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Botswana Safari, Okavango Delta Posts

Lagoon November 2013

 

Lions were found almost every day this month, with the two male lions being seen nearly every second day, including when they were found feeding on a buffalo they had killed. Two females were found on the same day, also feeding. There was a pride of three females that were also seen regularly, once feasting on a warthog kill.

The pack of nine dogs (four male and five female) were seen just three minutes from the camp, with a fresh kill. We also watched whilst they moved to drink water from the pan along Old Lebala road. A pack of five dogs (four male and one female), more commonly seen in the Lebala area, were also found closer to Lagoon in the middle of the month. However, at the end of the month, the pack of nine appeared to have lost one male – they were seen twice with only 8 members. Perhaps one was injured and unable to keep up with the pack as both sightings were of when the pack was hunting. That may just mean that the rest of the dogs go back to him later, and regurgitate food for him.

This month was also good for leopard sightings, with a lovely male that allowed us to watch him and follow him for about an hour, before he slinked off through the bushes. Two different females were seen on consecutive days hunting for impala. One female was found resting in a sausage tree, and then clambered down some minutes later. She looked rather hungry, and disappeared off into the bush on a hunting mission.

The three cheetah males made a return and were seen just five minutes from camp, well fed, and then again the next day. Their irregular visits to the area continue to baffle us!

With the first sprinkling of rain, the herds of elephants decide to try their chances in the mopane woodland, where the trees would have their fresh leaves, and the water will have collected in the clay soils that mopane favours. Although they are right in thinking the mopane will have nice leaves at the moment, there has not as yet been sufficient rainfall for much water to collect in the pans, so they are likely to still need to ‘commute’ and come back to the rivers edge to drink. Similarly, the buffalo herds – although still congregating in large numbers – will slowly start to disperse, looking for a wider range of grazing grounds as the new grass shoots start to emerge.

Although most of our guests like to focus on the comings and goings of the larger animals, it is sometimes easy to overlook the hierarchy of the bird world is also running alongside this. This month, we had a wonderful sighting of a martial eagle – the largest raptor in Botswana – feeding on a monitor lizard that it had caught. Waiting ‘in the wings’, so to speak, was the slightly smaller tawny eagle, hoping for any off cuts or dropped bits!

Lovely herds of eland, zebra, roan, sable and giraffe were seen this month. We also saw two porcupines in one night – one whilst out on drive, and another only a few minutes from camp.

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Kwara November 2013

 

The first couple of day of November in Kwara, it was left-overs for dinner each night for two male and one female lions – the hippo they had killed right at the end of October still had enough food left for them. Two days later, four males spent a couple of days feeding on a buffalo they had killed. In fact, there were only two days this month that lions were not found – so it’s hard to detail which sightings were the most interesting. The four ‘Marsh boys’ the big males that ousted the members of the Magnificent seven returned to the area with a female and two sub-adults in tow. They were also found feeding on a hippo.

On the 4th, the pack of 18 wild dogs (11 adults and 7 young) were seen feeding on a lechwe – a big antelope, but a quick meal when split amongst 18 individuals. An even smaller snack for them was a single impala we saw them hunt a couple of days later. With a pack this size, they will normally hunt and catch two to three impala a day, but sadly not always whilst we are watching! From the middle of the month the pack moved out of the easily reached areas of the concession, perhaps seeking new hunting ground, but returned at the end of the month with all members alive and well.

A few months ago a bush fire tore through a section of the concession. At the time, these can be worrying, but there was sufficient water and open areas with less vegetation for it to stop well before it got close to the camps. The area is now like an enormous well-maintained golf course, with a carpet of short bright green grass. Delineated by the tracks, where the fire was unable to cross, the yellow/grey tall moribund vegetation on the other side of the track shows a stark contrast. The problem with playing golf on one of these areas is you are more than likely going to hit an animal. Herds of zebra, wildebeest, tsessebe and other grazers have moved in to consume the luscious grass. Towards the end of the month, these herds were joined by the addition of lots of little hooves: the impala had dropped their young – usually all within a few days of each other – and now there were lots of small bouncy animals ricocheting around the herds on their stick-thin legs. Sadly, this is also a time for predators to be like kids in a sweet shop, with lots of fairly defenceless bite-size morsels readily available.

