A leopard watches from above during a mokoro excursion – one of August’s best leopard sightings at Pom Pom came not from a game-drive vehicle, but from a mokoro.
Guests were moving quietly through the waterways when they spotted a leopard resting in a tree, an unusual perspective from which to watch one of Pom Pom’s resident cats.
Leopards were regularly located throughout the month, often by following fresh spoor or responding to alarm calls from impala, monkeys, squirrels and birds.
Bonolo, a resident female, was seen frequently close to camp. Two other females were each raising a single cub, estimated at around five and eight months old. One of these females, Amantle, was more cautious around vehicles and sometimes moved into thicker vegetation while her cub remained behind.
Several males also used the area, including two older males and Bonolo’s younger brother, now around three years old.
One morning, monkey alarm calls led guides to a male leopard. They followed him as he crossed Mochimamo Crossing and began stalking red lechwe. The antelope eventually detected him and the hunt ended, but guests had been able to follow the sequence from the first alarm calls through to the attempted hunt.
African wild dogs hunt twice in one day
A pack of ten African wild dogs was denning in the wider Nxabega area with eight puppies, estimated to be around three months old.
Later in August, nine members of the pack moved into the Pom Pom area near Ram’s Side while one adult remained at the den with the puppies. Guides joined the dogs on the hunt and watched them successfully bring down an impala.
The pack rested through the middle of the day, and guests returned during the afternoon activity. After waking, the dogs went through their energetic greeting ceremony before setting off to hunt again. They made another successful kill and then raced back towards the den, where the adults would feed the remaining adult and puppies by regurgitating food.
Alarm calls lead to the Bonga Pride
Lion activity centred on several groups during August.
The Nxabega Pride was located around Letswai after guides heard lions roaring in the distance. Fresh tracks were followed until the pride was found actively patrolling its territory.
West of the airstrip, guides found tracks from part of the Bonga Pride. They followed the spoor and then used impala alarm calls to help narrow the search, eventually locating two lionesses, three subadult males and a subadult female near the boat station. By the afternoon, the group had crossed the channel and continued west.
Letswai also produced a sizeable family gathering of three lionesses, two males and nine cubs, with the youngsters estimated at around five to six months old.
Hyenas carry a stolen meal back to their cubs
Spotted hyenas were particularly active around Pom Pom, including directly through camp after dark.
Guides located a den around Kessey’s field after following hyenas that had stolen an impala kill from a leopard. After feeding, one of the hyenas carried food back towards the den, where two cubs of around five months old were found.
Elsewhere, spotted hyenas frequently waited beneath trees where leopards had hoisted kills, ready to take advantage of anything that fell. Their whoops and calls were regularly heard after dark, and animals sometimes wandered through camp while guests were having dinner.
Crocodiles gather around a giraffe carcass
The waterways produced another of August’s notable feeding scenes when crocodiles gathered around a dead giraffe in the water near the old mokoro station.
Several fed on the carcass, including a particularly large crocodile estimated at more than three metres long. Crocodiles were also frequently seen basking along the riverbanks and on small islands during boat cruises and game drives, while water monitor lizards were recorded around the wetlands.
The floodplains remained green and filled with water, contrasting with the golden grasses and increasingly bare deciduous woodland. Sausage trees had begun flowering, adding another sign of seasonal change.
Zebra and wildebeest gather around camp
Zebra and blue wildebeest were present in good numbers, with wildlife often appearing almost immediately after guests left the airstrip.
Elephants, giraffe, impala, red lechwe, tsessebe, bushbuck, common reedbuck, warthog, greater kudu and Cape buffalo were seen across the area, with many species also visible from camp.
Night drives brought a different selection of mammals, including side-striped jackals, honey badgers, African wild cats, servals, small-spotted genets, African civets, porcupines, scrub hares and mongooses. Verreaux’s eagle-owls were also encountered under the spotlight.
Exploring Pom Pom by water and on foot
August’s water levels made mokoro and boat excursions an important part of exploring Pom Pom.
Mokoro trips produced reed frogs and aquatic birds, with red lechwe and elephants sometimes watched from a safe distance. The leopard seen resting in a tree from the mokoro was a particularly memorable example of how differently wildlife could appear when viewed from the water.
Boat cruises offered sightings of hippos, crocodiles, antelope and waterbirds, while nature walks shifted attention to tracks, vegetation and the smaller signs easily overlooked from a vehicle. Zebra and wildebeest were among the larger animals encountered on foot.
Fishing added another way to spend time on the water, with all catches released again afterwards.
