We witnessed some fantastic leopard sightings at Lagoon Camp this month. Mmamazabuka and her two cubs were particularly impressive when they made an impala kill due to baboon disturbance.
We saw her dragging the carcass between Old Lebala and James’s roads. One of her previous litter, Mazabuka, has been doing well hunting various prey species. We also saw the big male leopards in the area feeding on a warthog, using their brawn to haul it up a tree along the Main Road.
We located spotted hyenas on the move along Bee-eaters Road and salivating near the aforementioned leopard kill along Main Road. Many tracks indicated potential den locations in the mopane scrub, but we have yet to locate a definite site. Towards the end of the month, we encountered several hyenas relaxing around an elephant carcass.
Holy pride happenings
When it comes to the Holy Pride, we were very excited to hear that three lionesses gave birth to nine cubs three months ago. However, at the beginning of the month, we could only identify eight cubs. The fate of the missing cub remains a mystery. We found this pride feeding on the elephant carcass, taking turns with the opportunistic hyenas.
We also enjoyed seeing the seven male lions that have ventured further south to feast on buffalo carcasses. We later located their tracks by the link connecting Old Lebala and Sepachi Roads with a kudu carcass nearby. The Leadwood Pride, consisting of five females and seven cubs, was witnessed around the Watercut and Leadwood Drive areas. We observed one female from this pride mating with a Rabogale coalition member.
The Mmadikolobe Pride, with four cubs and six subadults, experienced turmoil as the subadults appeared to be rejected on one occasion. The Rrabogale coalition moved closer to Lagoon Camp, nudging the northern boys towards Kwena Lagoon. Additionally, the Mmamosetha pride, along with their three cubs, has been active. There was a unique sighting of one of the males feeding on an elephant carcass northwest of the camp along the Airstrip Road.
A pack of nine African wild dogs (six adults and three pups) was located north of Grass, Rex, and Secretary Junction. We followed the pack’s tracks to the Kalahari bushes but lost them as they headed east towards John’s Pan. African wild dogs are easily recognized by their mottled coats with a patchwork of colours — white, black, yellow, and brown — and each animal has a unique pattern.
During one incredible game drive, we watched a female cheetah make a kill, only to be outdone again later in August when two brothers made a successful subadult female impala kill. These cheetah brothers were seen fully bellied on several occasions and were active in various areas, hunting and marking their territory.
As we approached the end of the dry season, the landscape saw a significant movement of animals towards the river due to water scarcity. There were abundant elephant populations, sable antelopes, roan antelopes, and buffalo herds. Various other species, such as impalas, kudus, tsessebes, red lechwes, wildebeests, zebras, giraffes, baboons, and warthogs, were seen throughout the concession.
Night drives were equally busy with aardwolves, mongoose families (dwarf, banded, yellow, slender, and white-tailed), honey badgers, bat-eared foxes, porcupines, springhares, bushbabies, civets, and wildcats making appearances.
Monitor lizards and crocodiles were easy to see during the boat cruises, while some common butterflies, including the African monarch, were detected flying about.
Return of the carmine bee-eaters
We welcomed the return of southern carmine bee-eaters. These birds prefer open country areas, especially along rivers, where they can find sandy cliffs or riverbanks to dig nesting burrows. Lagoon Camp is the ideal place to observe them. Other wonderful bird species, such as ground hornbills and secretarybirds, were logged alongside bustards, vultures, marabou storks, eagles, ostriches, and cranes.
(Please note: For the safety of the animals, we do not disclose the precise 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!)
