January brought dramatic storms dousing the region with much needed relief from the previous year’s dry spell. The resulting verdant green growth contrasted with dark thunder clouds on the horizon and was highlighted by sunbeams to provide some of the most extraordinary light for photography.
Pairs of lions were seen mating on several occasions. Monogamy is out of the window here – females will mate with more than one suitor and, since there’s no specific breeding period, lions mate several times a year. A mating marathon can involve twenty to forty romps a day. At most of these sightings there were 2 male lions present along with one female. One of the lions seemed fairly bored as he waited for his turn. The resident male lions known as Old Gun and Sebastian have been found feeding on large game species including giraffe and eland. The pride of 15 lions (7 adults and 8 cubs) were tracked successfully on a number of occasions. The adults have to kill often to support their big family and seem to be successful, with zebra apparently being the menu of choice at the moment.
Wild dogs were spotted hunting several times however very few kills were witnessed. Their prey seemed to outwit them on numerous occasions. However the dogs were not completely unsuccessful and after some persistent tracking we were able to locate the pack feeding on an impala.
Leopard sightings were less frequent during January, but one morning was particularly prolific with two separate females found hunting and then later one up in a tree.
The cheetah in the region experienced some change as two young males have now separated from their mother. Male cheetahs are social, usually living in small coalitions and often with their brothers. Now that these two are old enough to fend for themselves they have left their mother and gone out into the world as a team. So far they seem to have hunting successfully and were seen frequently looking in great condition.
Unusually large herds of eland were seen on a regular basis as well as relaxed sightings of the usually shy roan antelope. Other general game sightings included zebra, tsessebe, giraffes, red lechwe and impala. Elephant numbers appear to be on the increase.
Guests were also thrilled to see some close-up sightings of bat-eared foxes, including a large group of 13
Birding is fantastic at the moment with many summer migrants in the area. Guests have been particularly pleased with sightings of endangered species such as Slaty Egret, Ground Hornbill and Wattled Crane.
