Date:  19 November 2010

Observers:  Moss (Guide), Grant and Rodney Woodrow, Steve and Melissa Wittul

Photographers: Steve and Melissa Wittul

On a still and overcast morning at Mombo recently, Camp Guide Moss and his guests came upon the Maporota Pride. They soon realised that this pride of 22 lions had some new additions to the family as they saw four tiny lion cubs that probably had just been introduced by their mother to the pride for the very first time.

As seen by the adjoining pictures, the tiny cubs’ eyes had just opened (usually occurring any time from 3-11 days) and they are estimated at being approximately two weeks old - as they only start walking at that age.

The whole pride took great interest in the tiny cubs and greeted them with playful antics. However, sometimes these antics, which may seem playful to the other lions and elder cubs, were a bit rough on the newcomers whose alarm squeals warned their doting aunts and uncles to try ‘play nice’.

Having 22 other family members to look out for them, these cubs were welcomed into one of the most successful prides in the Okavango Delta and are sure to entertain guests in the coming months.

Location: DumaTau Camp, Linyanti Concession, Botswana.

Date: 28 October 2010

Observer: Mocks and Juliet Lemon

Photographer: Juliet Lemon

On a recent game drive from DumaTau Camp in northern Botswana we come across the Savuti Pride of lions, which consists of two sub-adult males, both approximately two years old, and an adult female which is their mother.

Whilst watching the pride, one of the young males started chewing on an acacia thorn tree branch.

Young lions are inquisitive by nature and have been observed playing with and chewing many things such as fallen branches, twigs, tortoise shells and even elephant dung. Lions of all ages have also on occasion seen eating grass thought to be ingested as an aid to help settle upset stomachs.

What made this sighting particularly unusual is that it is uncommon to see a lion chewing on a branch covered in thorns. As the photograph clearly shows, the youngster was clearly finding a mouth full of thorns distinctly unappetising!

Sometimes you don’t need to go on a game drive at Mombo – the action can happen virtually in the camp … in the blink of an eye.

High tea was cut short after a sharp-eyed observer noticed that there was activity out on the floodplain in front of camp – the Mporota Pride had killed! The guides rushed out there to have a closer look, and found the pride had savaged a warthog. It was nowhere near enough meat for a pride nearly two dozen strong. The male grabbed his share, and violently defended it, batting and biting a cub so fiercely that we wondered if it would survive the attack. Fortunately, a few minutes later the youngster dazedly got to its feet and wandered away from danger.

This is the second kill this pride has made near the camp. A few days ago a giraffe was caught quite near Tent 1- although we are not sure if it was the Mporota Pride itself that made the kill, as the Breakaway Pride was also in the area. We saw the male fighting with one female, then chasing her off with two lionesses in hot pursuit. She was possibly one of the Breakaway lions trying to slip, unnoticed, onto the carcass. The male chased her about 200m, and then the females in the rear started roaring – laying claim to kill. What a truly magnificent sound!

Photographs by Tsile Tsile and Ryan Green

Location: Xigera Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana
Date: 10/10/2010
Oberserver and Photographer: Victor Horatius

It is well known that cats do not much care for water. Sometimes however, even cats must immerse themselves and swim no matter how unwillingly.

If you are a cat and you want to live around Xigera Camp, then unfortunately you are not always going to have the luxury of a dry island to hunt and sleep on. The other day, three young males decided to brave the water between two islands. It took them forever to make the decision however. They walked gingerly along the channel edge, shaking their paws out every time they stepped in the water. Guides and guests found it hilarious.

Eventually however, they realised they were going to have to swim for it. One by one they sank into the two-metre deep channel.

Lions (and most other big cats) are surprisingly good swimmers and in no time at all, they were swimming strongly across the channel for the other side – albeit with looks of distaste on their faces.

I had never been to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve before, and so I really was not sure what to expect. The truth is that you cannot really explain fairly how the “fairy Bushman grass” dances and glows in the light and to the tune of the desert winds, or the vastness, or the magic of what was once a massive inland sea. Although, one thing I can explain fully is the fact that the desert wind was unbelievably cold for our visit. We had the misfortune of arriving at Kalahari Plains Camp at the same time as a cold front, which had just swept through South Africa heralding the end of the World Cup. Although it was cold enough for me to get dressed in bed, we made our way to the early morning fire set in front of the main area of camp where we thawed out with a cup of coffee. Whilst we were remarking on how quiet the night had been for animal sounds, the roar of a lion interrupted us. Another lion accompanied him and both were clearly visible on the plain. We headed out and Mike was just in time to get a pre-dawn shot of the two magnificent beasts walking in front of camp.

That then was the start of one of the coldest, but most rewarding, game viewing days of my life. With the icy cold came clarity of colour in the pale blue sky of the Kalahari that is a delight to any photographer. Aside from massive herds of springbok and oryx, honey badgers, giraffe, red hartebeest, kudu, steenbok and warthog, we managed to get the closest I have ever been to a juvenile Martial Eagle.

But that was not the end of it. We took a drive down to Letiahau Pan where we came across a brown hyaena feeding off the remains of a dead lion. Two days earlier, a territorial battle had ensued and two lions had succumbed. That was the second kill we witnessed that day; the first was a lanner falcon on a Hornbill and the final one was a pale chanting goshawk on a black korhaan kill.

Of course the birds were spectacular too and our special sightings included an ant-eating chat and swallow-tailed bee-eaters. Lots and lots of pale chanting goshawks (affectionately known as PCGs) are a feature of the area.

