As temperatures soared during October, elephants in their hundreds started to congregate in the riverine area creating a magnificent spectacle for guests who were able to observe the herds throughout the day from the main area and their rooms. A very relaxed herd of sable antelope were also seen regularly in the afternoons as they ventured out of the woodlands down to the river to drink.
The coalition of two male cheetah brothers were seen very regularly, killing successfully every two days on species including impala and warthog. A mother cheetah and two cubs who were new to area were seen with the two cheetah brothers, although the mother and cubs were nervous of our vehicles.
One evening a guide came across an African Civet. As the guide was positioning the vehicle they startled two leopard cubs who had been hiding in the grass stalking the civet. Leopards were seen frequently, including three separate sightings in a single day. There was a female leopard seen near camp, although she was fairly shy, and a young male in the same area who was seen marking his territory. A different female leopard who had two cubs was seen feeding on a freshly killed roan antelope; one cub kept trying to sneak up on the carcass but time and again was rebuffed harshly by its mother. Yet another female leopard who was beautifully relaxed was seen on an impala kill.
Our guides were delighted to track down the resident pack of wild dogs, busy feasting on a waterbuck kill. They had been away from the area for a while. Later in the month we saw them again hunting, although not successful on that occasion.
October was a really successful month for sightings of the smaller predators. We saw two honey badgers interacting with black-backed jackal; in the end the honey badgers disappeared into a hole. Bat- eared foxes were seen very regularly; our guides have found five different dens in the area so the animals were located on most drives. One productive night drive produced two separate sightings of African Wild Cat, both cats were beautifully relaxed.
The Bonga pride were still split up into different groups, the largest comprising ten individuals. They killed an eland bull which kept them busy for two whole days before they eventually left the carcass for a clan of four hyenas to finish off. Two male lions were seen feeding on a buffalo calf. A young male lion and his sister were also in the spot, but they were chased away by the dominant males. A lioness with three cubs was seen with the two fathers. The pride were also seen on a wildebeest kill. Four new male lions were located north of the camp, two with manes and two without manes but the same size. They were extremely skittish and ran towards the Namibian border.
A family of four Verreaux’s Eagle Owls were found perched in a tree. Crowned Hornbills were also seen looking for food along the river, this is one of the less common hornbill species resident in the area. The Carmine Bee-eater breeding colony just north of the camp made an amazing spectacle as the brightly coloured birds set about making their nests in the river bank. The colony was very active first thing in the morning and late afternoon.
(Note: Accompanying picture is from our Kwando Photo Library which consists of all your great photo submissions over the years, it may not be the most up to date, but we felt it was worthy of a feature alongside this month’s Sightings Report!)
