Once again Kwara lived up to its reputation for consistently great game viewing, averaging more than 3 predator sightings per day during the month of April.
Most frequently seen was the cheetah family of a female and her three cubs who were often found in the Bat Eared Fox Den area. This is a suitable location for cheetah due to the dense populations of impala combined with open space for hunting. We were fortunate enough to see this successful mother killing impala on more than one occasion. Some single male cheetah have also been seen and one appeared to be checking whether the female was in oestrus.
April was also a good month for leopard sightings and towards the end of the month they were located 6 days out of 7. One female leopard is frequently seen near camp where she has been trying to stalk impala. A different female and a male were located at the airstrip and look as though they could be pairing up. Although they were not seen mating, it is unusual to see a male and female leopard together unless they are breeding.
A small wild dog pack of three adults and four young was frequently seen in the Little Kwara area, especially towards the end of the month. They always seemed well-fed and were sometimes seen finishing up their kills. The Alpha female is heavily pregnant so we hope that she will choose to den nearby.
Honeymoon Pan was a good place to spot Spotted Hyena during April and on different days we were able to observe a wide range of behaviours being displayed by these fascinating mammals including hunting, scavenging, bathing, sunbathing, and also saw them engaging with each other in greeting rituals.
There was a welcome return to the area of the four male lions known as the Zulu Boys who had been absent for about a month. Upon returning, they made sure that any competing males knew that they were firmly back in their usual territory by scent marking, roaring and patrolling the area. A small pride of 2 females and a male were also found in Kwara during April and we found them feeding on an impala as well as on an elephant carcass which kept them busy for two nights. Another group of 3 adult lionesses and four young were sighted hunting in the Bat Eared Fox area. Towards end of the month a solitary male lion, who is new to the area but very relaxed was located feeding on a wildebeest.
There were large herds of breeding elephants in the area and guests have enjoyed watching them bathing, drinking and nursing their young. Two bull elephants were seen daily in Little Kwara camp feeding on the ripening marula fruits.
General game in the Kwara concession continued to be plentiful with herds of zebra, impala, red lechwe, kudu, eland and wildebeest. Very large towers of giraffe were seen, for example, one had 17 adults and 7 young. This is breeding season for many of the animals, timed so that their young will be born when the new shoots of grass arrive later in the year. We therefore saw kudu mating, impala rutting and warthogs mating.
Special bird sightings in the last month including the highly prized Pel’s Fishing Owl and endangered Wattled Crane. Ground Hornbills were sighted in the trees right at the Kwara Camp main area.
As is often the case, night drives produced sightings of interesting smaller mammals such as porcupine, serval and Small Spotted Genet. A special highlight was of a female African Wild Cat with her kitten.
