool.

Buffalo herds are in the area as well, but we have yet to see the large amalgamation of herds that we saw last year, which reached over 2000 individuals. This will hopefully occur in the next few months, and will be a sight to behold.

Lots of wonderful general game continues through this month, with zebras, giraffe, sable, kudu, assorted mongoose species and the night active animals such as civet, large spotted genets and servals.

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Tau Pan April 2014

Published April 30, 2014 by Kwando Safaris

There’s a rule in the safari business – the ten metre rule. This means that you should not get closer than ten metres to the animal you are viewing in a vehicle. This is for the animal’s comfort, and so they do not feel threatened in any way. In Tau Pan, since we are in a Game Reserve, we also cannot go off road, but it is still amazing to see how many times in this huge open area, we have to use the 10 metre rule as animals happily snooze – by chance? – just under the tree next to the road. Sometimes, it’s too late to use the 10m rule – as happened this month when a bend in the road around a low bush resulted in us finding 7 lions on the other side of the bush. Being part of the Tau Pride, they did not even blink an eyelid at the sudden appearance of a car. They were, however, less than happy about an intruder male lion who appeared a few days later, and the speed at which seven lions can move when something really interests them is quite amazing.

What is also amazing is how many times the animals have not read of, or appear to have even heard of the ’10 metre rule’. Their complete disregard for our comfort zone, and nonchalance in the presence of our vehicles, is a little disconcerting. A wonderful example of a regular flouter of the 10 metre rule, is a female leopard that has a territory near the eastern fire break. Having been seen ever since the camp opened over five years ago, we have become part of the furniture as far as she is concerned. Spotting her on game drive will often result in a ‘stroll by’ – at a distance of around 1m from the stationary vehicle!

Three different cheetah sightings in four days was a good record for the end of the month. One of the males that was seen is a regular visitor to Tau Pan waterhole, but moves exceptionally cautiously as he moves through the area, always on the lookout for the resident lions that chase him out. Two days later, we saw a female with her cub in the same area, fairly relaxed in spite of the potential for a lion to happen upon them.

Like hyenas, vultures have been given a bit of a bad rap from the Disney marketing executives. Admittedly, their looks and the sound effects they make – not to mention their rather dubious dietary choices – have not done them any favours. However, without them, our land would be disease-ridden, covered in noxious animal waste and a few extra flies. They help the environment return all the right nutrients to the system, and allow for something else to make use of it. So it is alarming to realise how endangered these birds are. Subject to poisoning by poachers and farmers alike, their numbers in Botswana could reach critical levels soon. So it was a delight to see on the 18^th April, one special vulture: he had been tagged. A tagged vulture helps researchers and conservationists track the movements of individuals, and by the number of reports that come in for each individual tag, extrapolate the movement and numbers of the different species. So, on that day, the number was excitedly recorded and forwarded on to the research team, as the relaxed vulture looked on from his post

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Nxai Pan April 2014

Published April 30, 2014 by Kwando Safaris

The lion pride was seen around Middle Road on the first day of the month, with the female moving her cubs to a new den site and the rest of the pride relaxing at the waterhole. A few days later the lioness was seen again moving the three cubs in the direction of Baines

The next day, two lionesses were seen at the camp waterhole, and then spent the whole day in the shade of bush near the waterhole. Another time, lying up at the main waterhole, two lionesses seemed to be snoozing whilst a large male giraffe approached the waterhole to drink. Suddenly alert to this new arrival, the lionesses crouched down, and went into hunting mode. Luckily, the giraffe spotted them just in time, before he dipped down to drink, but the lioness still made an attempt and chased the giraffe off, as he ran ungainly away.

A morning drive out and we found two male lions. Stopping the car to watch them, the lions continued on their way, and suddenly we found ourselves with one big male in front of the car, and one behind! Completely unconcerned by our presence, they moved on in their own time. A great sighting! We continued on a little further and found another male at the waterhole ‘baby sitting’ three cubs, whilst the rest of the pride were presumably out on a hunt.

Lion cubs were not the only cub we saw this month – a lovely leopard was found feeding on a zebra she had killed, and feeding with her was her little cub!

The main waterhole can get a little sticky at times, as one honey badger found out when he went to drink. The mud in the surrounding area was a little thick for his short fat legs, and it took him quite a time to get out of his sticky predicament. A better day for another honey badger, when we watched one hunting and catching a small feast. Although we couldn’t make out exactly what he had caught, it appeared to be quite an enjoyable meal!

Now the majority of the zebras have left – with the normal herds that reside here all year round remaining, another migration appears to have moved in. Wherever you look, there are giraffe. In amongst the trees, standing in the middle of the flat open plains, approaching the waterholes. Game drives are seeing 80-100 individuals on a morning drive – an unusual number, and where they have appeared from is anyone’s guess!

