The Kwara Pride provided one of August’s biggest gatherings when 28 lions were found west of Bat-eared Fox Den feeding on a hippo carcass. There was plenty to go around, and the pride stayed in the area, returning to the carcass and spending several days in this western section of the concession.
Their shift west followed pressure from three males moving in from the east. The resident three-male coalition had also adjusted its movements, with one male recovering from an injury sustained during an earlier confrontation. At one point, a resident male called from Bat-eared Fox Den while the newcomers answered from roughly three kilometres away. Despite the vocal exchange, neither coalition advanced far enough for another physical confrontation.
The three eastern males ranged widely, from east of Splash towards Willie’s Pan and into territory previously used by the resident males. They were later found with three females scavenging from a giraffe carcass south-east of Setlhabana-sa-Basarwa.
The Mmaleitho Pride also moved between Mmoloki Mabala, Motswere Pan and the woodland east of Splash, while avoiding the incoming males. With a subadult male still travelling with the pride, keeping away from an unfamiliar coalition was important.
Elsewhere, fresh tracks led guides to four lions and the remains of a greater kudu they had dragged into thick cover, while another pair was found mating.
Rra Tsebe brings breakfast into Splash
Leopards were especially active around both camps, including one memorable appearance from Rra Tsebe.
After being seen north of Maporota Road, the resident male turned up in Splash Camp with a warthog piglet hoisted into a sausage tree directly in front of the lounge. He later dragged the carcass beneath the deck before returning it to the tree, remaining around camp for two nights. Soon afterwards, baboons forced him into another tree along Shinde Main.
Females with youngsters were also doing well. One female and her cub were repeatedly located between Mmoloki Mabala, Giraffe Pan, Pelican Pan and Splash Hippos. They fed on impala kills hoisted into trees on more than one occasion.
Another leopard cub was found concealed in thick vegetation while its mother hunted. Tree squirrel alarm calls later helped guides locate mother and cub feeding on a baboon in a tree.
Hyenas descend on a giraffe carcass
Vultures circling and descending provided guides with a useful indication that something was happening on the ground. Following them led to the carcass of a male giraffe, where scavengers had already begun feeding.
By the following evening, more than 16 spotted hyenas had gathered at the carcass.
Another group of around ten hyenas finished a carcass taken from lions south-west of Splash Hippos, while roughly 12 were later involved in the commotion around another giraffe carcass after lions moved away.
East of camp, six spotted hyenas fed on a young zebra while black-backed jackals waited nearby for an opportunity to pick at the scraps.
Cheetahs patrol both sides of the concession
Several cheetahs used different parts of the Kwara Private Concession during August.
On one drive, guides were following lion tracks when fresh cheetah spoor crossed their path. They changed direction and followed it instead, eventually finding the cheetah standing on a termite mound and scanning a group of grazing impalas.
A male east of the area successfully killed a young common reedbuck along Katsotso Road, while another male was seen marking territorial posts north of Willie’s Valley.
Two females occupied different ranges. One was regularly around Motswere Pan and Splash Hippos, while another used the open areas around Bat-eared Fox Den, Giraffe Pan and Cheetah Road. Several hunts were observed during the month, giving guests a chance to watch the cats use the open ground and termite mounds to assess potential prey.
African wild dogs race past a leopard sighting
A leopard sighting north of Splash Camp suddenly changed direction when a pack of eight African wild dogs appeared and raced south-west on the hunt, with at least three spotted hyenas following behind.
The same pack was found resting around Pelican Pan the following day.
African wild dogs were also represented by a solitary individual moving through the wider area, although during August only its tracks were recorded.
Drying floodplains draw birds and Cape buffalo
The landscape was changing noticeably by the end of August. Water had begun receding from some areas, leaving shallow pools and exposed floodplains, while other sections of the concession still held plenty of water and green vegetation.
Several large Cape buffalo herds moved between Wild Dog Pan, Baboon Island, Pelican Pan and Splash Hippos. Zebra and wildebeest gathered around Kwara Island, Bat-eared Fox Den, Giraffe Pan and Mmoloki Mabala, alongside elephants, tsessebe, impala, giraffe, greater kudu, red lechwe and hippo.
The shallower water created concentrated feeding areas for birds. Great and little egrets, yellow-billed and saddle-billed storks, spoonbills and sacred ibis worked the edges, while wattled cranes were seen across the wetter plains.
At Godikwe Lagoon, marabou stork chicks had hatched, and southern carmine bee-eaters began appearing towards the Moanachira Channel.
Vultures were particularly visible around the month’s large carcasses, with hooded, white-backed, white-headed and lappet-faced vultures all recorded.
A serval hunts beside Splash Camp
Night drives revealed plenty of smaller predators.
One serval was watched hunting along the firebreak south of Splash Camp and successfully caught a mouse. African wild cats, honey badgers, aardwolves, genets, porcupines and springhares were also encountered after dark.
Banded, slender and dwarf mongooses foraged during the day.
Warmer temperatures also brought increased reptile activity. Black mambas, African rock pythons, puff adders and cobras were recorded, along with crocodiles and water monitor lizards around the waterways. A rock monitor was seen south of Giraffe Pan.
From mokoro channels to the August night sky
Mokoro excursions offered a quieter look at the flooded sections of the concession. Painted reed frogs, water monitor lizards and fish were seen along the waterways, and guests occasionally watched red lechwe running through the shallows.
Nature walks concentrated on tracks and signs, including those of lions, leopards, hippos and elephants. Fresh aardvark excavations and the underground activity of mole rats provided a closer look at animals that were not always seen above ground.
Clear August skies produced excellent stargazing, with Scorpius and the Southern Cross prominent after dark. Venus was also conspicuous, while the open floodplains and remaining channels reflected the changing light at sunrise and sunset.
