Africa Safari Blog

Zambia Students Excelling

BillGiven — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:20:00 -0700

Our sponsored students, Jere and Matthews are both doing very well with their studies. In fact Jere finished among the top of his class and did so well on his Grade 9 exams he has been accepted into an excellent boarding school for his final two years of education. This is a big opportunity he has earned thus The Wild Source has increased our support to help him move on to boarding school this session. Jere was featured for his success in the latest Charity Begins at Home Newsletter.

The Wild Source is proud to sponsor Jere & Matthews - two students in Zambia

With it being rainy season making it too difficult to ride a bike Jere walked 45 miles in each direction to deliver his news and receive his support which is administered by The Bushcamp Companies Charitable Giving program. We could not be more proud to support these hard working young men and are sure they have bright futures.

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Namibia Safari Itinerary: Classic Namibia & Desert Wildlife Safari

BillGiven — Mon, 20 May 2013 08:30:00 -0700

We're proud to announce this latest addition to our safari offerings. This small group departure will be led by our own Jeremy Waldron. Here's the background on the safari from Jeremy:

I’m thrilled to be guiding with one of Namibia’s top local naturalist guides, leading a group of just 6 people through one of Namibia’s most diverse itineraries beginning the end of August 2013.

Photo of Rhino in Nambia ©The Wild Source

In 2006 I sold or gave away nearly everything I owned and packed my bag for Namibia. Joining the Peace Corps opened up my eyes in so many ways and I remember a friend, also in the Peace Corps, ask me the question that had always been the most difficult for me to answer, “What is it you plan to do after our two years are over?” We hadn’t even begun our two years of service and she was already asking me what I had lined up! You see, I have a tendency to focus on the present so when I answered her question I said, “I have no idea… but I’m sure it’s something I can’t even imagine.” Nearly seven years later I’m humbled every day to be doing that “something that I can’t even imagine” and it was Namibia’s people, endemic species and unique environment that offered so much and keep pulling me “home.” I can’t wait to share my second home with those who join me on this specially crafted safari.

Namibia is the first country in the world to incorporate the protection of the environment into its constitution, giving life to thousands of species and providing great photographic opportunities for tour participants. Namibia has been described as the last frontier, a wild and rough country, a diverse and contrasting place unlike other more visited safari destinations and one of the reasons it is extremely dear to my heart.

The Classic Namibia and Desert Wildlife Safari provides you with an opportunity to experience Africa’s desert predators, the endemic desert adapted Elephant, giraffe, abundant plains game common to the desert environment and an incredible diversity of bird species. I have carefully selected camps to maximize our time among the stunning gold’s and browns of Namibia’s Savannah’s along with the swirling mountains of sands in Sossusvlei and the Namib Desert. Hidden within these environments is the wildlife, big and small, in their constant state of survival. Teaming up with Namibia’s best naturalist guides, together we will dedicate our time to exploring this uniquely rich environment. We will delve into the geology and massive red sand dunes of Sossusvlei, explore the clearest night skies I have ever seen with Namibia’s best astronomers, search for cape fur seals along the Skeleton Coast, and track desert elephant in Damaraland before heading to the great salt pans of Etosha National Park to put our skills to finding lion, leopard, rhino and many other species. This safari has been timed for the peak wildlife viewing and optimal weather.

An exclusive group of only 6 participants keeps the guide to guest ratio extremely low giving you the in-depth and educational experience you came looking for. This is an excellent opportunity to experience one of Africa’s truly unique destinations where there is more wildlife than people.

There is a Uukwaaludhi saying I grew fond of in the village during my Peace Corps experience that says in Oshiwambo, “Ohole nayi kale yu udhilila monkalamwenyo yoye.” Simply translated as, “May your life be filled with love.” And may that love of life be shared in Namibia with me and 6 others.

The full itinerary may be viewed here.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with interest or any questions at Jeremy@thewildsource.com

Cheers -- Jeremy

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Botswana Safari January 2013: Selinda Camp Sensational Storm

BillGiven — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:17:00 -0700

If I experienced nothing else, Selinda would be a highlight just to re-unite and guide with Dicks Tsima, one of my best friends who I consider my Botswana brother. Here is where nature took over to deliver one of our biggest highlights.

