There were stirrings of excitement in Nxai pan this month as wild dogs have once again graced the pans with their presence. Sightings of these creatures have been fairly rare in the past few years – at one point they had not been seen for almost six months – however they have been making more regular visits not only to the main pan but also to the waterhole in front of camp. This month they were seen in the middle of the larger pan area feeding on what appeared to be a young springbok. Needless to say, we hope that the wild dog visits will become more frequent.
With the Nxai Pan area dotted with thousands of zebras, springbok; wildebeest and a wide variety of other mammals, the menu for the resident carnivores has been plentiful. Lions have dominated with an almost arrogant disposition. Two male lions in particular were seen regularly both with and without the females and their sub-adult cubs. These regal, large maned beasts were often seen resting elevated on termite mounds or striding boldly across the pans.
Two lionesses were spotted heading north, both heavily pregnant. Later in the month the same females were seen again apparently having given birth and with evidence that they were nursing young. These lionesses will now need to feed more regularly as they have more mouths to feed, however they will need to be cautious as they cannot afford to be injured and will need to keep a low profile till their cubs are a little older and more mobile.
A frequently-seen female cheetah and her two cubs are healthy and have been successful this season, the cubs are still very reliant on their mother and now that they are growing bigger she will need to make more regular kills. Sometimes these hunts can become unsuccessful as the cubs become anxious and impatient during a hunt and more often than not give away their position and advantage. But these are all skills that these cubs will need to learn in order to survive by themselves.
The zebras have started dropping their foals and these new babies are able to stand up on their own within fifteen minutes of being born. During the first two days of a foal’s life the mother will keep her baby close and limit his interaction with other zebra so that he can learn to identify her by sight, smell and sound.
A stay at the desert camps is always rewarding for birders as the variation in species is quite different from the wetland areas further north. Raptors including Yellow-billed Kite, Steppe Buzzard and Pale Chanting Goshawk perch on dead trees scanning the open plains for prey whilst the Southern Black Korhaan males were seen vociferously competing for territory, giving raucous calls as they flew up to guard their ground.
