The mother cheetah and her two cubs were seen regularly this month – the mother attempted to hunt on several occasions, and show her offspring exactly how it is done. It will take the young cheetah up to two years to learn to hunt well without their mother’s assistance – and there will be some lean times ahead for them until they do…In the mean time, they try perfecting their skills on hunting for rodents, whilst their mother does the hard work of pulling down larger game.
A rare group of visitors to the park: wild dogs! The small pack was seen drinking at the main water hole in the middle of the month, and a few lions followed up at the same place with a drink. The dogs cover huge areas in their territory, and with plenty of impala and springbok in the outer lying reaches of the park, we don’t get to see them very often.
Seen more often, but still a beauty to behold – bat eared foxes… These attractive little predators are a little smaller than the jackals that roam the area. With their huge ears you would imagine you could see them from far away, but they camouflage themselves very well, often in the shade of a small bush. Their big ears are sensitive enough to allow them to hear insects and small animals moving just below the surface of the ground, which they then quickly dig out.
Another unusual visitor – three buffalo! These large herbivores need good quality grazing and a good quantity of water to survive. They very occasionally make trips through the park, but tend not to stay for long, being reliant on the few watering holes that are in the park. Last year, five of them visited, but the lions were quick to catch a couple of them, and with such a big pride in the area now, the buffalos may not make it out of the park all together.
A huge martial eagle – the biggest raptor in Southern Africa – was seen resting on top of an Umbrella Thorn tree. It was being continually harassed by another predatory bird – the much smaller pale chanting goshawk.
The breeding herds of elephants are still around – each herd up to around 40 in size. One small calf looked as though it had had a run in with a lion at some point, as it’s tail was missing.