Photo of lioness with storm clouds approaching ©The Wild Source

We began by tracking a pride of lions. As we followed their trail we were very surprised to find signs of buffalo. In the green season buffalo often disappear into the woodlands where they can enjoy puddled water.

For some reason a small herd appeared to have returned to the Selinda plains and we were sure the lions would be very excited as this is their preferred prey. We tracked until we found a lioness. She led us to her sisters and eventually, four were gathered on a little mound. Behind them the sky had turned a daunting steely grey/blue with occasional flashes of lightning creating a stunning contrast with the lush green grasses and tawny coats of the cats. We enjoyed photographing this ever changing palette and anticipating the drama of the buffalo hunt.

Just then, at a distance of 150 yards, a line of buffalo crossed an open grass area on the far side of some trees. The keen eyes of the hunters locked in and the lionesses started to stretch and follow as did we. However, nature had a different plan more powerful and intimidating then this group of hunters.

We made it about 25 yards when the sky opened up with rain coming virtually sideways. We hunkered down with ponchos, hoods up, trying to patiently withstand the rain. Typically rain is quite localized and short lived, however the sky had transformed to a uniform sheet showing the storm in all directions. Within minutes there was booming thunder and crackling lightning on all sides leaving no direction available for escape. With nature’s violence all around us you could just squint out of the corner of your eye to the left and see the lions hunkered down and as humbled as us.

With it becoming dark and the rain no longer sideways it was clear the lions would have to wait to hunt and we had a near two hour drive ahead of us to get back to camp as we had tracked to the far reaches of the concession. A good portion of the ride home was a light show that easily rivaled the Washington D.C. 4th of July fireworks I grew up with. Flash cubes of light and streaks of lightning went in all directions across the sky. Just like the fireworks, there were plenty of oohs and ahs.

About half way home we slowed down to a crawl as we could just make out the silhouette of a couple elephants crossing road ahead of us. Suddenly a bolt of lightning lit up the area, revealing for a brief moment, a full breeding herd of about 20 elephants traveling in a line including a couple very small babies which quickly were cloaked again in darkness. This moment was pure magic!

Ironically, while so many are concerned about avoiding rain on safari this was our one big weather inconvenience yet it was a definitive highlight of the trip. Luckily this group of people embraced the wilderness and power of nature and knew this was a special event which would last inside them. The hot chocolate with Amarula back at camp could not have tasted better.

Other Selinda Camp Highlights:

Dicks and I tracking a mother leopard and cub; seeing in the dirt how they played together and then being so close on the tracking that we heard the mother make a call to her cub a short distance away
Seeing the leopard and her six month old cub
Beautiful herd of roan antelope
lions feeding
Bushman walk with Dicks teaching his survival skills
Lion/buffalo and lightning
Four wild dogs- unfortunately after our group disbanded and I stayed on for another night

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Botswana Safari January 2013: Sandibe Camp

BillGiven — Sat, 18 May 2013 08:30:00 -0700

At Sandibe we were spoiled for choice with many big cats and two different packs of African wild dogs in the area. We certainly enjoyed some great big cat sightings but put most of our time into observing African wild dogs. We witnessed one incredibly dramatic event.

African Wild Dogs Showing Interest in Lechwe Photo Copyright The Wild Source

I spotted a small pack of three adults and three puppies – the six pack. They had denned later than normal and the pups were only 4 to 5 months old. After siesta time we returned to follow this pack on their afternoon hunt. It was awesome to watch the pups hustle to try and keep up with the adults as they coursed the area.

At one point there was a full out sprint chasing impala but the dogs came up empty. By now the pups were struggling to keep up so two adults got quite far ahead and out of sight but the alpha male, possibly the largest wild dog I’ve ever seen, stayed with the pups to protect them.

We then heard the long distance hoo-hoo call of the other dogs and the pace quickened to a fast trot as the male and pups responded to this summon. A minute later came a single note warning bark and the pups turned on a dime and went into a full sprint in the opposite direction with their father. We raced ahead toward the call just in time to see four adult dogs running full speed in chase.

It turns out a larger pack, twelve pack, had entered the area and found the two dogs hunting and taken exception. Often packs will not tolerate one another and will try to extinguish dogs from other packs. It was chaos! We could not keep up with the pups or the dogs in conflict. It was soon dark and we found that the twelve pack had all come together for the night so it appeared (to be confirmed later) the six pack escaped – whew!

