The first day of the month and an extra special sighting – not leopard, lion, wild dog or even cheetah – but a bush pig! These animals are very rarely seen – simply scarce, and thus shy – and are like larger, hairier versions of a warthog.
A fabulous morning for predators on the 3rd of November: we started the day following leopard tracks, and came across the female with her young cub and a kill. After that, we found the pack of 19 wild dogs feeding on an elephant carcass. From there, we spent more time tracking, which led us to the pride of 16 lions (8 adults, 8 youngsters) resting up at Elephant Gorge!
The two prides of lions (the main one with 17 members and the smaller one of 7) were seen on most days during the month of November. There was some mating going on, so the prides can only get bigger! There was also a new, solitary lioness seen in the area – “stumpy tail” – so it will be interesting to see if she stays around.
Great sightings of all the general game this month – zebras, roan, sable, eland, and of course lots and lots of elephants, and still quite a few large herds of buffalo. As soon as the rain starts, the buffalos will disperse, till next year. The majority of the elephants as well will disappear for a short while, and then come back in force when they realise that there really isn’t that much to eat and drink in the mopane areas!
The pack of 19 dogs seem to be looking for ever larger prey to bring down – this time we found them focussing on a small herd of roan – though whether they were chasing them around just for fun, or if it was meant to be a serious hunt, was a little hard to decide. Needless to say, they had no success whilst we were there!
Whilst the dogs seemed to be aiming big, the cats seemed to be aiming somewhat smaller. The large pride, with 15 members present at the time, caught a warthog. To say there was a little bit of squabbling over the meal, is a slight understatement. It the meantime, two males were attempting to uphold the “King of the jungle” title, and were found near Kwena Lagoon, each lion feeding on its own buffalo carcass!
The last week of November and leopards were abundant!- just outside the camp a leopard was found with two young cubs, whilst the female with the single cub was seen feeding on two days. WE also saw one shy male, and another male who had just killed a buffalo calf. Add to that a shy leopard near Kwena lagoon, and a relaxed male wandering along Fish Road, and you truly have a leap of leopards.