During our three-day stay, we found what we believe was the black-maned lion responsible for the territorial fight. He was strolling along with a lioness and two sub-adults. It was a fabulous sighting of what we considered THE perfect black-maned lion of the Central Kalahari. We also saw bat-eared foxes and an aardwolf up towards Deception Valley.

The weather finally warmed up so we could do the cultural walk with two Bushmen or San people, which is an activity I can recommend to anyone. We were fascinated when they demonstrated how to catch a spring hare using their elongated reed sticks that had a hook on the end made from the horn of a steenbok. They also demonstrated how they read the signs of the wilderness as well as their tracking and fire-making skills.

After a fantastic three days, we agreed that it would be our wish to make a pilgrimage to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve at least once a year – it is that special. We also agreed that our future visits will not be less than three nights at a time as that way we will be able to cover a larger territory and to get a better feel for the Reserve.

Our thanks to Basha, Russel and the team at Kalahari Plains who made our stay so memorable.

Date: 4th August 2010

Guides: Johnny Mowanji and Kambango Sinimbo

Management: Justin Stevens and Jacky Collett-Stevens

Photographs: Dr. David and Lisa Agard

One species’ loss is sometimes another family’s gain; this was the story that unfolded at Tubu Tree Camp on August 4th.

Just off the road, an elephant cow waited with two sub-adults. They stood very quietly. The cow did not move and eventually, the observers spotted a tiny baby elephant lying in the grass nearby. We initially thought it must be asleep but eventually realised the new-born was dead. The cow looked a little uneasy and we decided to leave her to mourn. As we moved off, however, she lost her temper and charged – perhaps distraught at her loss.

The following morning, after a night filled with lion roars, we tracked a male lion to the elephant carcass. He feasted on his own all day. In the evening, he was joined by his three cubs, very unusually without the two adult females of the pride. The following morning, the whole pride was together, their bellies distended. The fat stomachs did not stop the cubs playing with the elephant trunk and their father.

As an elephant herd lost a baby, a lion pride was able to feed for four days – indeed, they left nothing for the hyaenas, jackals or vultures.

A day to remember at Shumba Camp

From Shumba Camp one often does not have to go far to find wildlife. On the morning of the 22nd of July we realised just how close to camp sightings can occur. The Busanga Pride, comprising two males and four adult lionesses, killed a red lechwe antelope right alongside Tent 6 – in which we were staying. We woke at around 05h30 in the morning to the sound of lions roaring, thinking we had been dreaming when in fact we had been woken by the sounds of lionesses hunting and killing a red lechwe, as well as the ensuing spat when the bigger of the two males took over the kill.

Arriving at the main area we decided to delay the obligatory first cup of coffee and the classic Shumba sunrise to drive out in a vehicle in search of the lions. Driving out not even 100m from camp we came across the dominant male crunching into the skull of the lechwe and growling at the rest of the pride to keep their distance. The females lay off to one side, dejected, but his coalition mate lay close by, patiently waiting for any scraps. Eventually the male sauntered off across the Busanga Plains after a little bonding with the females. We left the sighting, allowing other guests from the neighbouring camps (Kapinga and Busanga Bush Camp) to come and take a look.

Finally we could enjoy our cup of coffee but instead of a sunrise we enjoyed the companionship of a nearby foraging herd of uncommon roan antelope – uncommon in many places but not on the Busanga Plains!

Later in the day, on the way back to Shumba for lunch, our guide Lex suddenly stopped the vehicle and asked if we could see the lioness. This female, belong to the same pride we had seen earlier, was lying in the grass, perfectly camouflaged, and was trying to hunt puku – another common antelope of the Busanga Plains. She afforded some wonderful photographic opportunities as she honed in on her prey but failed that attempt, perhaps being a little too impatient.

All in all, we can look forward to many more such amazing sightings on the Plains for the rest of the 2010 season. 

Location: Tubu Tree Camp, NG25, Botswana

Date: 3 July 2010

Observers: Justin Stevens, Jackie Collett, Johnny Mowanje & Anthony Mochoni

Photos: Michelle Collett & Mardus Potgieter

July 3rd 2010 – What a day!

Our guests woke up and were collected for breakfast by their guide. On the way, they saw two fresh sets of male lion tracks on the pathway leading to the main area. With adrenalin surging, the guests had a quick breakfast and headed out to track the lions. Instead they came across the big male that dominates the far side of the Jao Concession.

The game drive followed the lion and after a short while, his attention was arrested by some activity in a thicket nearby. He ran towards a thicket and three leopard (the Tubu female and her two cubs) exploded up into various trees. They watched, helpless, as the lion devoured the remains of an impala they had been breakfasting on. At the same time, a big elephant bull came wandering past.

On the way back to camp, they were interrupted by fighting kudu and an enormous buffalo bull. They arrived for brunch to find the camp inundated with elephants which prevented any return to the rooms.

The afternoon was also spectacular. The guests went fishing and were rewarded with a number of good catches. They were also lucky to see hippo breaching and two elephant swimming quite close to the boat. On the way back to camp, they saw yet another leopard.

It wasn’t over yet.

We had to collect the guests from their rooms in a Land Rover because there was a lioness chasing red lechwe in front of Tent 1 and her companion was spotted on the walkway outside Tent 3. The next morning, the big male was back, this time in camp. The game drives followed him out via the workshop and staff village.

What a remarkable 24 hours!