The end of last month saw the return of three cheetahs – but not the brothers that we used to see, instead it is a mother with two sub-adult cubs. They were seen several times at the end of April, and in May….
A pride of six lions – two lionesses, three sub-adult males and one sub-adult female were also seen during the month of May. On one occasion they spent some time following one of the buffalo herds that are in the area, but they did not attempt to hunt whilst we were watching. Later in the month, a solitary sub-adult male (possibly a member of the above pride) was seen in the area several times. Young males do have to leave their natal group, and find their own territory, but it is a harrowing business for them, as they have to hunt on their own, and are always at threat of bumping into a larger male, and having to fight or flee.
Being solitary by nature, leopards are not often seen together, but a male and a female were seen this month on an impala kill. Although the female was very relaxed, the male was very nervous. It is likely that they are mating, as leopards will not normally share kills, or each others company. A different female was also seen early on in the month, and it was noted that she was lactating. We were lucky enough to see two leopard cubs as well, sunbathing and waiting for mum to return with some food. Overall, leopards were seen on a number of days and were often very relaxed.
The elephant bulls are hanging around the camp, hovering up fruits from the marulas. The females are not as confident in areas of human habitation, and hang around the periphery, only venturing through on rare occasions.
The buffalo herds are also beginning to move in, with seven different breeding herds being seen in the area. These herd sizes will increase over the next few months, with smaller groupings joining the large herds, and moving together between the best areas for grazing and then trekking to the water.
A tough time for the wild dogs – so used to being in charge in the area, the pack was caught by surprise by four intruder dogs, who obviously felt they had no alternative but to stand and fight. Although the four dogs left, it was not before one of the yearlings from the Lagoon pack badly injured his leg, breaking it – possibly in two places. As sad as it is, as this is a natural event, we and the Wildlife Department are not permitted to intervene and assist the dog. It is not actually a death knell for a wild dog, as it might be for some other predator: the wild dog social structure is so strong, that the pack will look after weak or injured individuals. One of the members of a pack in the southern part of the Okavango Delta had an individual with a broken leg who continued to travel with the pack for more than two years.
A few days after this incident, the pack of four dogs were back, and successfully chased off the alpha male of the pack – he’s been the alpha for several years now and is obviously past his prime, unable to chase off the intruders. Now, it’s a race to the finish line, as the intruders court the alpha female – all with a hope of becoming the next alpha male, and fathering a litter of puppies… Although nothing has been seen of the former alpha male since, the four intruders are settling in to pack life. It is possible that the alpha male will be accepted back in to the pack at a later stage, but as a subordinate.
A relaxing sundowner by a waterhole was interrupted to a small extent when the wild dogs ran past the people. African wild dogs have never been known to attack people in the wild – their reaction to us is very much a slight curiosity.
Some foam nest frogs decided to rest up on the Lagoon boat, (it certainly saves having to jump or swim if you want to move along the channel …) but met an unhappy end when a very pretty spotted bush snake (harmless to humans) saw an opportunity and ventured onto the boat to devour them. She left the boat again, not keen on an afternoon river cruise, but with rather un-shapely lumps along her body.
A new den of hyenas has been found in the Lagoon area, with some brand new baby cubs. Hyena cubs look quite different to their elder siblings and adults – almost completely dark brown in color, they look reminiscent of a bear cub. The spots and lighter fur only begin to be seen after a couple of months. The rest of the clan were seen out and about, following the wild dogs in case they have a chance of taking a kill off them.
Night drives this month produced porcupine, aardwolf, civets, African wild cats and honey badgers, to name but a few.