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Lebala April 2014

Published April 30, 2014 by Kwando Safaris

Two male lions took on a fairly formidable foe in the form of a herd of eland. The largest antelope in Africa, these huge animals could easily kill a lion with one well-placed aim of a hoof. Luckily for both parties, the prey proved too alert, as the wind blew the scent of the lions towards the eland, they departed at speed.

A very interesting interaction with leopard, hyenas and wild dogs. With the female leopard doing all the hard work, she managed to kill an adult male impala. Too big for her to carry it up into the safety of a tree, she could not protect her meal against the arrival of a pack of wild dogs, and two hyenas. Losing the kill, she sprinted off to safety, whilst the dogs and the hyenas tussled over the remains.

Two female wild dogs were seen running through the camp, looking for the rest of the pack. A group of five adult dogs had been seen in the area the day prior. This smaller pack was seen twice this month, with the bigger pack of 8 found ten times.

When guests arrive on safari, many of them say that they want to see a kill. Managers and guides nod knowingly, and say things like ‘Well, we’ll see. It’s quite rare to see.” The reason that they are nodding knowingly, is not because they know how rare it is to see, but that they know how most people, when a kill is put in front of them, really don’t want to see it. Or, more to the point, hear it. Many are the times when those guests most keen to see it, have been left in tears, and asked to leave. What you see on National Geographic documentaries, is highly edited. It is tamed down, sounds stripped away, and trimmed down to usually a couple of minutes. Real life, is not like that. Some guests discovered that when the pack of eight dogs came upon a warthog and proceeded to kill it. Bearing in mind that an animal being killed by wild dogs is actually one of the fastest processes, compared to say, lions killing something, it is still exceptionally distressing. And the screams of a warthog, are amongst the most bone-chilling on the planet. So, just bear that in mind when you ask to see a kill…you might not like what you see/hear/smell.

And speaking of kills, a big male lion spent several days feasting on a buffalo that it had killed. About three days after the kill, the lion left, satiated, and eight hyenas moved in to giggle and fuss and crunch over the remaining bones. Two lionesses and three cubs were also seen in the Twin Pools area, cubs playing whilst the mothers relaxed. A little later, they managed to kill a giraffe, providing a huge amount of food for the two lionesses, and little cubs.

Sadly, no sign of the cheetahs in the concession this month – off on their far reaching travels yet again.

An unusual sighting this month was of an aardwolf – an animal that looks somewhat like a hyena, but eats only termites!

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Lagoon April 2014

Published April 30, 2014 by Kwando Safaris

The resident male lions are being found in the area almost every day now. In addition, the pride with the three young cubs are also seen often, but now that the cubs are a little older, the mother is moving them more regularly, still trying to avoid the risk of running in to the males. Towards the end of the month, the two males were resting closer to the pride, but spent time courting a sub-adult lioness in the area.

A wonderful day where we found a leopardess on a kill. Unbothered by our attention, she left the kill after a while, and went into the nearby clump of trees. Small mewing sounds could be heard, and a tiny leopard cub appeared under her watchful eye! The cub is probably only around four weeks old, but the mother is exceptionally relaxed around the vehicle, and is unconcerned about our presence. She has been seen several times with her cub, and also off alone hunting impala.

Elephant activity has increased, particularly in the camp, where some regular neighbourly bulls come in to the camp to feed on the marula fruits and camel thorn pods. Breeding herds concentrate near the water, mud bathing, drinking, and swimming in the deeper water. Bulls in mush follow some of the herds, in the hope of finding a female that is ready for mating.

And now the elephants are settling in, the first forays of the buffalo herds have been seen this month. Two herds of around 300 and 200 animals respectively, have been seen several times along the floodplains, but the numbers will increase as the out-lying areas dry up, and animals are forced closer to the river for water and good grazing.

The pack of 8 wild dogs were found several times in the southern part of the concession. They were also seen close to the river, resting up from their travels. Two dens of hyenas have been ‘reactivated’ with both clans having cubs.

More unusual sightings this month have been of a caracal, two young porcupines, and a second sighting of caracal killing a korhaan. The migrant birds that also visited us for the summer are about to depart… the call of the woodland kingfisher has quietened, and by mid month, they left us, to return only in late October.

The sky seems to be teeming with vultures, as they soar over areas looking for carrion, and diving down into areas that are flooded, and thus inaccessible by car. One wonders what they are have found, and what predator had good luck hunting in the days past.

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Kwara April 2014

Published April 30, 2014 by Kwando Safaris

The pack of 14 wild dogs made a tour of the Splash Area, on a chase for some prey. An exciting hunt, led to them quickly catching a reed buck. A few days later we saw the same pack hunting and killing impala.

