Lagoon The lioness with three cubs was found feeding early on in the month. Two sub-adult lionesses also killed a warthog in the area. And a female was seen with two male lions, mating with one of the brothers. We also saw the lioness with two cubs regularly, as she was making kills in the area. Late in the month the lions had success in their hunts close to camp, killing buffalo near the airstrip, and a male kudu just to the west of the camp.
Four male lions (two coalitions) are spending a lot of time trying to either avoid each other or building up confidence to have another tussle. It’s a risky business for them, as each coalition is determined to claim the territory, but fighting an evenly matched pair puts them at risk of injury, or even death. In the meantime, we benefit from viewing these magnificent males, and enjoying their roars at night.
The lions also did a little bit of game viewing themselves, and gave chase to a female leopard. Later in the month, we came across a female leopard that showed signs of lactating north of the airstrip. She spent some time hunting, but just missed out on catching an impala that escaped her clutches. We saw this leopardess a few times in the area, and were also lucky enough to see her two cubs that are about 3-4 months old. It will take the cubs a little longer to get completely relaxed around the vehicles, but they will follow in their mother’s footsteps as they see that she is not alarmed by our presence.
A pack of 18 wild dogs were seen hunting in the area in the first week of the month. They spent a fair bit of time zig zagging this month between the Lagoon and Lebala camp areas, eventually appearing to pick a suitable den site for their forthcoming litter, close to Lebala. Sadly, no sight so far of the other packs that spend time in the area, but our trackers are at work to see if a den site can be located for the pack of 20 that appears to roam territory in the far north of the concession.
Lots of breeding herds and bachelor herds of elephants always around, feeding and bathing in the channel near to the camp.
Buffalos are also in the area, with several bulls doing a fair amount of fighting and bullying each other. The large herds are building up, and the lions have managed to take down a few of the outer-lying individuals. These herds will continue to build up during the winter months, reaching up to 2000 individuals if the conditions are favourable.
Still great general game, with regular sightings of the rarer sables, roan, and eland. We also had great sightings of hyena – often found close to the camp – including found feeding on a kudu that had been killed by lions which fed on it and then moved off.
A very unusual sighting of a stiletto snake, though sadly it wasn’t alive when we found it…. It had been killed by a blacksmith lapwing – a small plover-like bird.