We spent the entire next day watching the twelve pack hunt including the quintessential Okavango scene of wild dogs running through shallow water in pursuit of red lechwe – a wetland dependent antelope and true Okavango specialty. The following morning as we had our breakfast before flying to the next camp we had one last dog treat as an impala bounded past the breakfast area followed shortly by a wild dog on the run.

Other Sandibe Camp Highlights:

Huge male leopard relaxed after a kudu meal he enjoyed in a tree
Female leopard on our night drive
Watching wild dog family behavior with the six pack and its young pups
Many hunting forays with the wild dog packs
Cheetah relaxing
Lions with a wildebeest kill
Impala and wild dog running through the camp during breakfast

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Botswana Safari January 2013: Kwara Camp

BillGiven — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:37:00 -0700

The pinnacle sighting was the famed three cheetah boys successful hunt of a tsessebe. Here the Kwara Camp guides and trackers put their skill on full display as we spent a solid hour tracking the cheetah brothers, much of it through difficult to maneuver mopane woodland area until we found our quarry. We then witnessed an incredible cooperative hunt.

Lions pass by one of our vehicles from Kwara Camp ©The Wild Source

One cheetah stalked toward a mixed group of grazing animals and once spotted, he chased them in the direction of his two brothers who then burst onto the scene singling out a young male tsessebe who they chased in a circular motion to send the prey back toward their brother who started the hunt. This worked perfectly for us as they ran right past our parked vehicle and the tsessebe, Africa’s fastest antelope, and one cheetah came sprinting past the right side of the vehicle while the other cheetah rocketed past the left side.

What an incredible sight to have these three animals displaying their top speed running directly at us and in an instant, blurring past. The original cheetah who had waited ahead took the angle and made the kill. This was a true ‘National Geographic’ type event to witness and for the rest of the safari the group discussed the incredible tracking job and how rewarding it was to see such an event as the result of using the ancient bush skills.

Other Kwara Camp Highlights:

Three male lions parading by just a couple feet outside the open vehicles
Elephant chasing hippos out of a waterhole. Lots of trumpeting and head shaking as one hippo kept trying to come back in
Hammerkops and storks feasting on unreal numbers of frogs
Daytime views of a honey badger and a family of side-striped jackals in camp
Successful cheetah hunt

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Botswana Safari Jan 2013: Overview

BillGiven — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:56:00 -0700

I have always been a big proponent for safaris during Botswana’s green season. I love the value; anywhere from 40 to 60% less than high season pricing. I also love that it is the growing season offering many a shade of lovely green. All the grazers are at their best with lots to eat. Also this time of year, many have their calves making it a great time for predators.

Photo of African Wild Dogs on the hunt during my most recent Botswana Safari ©Bill Given

I like that it is a warm time of year, yet usually is not overly hot. The one concern many people have is rain. What makes it the rainy season is simply that for half the year Botswana won’t usually have a drop of rain. So the actual rainy months averaging 4 inches or so a month, can hardly be considered rainy. I have traveled to Botswana numerous times during the green season and on average, I end up with a big rain once during safari activity over the span of 10 nights on safari.

This January would prove to be the ultimate test as Botswana had record rains. The most recorded in the month of January in over 40 years. Our result was one game drive very impacted by an incredible thunderstorm which all 11 of us considered one of the trip highlights, two or three little drizzles that were short lived and did not impact our game viewing, and overall possibly the best predator viewing I have ever had in Botswana. In fact, we only had one game drive without a big cat or wild dogs and we had one jam packed game drive that featured a leopard, wild dog pack with pups, and a cheetah.

Over the next few blog posts, I'll be chronicling the Botswana adventure by camp. These upcoming blog posts will provide you a good feel for what the experience was like each day during my trip.

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Kwando Safari Sightings for March Part II

BillGiven — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 16:14:00 -0700

Today, we wrap up the Kwando March sightings with reports from Tau Pan Camp and Nxai Pan Camp. Thanks again to Kwando Safaris for providing us with this fantastic update.

