December in the Central Kalahari marked the true arrival of the green season. The first sustained rains had transformed the pans and dune systems, and the desert responded quickly. Fresh grass and flowering annuals covered the open plains, summer birds returned in numbers, and the visibility across the short, new growth made for rewarding game viewing and tracking conditions. Morning drives in particular offered clear spoor and long views across the pans, while afternoons brought dramatic skies and a steady movement of animals towards the scattered waterholes.
Lions remained a strong presence throughout the area. A dominant dark-maned male continued to patrol widely, his roars heard on many mornings and evenings as he moved between the main pan systems and the surrounding valleys. Several lionesses were regularly encountered, and two showed clear signs of pregnancy, suggesting that cubs could be expected later in the season. In the Passage Valley and around the waterholes, two additional black-maned males were located on a number of occasions, resting in the open during the heat of the day and becoming more active as temperatures cooled. Tracks and sightings indicated the presence of more than one pride using the broader Tau Pan and Letiahau sectors, and lions were encountered consistently every few days as they followed the movements of springbok and wildebeest across the greening plains.
Leopards were recorded both through sightings and spoor. A dominant male was most often tracked along the southern edge of Tau Pan, where his movements followed the springbok herds and the lines of camelthorn and umbrella thorn trees that offered cover for ambush. A female was also located in the eastern sector of the concession, frequently resting in the larger camelthorn trees, and her tracks were followed along the sandy drainage lines. Additional shy individuals were recorded around Letiahau and Passage Valley, identified mainly through fresh spoor crossing the roads and skirting the pan edges.
Cheetah activity was centred around the more open pans. A solitary male was located on several occasions in the neighbouring pan systems, once feeding on a steenbok and at other times resting on low rises while scanning for prey. Further south, a female with two cubs was reported moving through the Sunday Pan area, where springbok concentrations provided suitable hunting opportunities. Although cheetahs remained wide-ranging and mobile, their tracks and occasional sightings reflected regular use of the open plains during this early wet-season period.
African wild dogs were present in two packs. A group of seven was encountered moving between Tau Pan and San Pan, while a larger pack of around eleven was recorded around Letiahau. Tracking over successive days showed both packs hunting springbok and wildebeest, and two females in the smaller pack displayed signs of pregnancy, suggesting that denning activity could be expected in the coming months.
Brown hyenas were the only hyena species recorded in the area. One individual was located on a morning drive near San Pan, moving along the edge of the campsite and later crossing open ground towards a dry drainage line. Their spoor was also found along the pan margins, indicating regular nocturnal movement through the concession.
General game responded strongly to the rains. Springbok, gemsbok, wildebeest, hartebeest, duiker and steenbok were widely distributed across the open plains, with giraffe and small groups of elephants making use of the new growth and temporary water. Warthogs were frequently seen foraging in the softer soils, and the abundance of grazing and browsing species supported the increased activity of the large predators.
Small mammals such as ground squirrels, scrub hares, porcupines and various rodents were regularly observed, particularly in the early mornings and on night drives, when they emerged to feed in the cooler conditions. Reptile activity also increased, with leopard tortoises seen moving after the rains and snakes, including puff adders and cobras, recorded along the warmer sandy tracks.
Birdlife reflected the seasonal change. Summer migrants such as Jacobin cuckoos and European rollers were present, while raptors including eagles, hawks, falcons and yellow-billed kites were frequently seen hunting over the pans. Temporary water attracted waterfowl, with species such as Egyptian geese, grebes and red-billed teal making use of the newly filled pans.
The landscape itself was one of the defining features of the month. The red dunes, now softened by green grass and flowering acacias, formed a striking contrast to the broad, open pans. Camelthorn, umbrella thorn and water thorn provided scattered shade, while tsamma melons and gemsbok cucumbers spread across the sandy flats. Cloud cover was more frequent during this period, limiting star visibility on some nights, but on clearer evenings Orion and Canis Major were visible above the pan, with Sirius rising brightly in the early hours.
Waterholes and roads held surface water after the rains, and walking activities continued whenever conditions allowed. The fresh growth made it easier to interpret tracks and to explore medicinal plants and traditional bush uses, giving a clear sense of how the Kalahari comes alive with the first summer storms.