Two male cheetahs were found several times during the month, and although we did not witness them hunting, they appeared well-fed and relaxed. A female cheetah was found feeding on a young kudu. Not content with waiting its turn, a hyena approached the cheetah and successful chased her away, taking over the kill for himself. The next day, three lionesses with a subadult didn’t have as much success when they attempted to hunt tsessebes. The speedy antelope took off at pace. Four male lions had better luck with an adult kudu, and were found feeding on the remains.

The area near Wild Dog Pan gave us some lovely sightings of three lion cubs playing around while two lionesses rested. They were spotted again a few days later at Sable Island, resting.

The last week of the month really turned out to be cat week, with lions being sighted every day – often, several times a day – cheetahs making regular appearances, and the odd leopard or two. The lionesses with three cubs provided excellent viewing, with the youngsters suckling, and playing with their mother. Guests landing at the airstrip for the start of their African Safari, began it rather sooner than they had anticipated, as the cats lay in the shade of a tree just off the side of the runway. The 26^th of the month provided a showing of cats in many different shapes and sizes, with six lions being found – including the three suckling cubs and a big male lion, as well as a leopard sneaking off into the bush, and a smaller cat – the beautiful serval, off on his own hunting frogs in a marshy area.

On the 28^th, two male lions were located close to One Hippo area, after sun set, heading toward the floodplains. Eventually, the males changed direction and started heading east after picking up the scent of a female. The two boys kept on calling until the two females with the three cubs finally recognised the roar of the males, and responded. The happy family soon met up with each other, with lots of head-rubbing and sniffing.

The next day, setting out toward Splash in hopes of finding the two male cheetahs, we found tracks near a marking post that they have used before. Soon after, we heard animals alarm calling, and a few minutes later we found a female cheetah with three cubs, roughly six months old. She was very relaxed, and allowed us to follow her, and watch as she killed a young impala for her cubs.

A wonderful boat trip along the main channel into the Moremi Game Reserve produced a spectacular sighting of four adult sitatunga and one calf feeding along the banks. These exceptionally shy antelope spend their whole lives in the water ways, and are extremely rare to see anything more than fleeting glimpse of them.

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Tau Pan March 2014

Published March 31, 2014 by Kwando Safaris

A lovely start to the month with a female cheetah found in Phukwe Pan with three cubs. They have been lucky to avoid the lions that have been frequenting the area, and the mother cheetah has her work cut out for her to raise all three offspring to adulthood.

Speaking of lions, it is likely that there are going to be even more on the way – the Tau Pan pride adults were seen mating early in the month, as well as the two male “intruders” who were seen mating with the younger females from the original pride. This could lead to a lot of offspring, and a lot of territorial disputes as to who controls which area, and which cubs get to survive. The mating continued on and off for around two weeks – an unusually long time!

One of the younger males of the pride has quite a reputation for being rather lazy. Not only is he not being permitted (or perhaps it is simply not being bothered?) to mate, but whenever a car arrives to admire his wonderful looks, he does not even raise his head or open an eye at the intrusion. Obviously, sleep is very important for conservation of energy for lions, yet other individuals seem a little more active than this one. He managed to stagger awake and over to feed on an oryx carcass when the rest of the pride pulled one down, however.

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Nxai Pan March 2014

Published March 31, 2014 by Kwando Safaris

The national animal of Botswana – the zebra – still abound in Nxai Pan. Every where you look, every which way you turn, the herds are there. Towards the end of the month, they began moving off, but there were such large numbers this year, that it will take some time for the majority to leave the area. In the meant time, they are providing a plentiful food supply to the lions in the area.

Early in the month, and the lions and their three cubs – now around 3.5 months old – were seen every other day. The cubs would always provide plenty of entertainment, chasing each other around, and when bored with that, chasing their mother’s tail. One morning, we came across the whole pride, feeding on a zebra they had killed during the night. One male was mating with one of the lionesses. The cubs continued to play on and the other male, obviously sick of all the fuss, chose to drag the heavy zebra carcass off under the shade of a bush, where he could feed more peacefully.

Lions sightings continued to be excellent throughout the month, with them being sighted for 24 days out of 31. The males continued to hunt for zebra – not always successful in spite of the large number of them. Vultures watched their every move, in the hope that they will be successful and provide a second hand meal for them as well.

Another wonderful visit by the uncommon predator – three wild dogs made an appearance on the 20^th March. We found them near West road, chasing springboks out in the open. Unfortunately for them, they did not manage to catch one, and so they moved off across the plains.

A special trip to KgamaKgama – some distance from the main area of the park – was rewarded with a herd of eland – around 40 individuals. Very rare to see in Nxai Pan, it was with this specific intent that the car had set off to KgamaKgama, so wonderful that it all paid off.

