The Bonga pride of lions were seen in the Halfway Pan for the first few weeks of December, but decided to move closer to Lagoon camp in time for the Christmas festivities, attracted by the huge mixed herds of eland and zebra which moved into the area. They had a kill of a sub-adult giraffe 4 kilometres from camp and were also seen feeding on wildebeest. A young male lion evicted from the pride has now been joined by his sister. A different lioness with three cubs was seen regularly near to John’s Pan, they all looked in great condition and one time were seen killing a pair of warthog piglets. The two dominant male lions were sometimes seen with the pride, however they spent much of their time patrolling and marking their territory as three new males have moved into the area and were seen mating with a lioness towards the end of the month near to Kwena Lagoon.
The resident female leopard with two cubs was seen a few times near to the airstrip where she was preying on baboons. She was frequently moving her offspring from one spot to another to try and ensure that they did not become a targeted by another predator. One time, guests had a lovely view of the mother taking her cubs to a kill which she had dragged up a nearby tree. The male cub decided that he preferred his dinner served at ground level and brought his portion down to enjoy underneath the tree. This little chap seems to be quite independent for his age and was seen another time on the move without his mother and sister, but appeared to be in good condition.
A pack of six wild dogs was seen hunting more than once. Although they failed to make a kill when we were watching them, they were in good condition.
The resident two cheetah brothers were seen chasing wildebeest on more than one occasion. They were targeting the calves, but did not manage to succeed in bringing down their prey. A new male cheetah to the area was found lying next to the road, but he was very skittish.
In addition to the large herds of zebra and eland, we also had great sightings of sable and roan antelope. There are good numbers of giraffe, wildebeest, kudu and tsessebe, but fewer elephants and buffalos as they started to move deeper into the Mopane woodlands. During night drives we saw servals, genets, springhares and honey badgers as well as a great sighting of an African wild cat hunting. The elusive aardwolf was seen more than once.
Endangered birds continue to thrive in the Kwando concession including a new family of ground hornbills, wattled cranes and black egrets. The blue-cheeked bee eaters have arrived back in the area and were seen feeding. An African scops owl is living in camp and often seen near to the main area.
The start of the rainy season brought some spectacular late afternoon lightning storms providing an authentic African light show to awe our guests. These welcome short but sharp storms freshened up the air and produced the most amazing scents.
(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!)