Game drives are always popular in the Kwara concession, because the variety of animals on offer is so great. However, the mokoros also provide unusual sightings outside of the normal water-lily and bell-frog viewing. A stop on a bank to stretch legs and have a cup of coffee during one mokoro outing provided a complete game viewing experience when a reedbuck was noticed swimming along in the water, being followed closely by a pack/slither/menace (what is the correct collective noun??) of crocodiles…. She escaped unharmed, coming out on a far bank, but the reason for her morning dip was spotted standing on the other side of the Lagoon – a pack of six wild dogs!

In the Tsum Tsum area, an elephant passed away, leaving a true feast for all and sundry. It was an unusual meeting of feeders, with hyenas eating on one side, vultures feeding on top of the elephant, and seventeen crocodiles – some several metres in length – feasting on the other side! Since there was enough meat to go around, there was no squabbling between the sides….

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Tau Pan October 2013

 

October is traditionally bush fire month in the Kalahari – tinder dry, and before the rains arrive, electrical storms and flashes of lightning start sudden fires that can burn for days unhindered. Tau Pan Camp itself has struggled with this each year that camp has been open, ensuring days and nights of hard work for camp staff and park rangers, and the odd near-miss as fire sweeps past the camp.

Last season, the rains were not as plentiful as previous years, and the last rain fall was in February. This could create optimum wildfire conditions, so everyone was rather concerned how eventful October would be, but the lack of rain actually meant that there was very little grass to burn. This year, fires broke out near Deception Valley, and some distance from camp, but they did not move with the speed of previous years.

Lions came to drink almost every day at Tau Pan camp waterhole, often in different combinations. Sometimes three at a time, sometimes individually, and sometimes the entire pride.

On one occasion, a resident male was fighting one of the younger males, most probably trying to eliminate the young male from his natal pride. Another group of lions – a female and two males was seen sleeping at Sunday Pan, but one of the males was very skinny, and was possibly ill

The two lionesses and two males that form the resident pride have been mating on and off during the last three months. This is part of an evaluation behaviour, referred to as false oestrus, which gives the females a chance to assess the strength and capability of the males to deter other competitors. This avoids the labour intensive and energy-wasting problem of falling pregnant to the new males, and having the cubs killed if the males then get overthrown.

There was a week of cheetah and lions alternating each day, with a male and a female lions spending several days close to the camp waterhole after killing an oryx. They were joined by the rest of the pride on the 12th, with a total of ten lions relaxing and sleeping by the waterhole. The cheetah had to wait till the lions had moved off, before a male approached to drink there.

The next day, a female and sub adult cheetah were seen to the south of Tau Pan, attempting to hunt springbok. The same pair had been seen on Springbok Road, twice in the previous week, feeding on the remains of a springbok carcass.

A lovely male leopard was also seen hunting in the area around Thakadu road, but we were not able to stay with him long enough to see if he was successful or not. We also saw a leopard at San Pan, resting up on a camel thorn acacia, and at the same time scanning her surrounding. Eventually she came down the tree and lay on the ground. Two days later, we saw another adult leopard on Carlos Road, east of the camp, and the day after that, a female in the same area with a young cub. The cub was completely relaxed and playful. He frequently went up and down logs, and play-stalked the vehicle!

At the end of the month, a young leopardess was found to the east of the camp, up a tree. She soon came down to put on a great show for us. From her vantage point in the tree, she had spotted a slender mongoose, with which she then proceeded to play a giant version of ‘cat and mouse’ on the ground. The mongoose tried to escape up the tree, but was very surprised when the leopard followed him. The traumatized mongoose then leapt off the tree, and ran for safety!

Another visitor to the Tau Pan waterhole, was a brown hyena. He drank water for a long time and then went off to chew on the orxy bones that had been previously killed by lions. He returned to the water hole, drank again, and also a bit of a bath, then set off into the bush. In total brown hyenas were seen four times this month. And another sighting of the pack of wild dogs, this time resting up at the Letiahau waterhole in the shade on a hot October day!

