We saw several packs of African wild dog this month numbering 7, 8 and 29 individuals. They hunted the easier targets and took down wildebeest, impala, and reedbuck. However, they didn’t have it all their own way.
Early in the month, we found the large pack shadowing a herd of wildebeest. Having seen the wild dogs, the gnus aggressively protected their young, and the pack finally retreated to avoid injury. However, we watched them chase a wildebeest into a small lagoon the following day. As the embattled herbivore retreated further into the water, we watched with bated breath as a crocodile moved in slowly from behind.
The wildebeest noticed the crocodile at the last minute and moved towards shallower water, where the crocodile couldn’t attack from a submerged position. The wild dogs scampered up and down the water’s edge for over an hour, clearly conversing about what to do while the crocodile lay in wait, mostly submerged, to see if the wildebeest would be forced back into the deep water. Eventually, the wild dogs decided that the crocodile in the water was not worth the risk and moved away. As darkness fell, we departed with the wildebeest still standing in shallow water, facing a perilous night.
Spot of the month!
The prize for the best spot goes to the Kwara team, who set up a bush dinner only to find a leopard watching them from a tree a hundred metres away. (We moved to a different place to avoid having to share our dinner!)
Love has also been in the air, and a pair of mating leopards were seen regularly between Splash and Kwara. They were found mating and then split up for two days, only to reconcile and continue their mating ritual. At one point, another male leopard, attracted by their amorous growls, was found watching from fifty metres away. However, the couple showed no sign of being aware of him.
Our guides reported the reserve was booming with lots of smaller mammals like serval cats, genets, civets, African wild cats, springhares and lesser bushbabies. On mokoro outings, guests poled past many Angolan painted reed frogs and beautiful water lilies.
Lions were sighted regularly across the Kwara Private Reserve and located near Splash and Kwara, feasting on zebra, giraffes and even a baboon. The various lion prides all appeared well-fed and strong.
Likewise, the Spotted hyenas had considerable success. The clan of fourteen managed to take down a baby giraffe, having separated it from its mother. In a heartbreaking scene, the mother then returned and chased the hyenas off the body of its offspring. She continually tried to nudge it and urge it to get up, but it was too late. She then stood over it for four hours, defying the hyenas with well-placed kicks. Ultimately, she moved away, opening the way for the hyenas to finish what they had started.
Wildebeest, impalas and more antelopes gave birth across the plains and woodlands. Going out into the bush was hard without coming across a creche or mother shepherding her energetic youngsters through the landscape.
Fantastic Mr Special
Mr Special, the resident cheetah, had excellent triumphs hunting impala lambs as well as a young wildebeest. We also watched him hunting lechwe, where he was met with stiffer resistance. The lithe predator quickly returned to the easier prey. A very relaxed female cheetah was also seen in the area. She made a kill two hundred metres from Kwara and enjoyed the meal for nearly two days without interference. This is quite strange, considering the number of Spotted hyenas in the area! She ate her fill and eventually moved away. Afterwards, we saw a serval cat feeding on her remains during a night drive.
(Please note: For the safety of the animals, we do not disclose the 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!)
