August delivered spectacular lion sightings at Lagoon camp; the resident pride was keeping us busy and were seen on almost all game drives. Our guides noticed that the two lionesses mothering five cubs between them had a tendency to pull away from the rest of the pride as a way of trying to reduce competition for food. These two lionesses appeared to have a very successful kill ratio in their own right and we saw them feeding on a variety of prey including zebra, kudu and a wildebeest calf. All of their cubs seem to be in good health. The other part of the pride comprising three lionesses, 2 female sub-adults and 6 male sub-adults were seen together most of the time. This month we saw them on kills of hippo, giraffe, zebras and kudu. The two big male lions were sometimes with the pride, but very often seen on their own together, patrolling and scent marking their territory. We noticed that one of the sub-adult males had been ejected from the pride, but that didn’t stop him trying to sneak back into the family when the dominant males were not around. Once he tried to feed with the mothers and cubs, but was caught in the act and quickly dismissed by the adult males. On that occasion, the male lions sat back and let the mothers and cubs have the kill to themselves, since it was not enough to feed the whole pride.
As there had been an active wild dog den since July we had the chance of viewing the pack very regularly. We were extremely careful to minimise visits to the den itself to avoid disturbance to the alpha female and her puppies, but we also had great sightings of the adult dogs hunting and sometimes witnessed the kill itself. One day the pride of lions passed by the wild dog den and chased the pack away. From that time onwards, the dogs were very skittish, spending the whole day in the bush and only coming back to the den at night. On their third week, the puppies were allowed out of the den and introduced to the rest of the pack, but then this happy family tale took an unfortunate and dramatic turn. Seven lions came to the den one afternoon as the female was nursing the puppies with two other adult dogs in attendance. The lions surprised the mother and three of the nine pups were killed. All three adult dogs managed to run away and the remaining puppies dashed back to their den. That was the last we were to see of them. The following day the rest of the pack went hunting, but instead of coming to the den they stood about 30 metres away. The female was crying and she led the pack to the old den where they spent the whole day. We continued to check both dens in the hope of seeing the puppies, but three days later our worst fears were confirmed when we found leopard tracks and drag marks coming from the den where the puppies were last seen. After that the dogs left the area for a week and we feared for their safety, but towards the end of the month they reappeared and were found at their old den and on the hunt once more.
A mother leopard and her two cubs have developed a convenient habit of living near our airstrip, making for some special arrival and departure memories for guests. Most often the female was located on her own whilst hunting, leaving the cubs hidden. One time we witnessed her having to rebuke the cubs strongly when they tried to follow her. There was also another female leopard seen in the area.
The two resident cheetah brothers were observed just once during August, but it was towards the end of the month so we hope to have better luck with them in September. These two young males cover a very large territory.
As the climate started to warm and the inland waterholes dried up, elephants were seen in massive numbers as they congregated towards the riverine areas – some herds were in excess of 100 individuals. From the lodge main area and rooms our guests were able to enjoy spectacular views of elephants drinking in the channel that flows past Lagoon Camp. Huge herds of buffalo were encountered as well as giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and kudu. A very relaxed herd of sable antelope were being seen approximately three times per week.
The African Scops Owl and African Barred Owlet which live around the tree in the main area were seen almost every day.
(Note: Accompanying picture is 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!)
