General predators are diverse, with wild dogs, hyenas, leopard and cheetahs all frequently seen. Currently there are two male lions which are doing very well, moving around their territory, going from Twin Pools to Wild Dog Pan in the north. They are hunting warthog and wildebeest, in particular, and although we have not witnessed the actually hunt, we saw them feeding on this prey many times this month.
The wild dog sightings have been regular this month, including an amazing sighting seeing them hunting and following them through the open plains as they chase and kill impala. One day, we were lucky enough to see three different packs of wild dogs!
The hyena den is also active, with one female being seen often with her two young cubs.
This far north, the antelope young were already out and about in early December, with all the impala, wildebeest and tsessebe young arriving at around the same time. The breeding herds of elephants are still around this early in the month.
The heavy rainfalls at the end of the month did not deter the guests from heading out on game drives. Luckily, the rain seemed to limit itself to non-game drive hours, so only one drive had to be abandoned due to a downpour. Although the guests have a nice relatively dry home to return to, the animals have no such luck, and provided some good sightings for everyone. Two different dog packs were seen several times during the end of the month, the Lagoon pack and the smaller pack of five individuals. Both packs were seen feeding, though the cars were unable to see the actual kill. The two male lions also decided to stroll through the Lebala area, much to the delight of the guests who had only seen female lions up until this point. And a wait at the airstrip for a flight delayed due to rain was more than worth it, when a leopard was found nearby feeding on a young wildebeest he had lodged in a tree.
But of any animal at Lebala, the month of December really belongs to George. There are probably not many hippos in the world named George, but Lebala has one. George spent much of the month parked in the channel in front of the main area and pool. The hippo equivalent of a midnight snack, he would often sneak out of the water in mid-afternoon for a few bites of luscious grass and a quick look at the guests, ironically wallowing in the swimming pool. Late afternoons he could be seen wandering (submerged) along the channel, an ominous V-formation ripple spreading out along the surface of the water, ducking under the walkway, occasionally surfacing just as guests were arriving over the bridge… Afternoon tea seemed to be the time when his closest male neighbour took offence to his exclusive position, and several times launched a surprise attack on George from under the bridge. Both hippos would launch out of the water, and a quick chase around the floodplain at 40km per hour, and the discussion would be settled, with George returning to his prime position.
