The four cheetah brothers kept our GnT’s busy across the Dinare Private Concession during June. Familiar marking points helped us follow their movements, and the coalition was seen hunting on several occasions, with young zebra, warthog and impala all on the menu.
The brothers were particularly successful with young zebra. On one occasion, all four were found together with a fresh kill, while another interesting spell saw the coalition temporarily split around the Roan area. Two of the males moved between their usual marking points calling for the others, and the presence of a female cheetah nearby offered a likely explanation for the separation.
The brothers soon regrouped, and their movements through the open areas continued throughout the month.
Lion dynamics were equally interesting. Trudy’s Pride remained a familiar presence around Mma Dinare, and all four females – the two adults and two of their daughters – were seen mating.
Meanwhile, three males from the Santawani Pride pushed further into the concession and into the territory of the Gomoti males. The two Gomoti males spent more time across the Gomoti channel, while females dispersed from Tee’s Pride and three nomadic subadult males from the same pride added still more lions to the mix.
Roaring after dark often gave the first clue to where the males had moved overnight, while spoor and the behaviour of other animals helped piece together their movements the following morning. Buffalo and wildebeest attracted plenty of attention, and several hunting attempts were watched during the cooler hours.
Leopard cubs and cats after dark
A female leopard with two young cubs was seen several times towards the airstrip. The youngsters were still cautious around vehicles, staying close to their mother and the cover of the surrounding woodland.
Another female gave guests a very different encounter when she was followed while hunting an adult male impala. Patience paid off as the stalk ended successfully, and she dragged her kill away into cover.
After sunset, the concession produced an impressive collection of smaller predators. Caracals and servals were seen during night drives, along with aardvark, aardwolf, honey badgers, African wild cats and genets. Porcupines, bat-eared foxes, scrub hares and springhares also appeared in the spotlight.
One particularly hefty African rock python, estimated at around four metres long, was another memorable find.
Spotted hyenas were active too, with adults and pups seen at several sites thought to be denning areas.
The flood pushes into Dinare
June brought a major change to the landscape as the flood began pushing into the concession.
Water spread from the Gomoti channel across floodplains and some of the game-drive roads. The first push was already substantial, with the guides reporting water levels not experienced in the area for several years and a second push still expected.
The returning water quickly became part of everyday wildlife movements. Elephant breeding herds and bulls gathered along the Gomoti, feeding beside the channels and crossing through the water. Large buffalo herds moved through the concession, alongside zebra, giraffe, tsessebe, impala and red lechwe.
The changing water levels also brought the Delta increasingly into the game-viewing experience. Hippos occupied the channels, elephants crossed the river and red lechwe moved through the shallows.
Painted reed frogs from the mokoro
Out on the water, mokoro excursions revealed some of the Delta’s much smaller residents. Painted reed frogs were found tucked amongst the aquatic vegetation, the very frogs whose calls could be heard around camp in the evenings, while water monitor lizards and numerous waterbirds were also seen.
Boat cruises took guests past elephants feeding along the channels and brought sightings of buffalo, hippos and red lechwe. The heronries and other breeding areas became increasingly busy as the flood spread, with waterbirds gathering around the newly inundated floodplains.
African fish eagles, saddle-billed storks, Goliath herons and malachite kingfishers were among the birds seen along the river system, while the arrival of more water brought increasing numbers of aquatic species into the concession.
Back on dry land, winter was making itself known. Trees began shedding their leaves, the thick summer bush started opening and mornings became decidedly chilly.
Clear winter nights brought another side to Dinare. With the engine switched off and the day’s game drives over, the soundtrack shifted to owls, calling hyenas and lions roaring somewhere across the floodplains – while overhead, the June sky did the rest.
