We started the month with some dedicated tracking – looking for lions that had left their prints recently on the roads. This eventually led to a male and female lion, who were feeding on a kudu. The male was one of the two pride males, but the other male was nowhere to be seen. The two males were finally seen together two days later, resting under the shade of a large tree. We also saw the whole pride together – they were spending time along the marsh areas.
One morning we picked up lion tracks close to the airstrip. Following the tracks for around 30 minutes, we came upon two hooded vultures sitting on top of a tree. Not far below them were two lionesses, feeding on a waterbuck. We had been watching them eat for quite a while when a male lion then approached and took the kill off the females! The next day we were able to track the lioness to find her suckling her three young cubs. A beautiful sighting!
On the 7th May we came upon the pack of 14 wild dogs, with the alpha female looking pregnant. This is great news, so we hope that they will den in the area in the next few weeks. We were lucky enough to see them perform their greeting ceremony with each other, with the air filled with high pitched yips and chattering, as the whole pack gets active after their afternoon rest. We saw the pack several times over the next few days, mostly on the move as they attempted to hunt.
One afternoon we were heading north on game drive, when we heard monkeys alarm calling from nearby. Investigating further, we found a female leopard walking calmly along. We were able to follow her for about an hour, when she stopped and began calling softly. Two young cubs ran out and greeted her, and she began suckling them!
General game in the area has been excellent, with sable, roan, and eland regularly sighted as well as the more ‘standard’ wildebeest, zebra, impala and giraffe. Elephants are making use of the water channels as we wait for the flood waters to arrive down the Kwando.
As the season changes, we are also starting to see the large herds of buffalo more often. We spent some time watching one of the herds, when they suddenly started running this way and that. In amongst them appeared four lions, attempting to catch one of the buffalo. No luck on this occasion (well, not for the lions at least), and the buffalo moved on.
And finally, after a long absence, we had a great sighting of a cheetah that passed through the area. He attempted to hunt, but was unsuccessful. A day later, and thanks again to vultures, we relocated the male cheetah, this time, he had had better luck, and was busy feeding on an impala.