And amidst the dust and beige colours of the bush, the birds add that flash of colour – the swallow tailed bee-eaters with their bright blues and the other summer visitors in their breeding plumage herald the start of the rains. And an odd group of visitors – three grey herons, in transit to a wetter environment.

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Nxai Pan October 2013

 

October was obviously a month for unusual sightings, and Nxai Pan was not going to be left out of these statistics. Buffalos are not normally seen in Nxai Pan, but sure enough, four of them arrived at the water hole in front of the camp on the 19th of October, desperate for a drink of water. With no rain as yet, there is very little grazing anywhere in Northern Botswana, so these buffalo have obviously travelled far and wide in search of anything to last them till the rains. They were seen for a few days near the camp, but the presence of lions forced them to move off.

Lions were seen regularly this month, one of the animals that can survive without too much hardship when there is minimal water. All herbivores have been affected by the dry conditions, with very little food available. Animals that normally only graze, change tactics and try to browse a little. The browsers have a little relief in October as some of the acacias come into bloom, and a few trees start to unfurl new leaves, in anticipation of the rains. Lions, on the other hand, can relax near a waterhole, quenching their thirst when they need, and catching a weakened antelope that approaches.

Amongst the lions that were seen this month, were a pride of six adults – two of whom were seen mating on several occasions, and a female with two cubs that frequented the area around the camp. The pride also killed a young kudu close to the camp, and were seen feeding on this. Three days later, two males killed a buffalo – perhaps one of the four that had previously been seen – on the main road to the waterhole.

Elephants are obviously still coming in to the camp to drink from the waterhole, and they are needing the water in large quantities to make up for the lack of moisture in the vegetation that they are currently eating. The odd cloudy day helps all the animals relax a little, but the promise of rain is so tantalizing. Impala, giraffe, springbok, kudu, and a few zebra all scrabble for what they can get.

And to finish of an unusual month for sightings, who else should make an appearance this month but four wild dogs, at Baobab Loop!

 

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Lebala October 2013

kwando2013_22.jpg - LEBALA

 

Two male lions were found in the Twin Pools area stalking buffalo. When we first located them, only one male was visible, and he commenced roaring, calling to his colleague. This was very impressive, since he was sitting only 10 meters from the car! We followed them for about twenty minutes, and were rewarded with success as they managed to pull down a young buffalo, and keep the rest of the herd from pushing them away.

A few days later, the same two males killed another buffalo, this time during the night only 500m from the camp. When we found the kill in the morning, they were being hassled a lot by hyenas, but fiercely stood their ground.

These two males were seen regularly throughout the month – around 14 times. We also saw a few females with three sub adult cubs.

People often have misconceptions about the big King of the Jungle, but lions are not averse to grabbing food whenever they can get it, size is not an issue. Still, it is rather unsettling to see lions wander past, each carrying a baby warthog in their mouths – perhaps the equivalent of us having a hot dog for lunch?

A big male leopard killed a warthog and was feeding on it, whilst around 300m away, a female leopard managed to kill an impala. Two hyenas approached and managed to steal the kill from the female.

A female leopard with cub was also seen regularly in the Park area. Both mother and cub were very relaxed, and in good condition, providing good sightings for the guests. On one occasion, the hyenas hassled the pair when they managed to kill an impala in the area, before the female managed to get the impala up a tree. The hyenas stayed in the area for some time, hoping for ‘offcuts’.

The hyenas have also set up a new den close to Steven’s Pan. There are currently 7 youngsters there, of varying ages.

The three brother cheetahs, that appear sporadically and then venture out over the rest of the concession, moved back to the Lagoon area and spent four days in the area. Whilst they were here, they were seen killing an impala.

Although the Lagoon wild dog pack appears to have split into two packs – one of nine individuals and one of 5 individuals, they are still seem to rejoin together from time to time. At the beginning of the month, and then again on the 17th & 19th, all fourteen dogs were seen together, hunting and killing as a pack. When thy do separate, the pack of nine stays in the area closer to Lagoon, whilst the pack of five stays closer to Lebala!

