The cubs are still going strong, and growing into three healthy bundles of energy. For most of the month they were still kept at the latest den, however on the 29th March they were moved to a new location, as the scent in the area becomes too strong, and harder to hide from intruding males. One lioness was also seen mating with the two resident males – although both males tried to win her over, she chose the large blonde maned lion, rather than the black maned one.
Other sightings in the first week of the month included a very relaxed female leopard, that was seen in the morning and afternoon drives relaxing up a tree in the Water Cut area. Later in the month she was seen again hunting a male warthog, without success. We also found a shy male on an ostrich carcass – a difficult kill for a leopard!
The Lagoon pack of dogs continue to move through the concession, favouring the area between Lebala and Lagoon. They managed to bring down two warthogs at once – an achievement for 8 dogs – and that provided a good meal for the whole place. One morning was spent tracking the dogs without success, but they were then located in the afternoon. The dogs came across a herd of roan antelope, and spent some time chasing them around, although these large antelope are quite a formidable prey! The Roan ended up with the last laugh, as the dogs gave up and moved on in search of an easier target.
The large herds of elephants that are in the Lebala area have not made as big an impact on the Lagoon area, but we are still seeing lots of small breeding herds. Several huge herds of eland have been seen – numbering around 100 individuals – as well as the roan, and occasional sable sighting. Zebras, wildebeest, giraffes and kudus are continue to inhabit the areas where the grass is a little shorter – safer territory for them to see if someone is stalking them!
Hyenas benefitted from the lions this month, when the lionesses had eaten their fill of wildebeest they had killed, and a single hyena moved in to consume the rest of the carcass. A little over excited to have so much to himself, the hyena crunched and attempted to swallow a large piece of bone, which was just too big. It took some time for the hyena to cough the bone back out, and having gone through such a traumatic experience, he gave up on the rest of the carcass and left.
We also had great raptor sightings, with Brown Snake eagles, Tawny eagles, and lots of vultures (including white backed, and hooded) in the area due to the good number of kills that the lions have been bringing down.
