It was a quieter month for guests at Nxai Pan, so we did not do as many drives as other months. However, when we did have guests, we were able to show them great sightings of general game, and lions were also seen on most day drives.
The beginning of the month was off to a good start, with a cheetah being seen close to the Hatab 2 site. Whilst we were watching it, the cheetah began to chase a steenbok, and managed to catch it very close to the car! A few days later, possibly the same cheetah chased a second steenbok right in front of camp, but this hunt was unsuccessful.
The waterhole is surrounded by game all day with spring bok and impalas moving in and out to drink, with the zebras also in attendance. Three lionesses spent time waiting near the waterhole, to see if they could catch any other animal unawares as it came down to drink. The zebras moved nervously to and from the waterhole, sensing that the lions were there. Perhaps later in the evening, the lions got lucky.
On another day, a male and female lion were mating close to the main waterhole. Lions are rarely interested in chasing prey when they are in the romantic mood, but it is not very reassuring if you are prey animal to have two lions in such close proximity to your only source of water!
A very productive cultural walk was conducted close to the camp one morning, with springbok, impala, jackal and steenbok being sighted. We also watched as an oryx dug the ground for succulent roots and tubers to vary their diet in this dry time. A buffalo thorn tree provided a quiet resting places for two types of owls that are not often seen: the one tree held two white-faced owls, and a wood owl!