General game in the area is excellent, with the big herds of buffalo looking for the best grazing, and the endless herds of elephants moving through the marsh areas. We also had a lovely sighting of a caracal this month.

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Lagoon October 2013

 

And if Kwara can have rhino as it’s rare sighting, then Lagoon can also have its claim to fame this month: guides had reported several sightings of an antelope that they just couldn’t identify as being any of the regular ones they see. Looking a little like a steenbok, but with longer legs, and slightly heavier, it was possibly an oribi. Although no one was able to get a definitive photo of the animal, oribi can technically occur in the area. However, it remains a very rare sighting indeed.

The pack of nine wild dogs (this is the new pack that split from the 14 dogs in September) remained in the Lagoon area and were seen several times each week. The old alpha female went with the other five dogs, so this pack of 9 will choose the dominant male and female to be the new alphas.

The three brother cheetahs were seen five or six times this month, but had long gaps between their appearances, as they moved through their much greater territory.

In the last two weeks of the month, leopards were seen almost every day of the week – all female with the exception of one sub adult male leopard. The leopards were seen relaxing in trees, and feeding on reedbuck. One female was also witnessed stalking a warthog – a dangerous business for a relatively light cat. Although she tried her best, the warthog noticed her approach and fled at speed.

The lions were also enjoying the plentiful buffalo in the area, and all looked well fed. Although only two females were actually seen feeding on a buffalo calf, it’s certain that they are feasting on others!

At all our camps, we often get specialist photographers – either travelling by themselves, or escorting groups and advising them how to get the best out of their camera. One of these regular return photographers wrote to say that he had got the best images this time in the past 26 years of guiding in Africa. What did he see? “Flying leopards and river jumping wild dogs”! We are quite keen to see photographic proof of the first animal!

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Kwara October 2013

The rarest, most unusual sighting this month – in fact, this decade, was …. Rhino!

Seen twice in the Tsum Tsum area, a female and a large male square-lipped (white) rhino shocked a lot of our guides, more than their guests. For all our guides and trackers, it was the first time in their lives they had seen these animals. The first sighting – the rhinos took off before the guests could take a photo. But two days later, all three cars that were out on drive managed to watch the rhinos and get photographs. Its wonderful news that these rhinos, re-introduced several years ago on Chiefs Island, have adapted well to life in the delta, even crossing deep water in order to get to the nice grazing area in Tsum Tsum. Let’s hope they remain in the area and there is the pitter-patter of baby rhino feet to come!

The pack of wild dogs which denned at Kwara was seen regularly throughout the month, though they have lost three puppies and now have a total of seven puppies and eleven adults. A pack of six dogs also came in to the concession, and were seen early evening at the beginning of the month walking alongside the airstrip. A few days later, the bigger pack were also seen along the airstrip, and this time they managed to kill two impalas. The next day, they killed another two impalas, but a hyena managed to steal one of the impalas from the dogs. And just to be different, the next day, they killed another two impalas….

Lions were seen regularly this month, but unusually, three or four of the male intruders appear to have adopted new tactics in their hunting techniques. Three times, the last one being on the 29th of October, the lions killed adult hippos during the night. It may be a circumstantial event as a result of the dry conditions: with little good grazing around, hippos are needing to spend more time out of the water and move further afield. They are likely to also be in a weakened condition, waiting for the good grazing to arrive, and could be more susceptible to illness and attack from predators.

The two male cheetahs were seen during the month in the Tsum Tsum area. One has bad cuts to his face and leg, the result of fighting with two intruder cheetahs. Everyone was quite concerned for his survival. However, the last day of the month, the two were seen again in Tsum Tsum, with the injured male well recovered and healthy.

A leopard was seen in the Honeymoon Pan area, resting up a tree, letting us observe him at leisure.

On the 10th of the month, the pack of dogs came through Kwara camp hunting impala, and chased one impala straight into the lagoon in front of camp. The impala attempted to escape by swimming to a far bank, but was soon grabbed by a large crocodile.