With so many lions around, the cheetahs were needing to be careful, so we did not see as many this month as hoped for. However, we did find a female that was stalking through the bushes, in the hope of catching her dinner.

Still great general game around, with lots of the smaller predators – the jackals that trot around the open areas constantly, and the wonderful bat eared foxes that hunker down under the shade of low bushes, and come out to play in the early morning or late afternoon.

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Lagoon March 2014

Published March 31, 2014 by Kwando Safaris

The cubs are still going strong, and growing into three healthy bundles of energy. For most of the month they were still kept at the latest den, however on the 29^th March they were moved to a new location, as the scent in the area becomes too strong, and harder to hide from intruding males. One lioness was also seen mating with the two resident males – although both males tried to win her over, she chose the large blonde maned lion, rather than the black maned one.

Other sightings in the first week of the month included a very relaxed female leopard, that was seen in the morning and afternoon drives relaxing up a tree in the Water Cut area. Later in the month she was seen again hunting a male warthog, without success. We also found a shy male on an ostrich carcass – a difficult kill for a leopard!

The Lagoon pack of dogs continue to move through the concession, favouring the area between Lebala and Lagoon. They managed to bring down two warthogs at once – an achievement for 8 dogs – and that provided a good meal for the whole place. One morning was spent tracking the dogs without success, but they were then located in the afternoon. The dogs came across a herd of roan antelope, and spent some time chasing them around, although these large antelope are quite a formidable prey! The Roan ended up with the last laugh, as the dogs gave up and moved on in search of an easier target.

The large herds of elephants that are in the Lebala area have not made as big an impact on the Lagoon area, but we are still seeing lots of small breeding herds. Several huge herds of eland have been seen – numbering around 100 individuals – as well as the roan, and occasional sable sighting. Zebras, wildebeest, giraffes and kudus are continue to inhabit the areas where the grass is a little shorter – safer territory for them to see if someone is stalking them!

Hyenas benefitted from the lions this month, when the lionesses had eaten their fill of wildebeest they had killed, and a single hyena moved in to consume the rest of the carcass. A little over excited to have so much to himself, the hyena crunched and attempted to swallow a large piece of bone, which was just too big. It took some time for the hyena to cough the bone back out, and having gone through such a traumatic experience, he gave up on the rest of the carcass and left.

We also had great raptor sightings, with Brown Snake eagles, Tawny eagles, and lots of vultures (including white backed, and hooded) in the area due to the good number of kills that the lions have been bringing down.

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Kwara March 2014

Published March 30, 2014 by Kwando Safaris

The beginning of the month and it was lions every day, with adults feeding on an assortment of prey including zebra and tsessebe, whilst cubs played on the side. In fact, the ‘lions every day’ continued for the rest of the month, with only two days where lions were not found – or possibly no one wanted to look for them on those two days!

Cheetah sightings were also good, with a lovely sighting of a male walking in the Splash area, and then a couple of days later two males and a female in the same region. We also found a female early on in the month stalking impala with all the skill she could muster. Unfortunately, her hunting attempt was unsuccessful, and the impala escaped her grasp. Later in the month, the two male cheetahs were seen for several days at Splash, and we were lucky enough to witness them hunt a young impala.

A young group of lions had better luck when they stalked and managed to catch a fully grown zebra, as all in the game drive cars looked on in amazement. The next day, the two females and three cubs were found finishing off an ostrich kill – with a lot of feather dusters freely available in the surrounding area. Hippo also featured on the lion menu this month, with four males managing to kill a sub-adult hippo near Second Bridge. This provided food for the big males for several days – but the hunt is a very risky process, with the size of the animal involved.

The wild dogs made several appearances this month, with a pack of fifteen being found near Impala Pan in the middle of the month. All dogs participated in a fast-paced hunt, and successfully brought down two impalas – enough to divide amongst the big pack.

Elephants, zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, tsessebe all provided good sightings, feeding on the still luxurious grass. With the grass so high this year, walking was quite restricted, but even a walk through the camp could provide enough excitement for most people, with elephants making surprise appearances at inopportune times. Guests are never on their most alert status at 530 in the morning, as they stumble towards the first tea or coffee of the day at fireplace. Luckily, the guides and managers are, and noticing an elephant was approaching the rooms one morning, the guides stationed themselves along the pathway between the rooms and shouted warnings to the guests to stay where they were for the moment. Either lost in translation, or lost in sleep, one guest stumbled out of their room and started along the pathway, oblivious of the rather large grey object next to his tent, nor the shouting and arm-waving guides. Luckily, the elephant was as surprised by this behaviour as the guides, and turned tail and left for more peaceful surrounds

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