December marked the full arrival of the green season in Nxai Pan, and with it a noticeable shift in both animal movement and behaviour across the open plains and around the pans. The resident pride, made up of five adult females, three cubs and two dominant males, moved more widely than in the preceding months, spending less time around camp and ranging across the now grassed-up pan systems. Their movements were followed on several occasions through fresh tracks, which often led to resting lions under scattered shade trees along the pan edges and the middle road. At times, evidence of successful hunting was found before the lions themselves, including a zebra leg and well-used feeding sites attended by lappet-faced and white-backed vultures.
Later in the month, two females with three cubs were located resting together, the cubs play-fighting in the shade, while on another occasion most of the pride was found lying in the open, with the dominant males temporarily absent. Lion activity was also evident at night, with regular roaring heard across the plains and towards the south-western sector of the park, and the spoor of an unfamiliar male was noted near the airstrip, suggesting the presence of a transient individual moving through the area.
Leopard and African wild dog activity was evident across the area throughout the month. A large male leopard was tracked on several occasions near the main gate and again along the Baines Baobab road, with fresh spoor leading through the woodland and across the open pan edges, confirming his regular use of these routes. Wild dogs were also active in the same sector, with a small pack moving south of camp towards the main pan. Their tracks showed purposeful hunting movement, and later observations in the wider area confirmed that they were working the springbok herds and targeting young animals, reflecting the healthy predator–prey dynamics typical of this time of year.
Both spotted and brown hyenas were present throughout the month, their tracks frequently crossing the roads in the mornings. Spotted hyena calls were heard on several consecutive nights, and signs of denning activity were noted along the Baobab loop, including an old aardwolf den showing recent use.
Smaller carnivores were observed regularly. Black-backed jackals and bat-eared foxes were seen regularly, often in family groups, benefiting from the abundance of insects and small prey brought by the rains. Their young were already active and moving confidently with the adults.
General game was widely distributed across the rejuvenated grasslands. Large herds of zebra and wildebeest, many with young calves, ranged across the open pans, joined by springbok, impala, gemsbok and red hartebeest. Elephant breeding herds and bachelor groups moved between the islands of woodland and the open plains, while oryx were frequently seen around Baines Baobabs. The concentration of herbivores attracted predators, and their movements were closely followed through spoor and direct observation.
The wet season brought a surge of activity among reptiles and birds. Puff adders, leopard tortoises and agamas were encountered, and a mating pair of leopard tortoises was observed. Insect diversity was high, with dung beetles, cicadas, grasshoppers, dragonflies, velvet mites and alates emerging after the rains, drawing in a range of insect-eating birds.
Birdlife was particularly rich. Both resident and migratory species were present in good numbers, including kori bustards with chicks, northern black korhaans, black-chested snake eagles, ostriches, and breeding colonies of white-backed and lappet-faced vultures. Summer migrants such as European and blue-cheeked bee-eaters, steppe buzzards, black kites, rollers, pratincoles and various whydahs were active across the pans and around the rain-filled depressions near Baines Baobabs, where spoonbills, avocets, sandpipers, snipes and teal were also recorded.
The transformation of the landscape was one of the defining features of the month. The formerly bare pans were carpeted with fresh grass and flowering forbs, while trumpet thorn, purple-pod terminalia and other woodland species flushed green. Termite mounds stood out as the highest points in an otherwise flat horizon, and the salt pans around the baobabs held water, attracting both grazing herds and water-associated bird species.
Although cloud cover was frequent, clearer nights allowed for stargazing around the fire, with familiar constellations such as Orion, Canis Major and Leo visible between passing weather systems, marking the close of a month defined by rain, new growth and the wide dispersal of wildlife across the Nxai Pan system.