We also had a good sighting of three hyenas with two young – just old enough to keep up with the rest of the clan, rather being left behind at the den.

Elephants are fascinating animals, and continually manage to surprise us. One of the regular bull elephants that visits the camp, provided a lunchtime floor-show for the guests by playing with the fireside stools that are made out of palm trees. He would push them over, roll them together then stand them up next to each other, then get another one, push it over, roll it, and stand it up again. It was the most bizarre behaviour we have seen in a while, but he seemed to be enjoying creating a little abstract art, or Palmhenge!

Although this was all the work of just one elephant, his compatriots have been in the Tsum Tsum area in large numbers. A group of around 70 adult females with several young were seen drinking from the pans in the area. This is several breeding herds that have come together to make use of the resources in the area.

Boat cruises have been excellent this month, with marabou storks nesting at Godikwe Island, lots of elephants crossing the water ways, and hippos providing their normal rambunctious floor show. An additional surprise sighting by boat was also had of the pack of six wild dogs, attempting to hunt red lechwe on an island.

We also managed to watch three eland drinking (a rare sighting of these shy animals) but with the addition of a roan antelope in the background!

If we are going to be visited at Kwara this month by such mystical animals as rhinos, there was no reason to not be visited by something else mystical: a tooth fairy. Our trackers are renowned for their skills in hunting down elusive animals, but everyone’s skills were tested when a guest lost the crown of his front tooth through the deck of the room. This was soon followed by two guests, two managers, a guide and a tracker under the deck, sorting through large amounts of leaf litter for some time, searching for the missing tooth. The trouble with teeth, is that they tend not to leave many footprints. Just as everyone was about to give up, sure enough, the tracker located the missing item, and garnered the honorary ‘tooth fairy’ title.

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Nxai Pan September 2013

 

An early September morning, we set off at around 630am and coming across fresh lion tracks soon after leaving camp. Whilst we were discussing the tracks, a lion began roaring nearby. Heading in the direction of the roaring, we came across three females close to the road. One of the lionesses had very swollen teats – a sure sign that she had young cubs hidden away somewhere. Another two lions were spotted a little further along from the females.

Also that day we saw a good number of zebras, wildebeest, springbok, impalas, and a cheetah.

Another day out on drive we saw two big male lions relaxing on the Baobab loop road, and then came across another cheetah which we were able to witness killing a female impala.

It’s not just the mammals that provide us with excellent sightings, but the birds too. A black chested eagle landed at one of the waterholes, and walked up and down the edge of the water before beginning to drink. After a display of opening and closing it’s wings, it walked into the water and soaked its belly. Having drunk and bathed, the raptor flew to a dead camel thorn tree nearby the waterhole, and began to preen. Before long, a fork-tailed drongo appeared and the feisty little bird began to dive bomb the eagle, in the hope of making it leave.

Otherwise, it was business as usual at the camp waterhole, with a constant supply of elephants bustling in for a drink. The hotter it gets, the more frayed tempers become, and a few tussles broke out between the males, with trumpeting sound effects carrying far. There should also be some scientific study of how elephants approach waterholes, as they seem to double or triple their speed of approach the closer they get to the waterhole, before applying the brakes just as they reach the edge!

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Lebala September 2013

Another great month of viewing with the big predators being seen every day – sometimes four different species in a day: lion, leopard, cheetah, and wild dogs.

The three brother cheetahs made a few appearances in the Lebala region of the concession, before heading south-west. Although cheetahs were not seen much this month, the other cats featured well, with nearly every drive finding either a leopard, a lion or both! 

One morning drive a buffalo calf was found dead, but with nothing feeding on it. Returning to the same spot later that afternoon, a large male lion had taken up the opportunity of a free meal, and was working his way through the carcass. This resident male was seen regularly throughout the month. Later in the month, two young males were found eating two buffalos, that they had somehow managed to catch together.

