The first day of the month and a lovely morning out with lots of general game every where, big breeding herds of elephants, and a female leopard was also found having killed a jackal, and feeding on it. A lioness, with her sub-adult, seen hunting, but had luck in their chase.
A couple of days later, and we’ve been lucky enough to have some rain, refreshing everything. Two female leopards – one at John’s Pan, and one along Fish road – provided good sightings. Later the same week, another female was found with her cub, having killed an impala. A big male leopard then approached the female with the kill, and shortly after that, a hyena arrived to see if she could also get a piece of the action – or at least a piece of the meat! Somehow, the hyena managed to steal the kill away whilst three leopards stood by and watched!
The two male lions were often seen this month, with sightings every couple of days. The two nomadic males were also moving through the area, and there were lots of lion tracks moving to and fro, as they appeared to be doing circuitous routes to avoid each other. The pride lionesses also made several appearances.
The wild dog pack of six were seen several times, zig-zagging throughout the southern end of the concession, and into the surrounding areas. The Lagoon pack of 19 dogs also made forays into this end of the concession, hunting impala.
Sightings of eland too, still unfortunately heading off into the distance, as eland are wont to do, but sightings, none the less! Lots of more relaxed zebra are in the area, and a big herd of wildebeest with babies are hanging out around the airstrip open areas.
The 16th of January was a sad day for The Baobab – the iconic tree that stood close to one of the main tracks, and has been the focus for the Lebala camp’s conservation project to try and protect it from marauding elephants – finally fell (or was pushed) over, and split from its roots. Now looking very much like a giant bottle brush, the tree hundreds of years old lies on the ground with the fibrous tufts sticking out from the end of the trunk. It is the fibrous nature of these trees that make them much enamoured by elephants, together with their water storage capabilities. It also makes them very difficult to age – no annual growth rings are visible. The guides believe there are now only 6 baobabs left in the concession drive area – and none as spectacular as this specimen.
