The discovery of an African wild dog den west of Kwena Lagoon was one of July’s highlights at Lagoon.
The den was located around the middle of the month, with the puppies estimated to be less than three weeks old. At this age, the youngsters remained safely underground, while the adults were regularly found around the den site.
With the pack now tied to one area while the puppies were so young, their movements centred on hunting and returning to the den.
The Holi Pride holds its ground
The 14-member Holi Pride was reliably located throughout July. Guides followed their tracks to find them hunting, resting and feeding, including at Cutline Pan where the pride had brought down a wildebeest.
The Golden Boys, the coalition of three males associated with the Holi Pride, regularly patrolled and scent-marked across their territory.
Mma Mosetlha and her two subadult males were also active, concentrating their hunting efforts on zebra and warthog.
Further north, Commando and Skomota continued to patrol their territory and were seen crossing the river into Namibia and returning. They were sometimes accompanied by two lionesses and two cubs between First and Second Lagoon.
Double and the Lagoon leopards
The young male leopard known as Double was a regular presence north of camp. Guides frequently followed his tracks and found him moving through the area, and on one occasion he was feeding on a red lechwe not far from First Lagoon.
Double’s mother was raising two five-month-old cubs, a male and a female. She was seen feeding with them and was also tracked while moving through her hunting grounds in search of prey.
Other females occupied different parts of the area, including one around Zebra Pan and another east of camp towards Muddy Waters.
One leopardess also tried her luck with an aardwolf near First Lagoon, but the aardwolf escaped. Aardwolves themselves were seen more than five times during July.
Cheetah competition at the marking posts
Several cheetahs were active around Lagoon.
The two resident males continued to patrol and mark their range, and guides followed them on hunts for red lechwe and impala.
Two younger males began visiting the older coalition’s marking sites, which did not go unnoticed. The resident males chased the newcomers on several occasions.
Two cheetah mothers were also raising youngsters. One female with two subadults was found resting along Bee-eater Road, while another mother with two tiny cubs was located after guides followed her tracks along James Road.
Six spotted hyena cubs at the den
The spotted hyena den was active throughout July, with around six cubs regularly seen outside and adult females sometimes resting nearby.
Adult spotted hyenas were more commonly encountered after dark as they moved through the area searching for food.
A brown hyena was also seen repeatedly between Second Lagoon and the airstrip, usually shortly after sunset.
More than 20 crocodiles gather at a hippo carcass
The river produced one of July’s more dramatic feeding scenes when more than 20 Nile crocodiles gathered around a dead hippo in the water.
At other times, crocodiles lined the riverbanks to bask in the winter sun. Water monitor lizards were seen around the river, while monitors were also recorded on land.
An African rock python crossed Maheke Road, and two striped-bellied sand snakes were encountered during the month.
The river remained busy with larger mammals too. Cape buffalo gathered around the larger waterholes and along the river, while breeding herds of elephants moved between the water and woodland with their calves. Hippos frequently basked along the riverbanks before becoming more active later in the day.
Giraffe, zebra, impala, tsessebe, waterbuck, common reedbuck, warthog, greater kudu and wildebeest rounded out the larger game.
Winter along the Kwando River
African fish eagles were conspicuous along the river, calling from prominent trees and occasionally dropping to the water to catch fish.
Wattled cranes, squacco herons and saddle-billed storks fed around the wetlands, while pied kingfishers hovered above the river before diving after fish. Long-toed, African wattled and crowned lapwings were also recorded.
White-backed, hooded and lappet-faced vultures were regularly seen soaring overhead or descending to feed on carcass remains.
On land, winter was becoming increasingly obvious. Baobabs and silver cluster-leaf trees began dropping their leaves, while cat’s claw still carried its bright red flowers. Wild basil and wild sage added their distinctive scents to the bush.
Nature walks brought attention to details easily missed from a vehicle. Guests learnt to identify and age animal tracks, looked more closely at ants and termites and discussed some of the traditional medicinal uses of local plants.
After dark, clear winter skies completed the picture, with the Southern Cross among the prominent constellations overhead.