The new generation of lions also made an appearance – four lionesses were located at Buffalo Pan, with four cubs. The lion activity in the Kwando concession is certainly giving plenty of variety! In the middle of the month, two male lions fought off another two at Kwena Lagoon, the winners remaining with the female lions that were nearby.

The Lagoon pack of wild dogs visited Lebala area throughout the month, killing kudu and impala. They were also seen chasing a group of warthog near the Baobab, and caught one, quickly dis-emboweling it and feeding. The very next morning the same pack of 14 was found eating an impala, when they were dispersed by hyenas. The hyenas made off with the scanty remains.

In addition to regular sightings of the pack of 14, a pack of four dogs was seen at Twin Pools, close to our boundary, attempting to hunt. This hunt was unsuccessful, but we hope to see this group again some time.

Towards the end of the month, the pack of fourteen dogs split into two – one pack of nine, and one pack of five. They spent almost a week apart, before rejoining once, and then splitting again. Both sections of the pack are covering very large distances, moving continually between Lagoon and Lebala areas.

The unusual sighting for this month was also a caracal. A relaxed female caracal was seen hunting along Sunset Pan. In addition, a serval cat was seen hunting, and a honey badger was found showing her young offspring how to search for food.

 

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Lagoon September 2013

 

Ever ask a guide what is the one animal that they don’t want to meet on foot? In almost every case, the answer will be buffalo. They are just unpredictable, temperamental, and when on their own, seem to have a deep-set dislike of humans. In a car, you are fine, they can stare at you as much as they like and snort and stamp their feet, but they are not going to do anything about it. In a bizarre twist of nature, group them all the together, and they are even less likely to do anything, as the safety of the herd becomes paramount. Which is why, when you are sitting in a car in herd of buffalo you are completely safe, even if you are getting the odd ugly stare from the nearest individuals. Its good to keep reminding yourself of this when you are in a herd that numbers around 2000 individuals. This huge grouping moved through the area around Lagoon for several days in early September, feeding on the grass and resting near the channels of water that surround the area. At this time of year, its not uncommon to see herds of several hundred, but this giant herd seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, under every tree, occupying all the land as it slowly moved through, acting just like a herd of normal milking cows – shying at every noise, and moo-ing contentedly.

And where there are buffalo, there are lions. Two big males have pretty much become permanent fixtures in the water cut region, as this is the area the buffalo like to come to drink. With these males establishing a territory, the pride of six with three sub-adult males has had to move further north, in order to alleviate the tension and fighting between the adult males and the sub adults. Half way through the month, the sub adults were found feeding on a dead hippo. Its unlikely that they would have developed the skill required to kill such an animal at this early stage. More likely, the hippo succumbed to illness and lions found it.

The leopard bonanza that began last month, continued on into September, with leopards being seen on almost every day. The 3rd of September saw two leopards on the morning drive, and two in the afternoon – all different individuals.

The three brother cheetahs, those on again, off again visitors, moved back into the Lagoon area the first week of September, for three days, and were seen hunting and killing a kudu. Shortly after that, they headed back to the north, and were not seen for the rest of the month. Two sub-adult cheetahs were also seen this month.

The dogs are doing their yo-yo tactics that they have adopted of late – zigzagging the concession, between Lagoon and Lebala. All 14 dogs were seen. One late afternoon at Half Way Pan, the dogs kindly pointed out a pangolin that was in the area, not being able to make much use of it themselves. It was a rare opportunity for the guests to see such a bizarre creature. Another rare sighting was of dogs fighting with two sable. Even for 14 dogs, taking on a sable with its formidable horns is a little extreme, so perhaps it was more of a play-fight.

And although hyenas always get the bad reputation for being carrion eaters, not even wild dogs are immune to a free meal: the dogs spent two days feeding on a dead elephant, rather than hunt for themselves.

As September arrives, so do the migratory birds. Breeding plumage becomes obvious with vibrant colours. One of the last to announce their arrival is the Woodland kingfisher – probably only arriving here in early to mid October. When he lands, then we know that summer is well on its way.

Other than the pangolin that the wild dogs found, other unusual sightings were a herd of sable 28 strong, and a caracal.

 

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