December produced consistently strong predator activity across the Pom Pom concession, with much of the month shaped by detailed tracking and prolonged follows.
Early in the month, fresh lioness spoor was picked up along the airstrip during a morning drive, which led into open grassland where the lioness was located moving with clear hunting intent. After a long period of careful stalking, she closed in on a group of wildebeest and brought down a calf. The kill was made in light cover and she fed briefly before four spotted hyenas, already moving through the area, arrived and displaced her, dragging the carcass into the open and feeding on it.
A few days later, a male lion was heard roaring south of camp before dawn. His tracks were found passing through the camp area and were followed for a short distance to where he was resting in open floodplain near the boat station. On the same drive, another set of lioness tracks led towards Fisherman’s Crossing, where a female was found feeding on a freshly killed red lechwe ram. Shortly afterwards, a subadult male was located on Dikolobe Island feeding on a wildebeest calf. Later in the month, a further hunt was observed when a lioness targeted wildebeest and warthogs with piglets, eventually capturing one of the young warthogs after a short chase.
Leopard activity remained high throughout the month. Spoor of a male and female was followed from near camp into the south-eastern sector, where a mating pair was located. Soon after, the female began stalking impala and made a successful kill of a lamb, which both leopards fed on. The same day, a large male was found resting on a termite mound in the Kessy area, while another female was located in a sausage tree on Zippa Island. Later in the month, two adult males were tracked to the Bushman Baobab area, where they were seen vocalising and posturing before separating. Alarm calls from monkeys on Mochimbamo Island later led to a subadult female feeding on an impala in a sausage tree, and shortly afterwards a resident female was watched hunting and successfully killing an impala lamb, dragging it beneath a large fever berry tree.
African wild dog spoor was picked up near Shine Bridge and worked towards the Second Hippo Pool, where a pack of sixteen was located hunting across Dinare Island. The dogs moved with pace and coordination, and the hunt ended with two impalas taken in quick succession. They fed briefly before lying up nearby. Later in the month, a smaller group was found resting in the shade of jackal berry trees during the heat of the day. An adult female with an injured hind leg was also seen near One Man Crossing, moving cautiously but still keeping with the pack. Towards the end of the month, another set of fresh tracks led onto open ground and, after a sustained chase, an impala lamb was caught before the dogs moved off again.
Spotted hyenas were active throughout the month, often drawn to lion kills but also hunting independently. One morning, a large group was found feeding on a zebra carcass on Elephant Skull Island, the remains of an earlier lion kill. On a night drive near Shine Bridge, two hyenas were observed chasing a small group of wildebeest and successfully pulling down a calf directly in front of the vehicle, providing a clear view of a coordinated hunt.
Nocturnal species were well represented, with an aardwolf den holding three pups in the Rams area, along with sightings of side-striped jackal, serval, spring hare and scrub hare on night drives.
General game remained abundant, with breeding herds of red lechwe, impala, wildebeest, tsessebe and elephants, alongside buffalo, zebra, kudu, bushbuck, reedbuck, steenbok, warthog and hippo. The presence of many young animals supported the level of predator activity recorded during the month.
Reptile sightings included crocodiles along riverbanks and waterholes and a large water monitor lizard crossing the road on an afternoon drive.
Bird activity was excellent around the floodplains and lagoons, with regular sightings of wattled cranes, saddle-billed storks, hamerkop, African spoonbills, marabou and yellow-billed storks, herons, ibis, pygmy geese, kingfishers, jacanas, raptors and owls, including Pel’s fishing owl and Verreaux’s eagle-owl.
The landscape remained lush and green throughout the month, with high water levels supporting mokoro activities and extensive aquatic vegetation. Cloud cover from summer rain systems often limited stargazing, but the soft ground conditions provided ideal tracking and consistently productive game viewing across the concession.
