A good hunt for the two female lions with their youngster – they killed an adult oryx at Tau Pan, and they were able to feed on it for 7 days straight.
Driving along the cutline road, on a relaxing game drive, we were surprised to see two bull elephants moving the same direction. Not quite as surprised to see us, as we were to see them, they flapped their ears and did a couple of mock charges, before doing that unique sideways step that elephants do when they have decided to retreat but still want to present their largest side to the potential ‘threat’. With the very low rainfall this year, they will have to move off in search of better vegetation, so this will probably be the only time that we can see them.
Unusual sighting for our area this month, other than the elephants, was a rock monitor lizard. It was unfazed by the game drive vehicle, and we were able to watch it for some time. Although this big lizard is not uncommon in Botswana, we don’t get to see them very often in the Kalahari.
When you are on safari, its always good to get a good nights sleep, so you can be awake bright and early and ready to go just after dawn. However, sometimes, not sleeping becomes part of the safari experience…. Two Tau Pan lions decided a nice and refreshingly cool night towards the end of the month was the time for a bit of vocalisation. Rather than waiting till the hour or so before dawn – where sound travels the most – they started up just after midnight, and every half hour, gave a roaring chorus that filled the night. Occasionally, a few kilometres away, an answering call could be heard. The Tau Pan lions not being known for their extensive walking ability, they didn’t appear to move at any point during the night, and were obviously sat very close to the waterhole. All the better then for their roars to reverberate up the sand ridge and into the guest rooms… An early morning excursion by the guests and we discovered that it was actually a mating pair… and more confusing for everyone, the lioness had a six week old cub with her. It is very unusual for lionesses to mate with such a young cub – the cub is also in danger of being killed by the male. They continued to mate – and roar, even through the heat of the day, providing a nice welcome to the guests that arrived.
Like most of Botswana, this area too is looking very very dry. At the beginning of the month, there were a few light rain falls, and surprisingly, a hail storm. But nothing that would really give life to the needy plants. Day after day in February, the temperatures reached the high thirties, with not a cloud in the sky. Finally, the last three days of the month, and thunderstorms built up, but danced around the camp itself, raining off into the distance.