Nxai Pan Camp

The first of the March morning game drives began with three males lions resting by the Main waterhole on Kgama Kgama road. A lovely way to start, though one of the lions looked a little morose for some reason! Other days saw them returning to that waterhole to lie in wait for prey to approach, and we also had six lions visiting the camp waterhole early one morning, just in time for the morning coffee and muffins.

The next day we were able to witness two cheetah socialising in such away that you could almost understand what they were saying.

Queues at the waterholes continue, as the smaller animals wait for the elephants to move off before approaching. The camp waterhole often has 12-15 elephants at a time drinking there – which can create a bit of a bar brawl amongst themselves as they all crowd around looking for the purest section of water.

One morning game drive provided lovely views of the less famous predators: spotted hyena, four bat-eared foxes and a honey badger.

Tau Pan

March has been an active month for predators at Tau Pan. A takeover in territory could happen any time. The Tau Pan pride is currently restricted to a quick sweep to drink then straight out north of the airstrip.

Sightings of lion, cheetah and leopard were frequent at the beginning of the month. With the rains abating, and the season changing Botswana experienced some heat waves which forced thirsty predators to venture to the Tau Pan waterhole.

The camp was visited by a sub-adult young male leopard who resided around the camp for a week. It is possible that this young leopard, aged between 18- 24 months, had been to camp before as he was relaxed when spotted.

Two new male lions have moved into the Tau Pan from the Letiahau area where the waterhole is closed and their territory is overlapping with that of the resident Tau Pan pride. The area of overlap includes the camp water hole, so we have heard and seen a lot of lion activity.

In case you missed it last month we felt we had to re-share this spectacular sight of quelia taking a dip in our pool. They had been drinking at the camp waterhole, which is a flat pan, easy for birds to stand and drink at, but the large number of raptors were swooping down on them and hunting them.

A few smart individuals – obviously followed by a huge flock of not-so clued-up hangers on – began drinking at the swimming pool at the camp, where the raptors were too wary of humans to follow. The flocks swarmed in and around the camp, but the sheer number combined with the high sides of the pool meant that many drowned when trying to drink. Having people in or around the pool made no difference. A form of net was laid over the pool, but this also didn’t help. And who really wants to swim when 10, 000 birds are whizzing round your head? Eventually a type of mesh was found that helped the situation somewhat, but nothing could really be done until the queleas themselves decide to move off in search of better feeding grounds.

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March Kwando Safaris Sightings

BillGiven — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:49:00 -0700

Here are the March sightings from Kwando Safaris. Today, we'll cover Kwara, Lagoon Camp, and Lebala Camps.

Tomorrow we discuss Nxai Pan Camp and Tau Pan Camp.

Enjoy this month's updates

Kwara Camp

A young male leopard has appeared recently and we think he has chased out our resident male who was getting very old. This young male is often seen between Kwara Island and the Splash area, but is very shy with cars. Recently he has begun calling around the camp – the deep throaty cough of an adult male leopard – an indication that he feels unthreatened and has therefore ousted any potential competition. It is hoped he will become more relaxed as he frequents the area and perceives no threat from the vehicles.

The three adult cheetahs were seen often in the areas around Splash, attempting hunts regularly. They were very photogenic too, conveniently lying on top of a termite mound, basking in the sun.

The pack of eight african wild dogs was seen regularly this month, on kills, resting and playing. On the 19th of March, two african wild dogs were seen mating, so lets hope in early June they decide to den in the Kwara area where they have spent more than a year now.

The two sub-adult male lions have broken off from the Solo Pride for the time being and were seen on many occasions fighting some of the members of the “seven brothers”, who are probably their fathers and uncles. They moved around, dominating some of the kills which were made by their sisters. Three of the lionesses managed to kill a giraffe, which provided food for them and their brothers for several days. Taking a break from the exhausting business of stuffing as much meat in as possible, the lionesses took a drink at one of the nearby pans, and then played around the water.

Lots of general game in the area, including zebras, large journeys (groups) of giraffes, tsessebes and the ubiquitous impala. Elephants move through the groupings of animals, from tree island to tree island, feeding on the large variety of plant life available. This will probably be the last month of such a variety, as many of the grasses are drying up as the rains have all but stopped. A different type of lushness will arrive as the flood waters arrive from Angola – the increasing waters will be here soon.

Rarest sighting this month: a Pel’s fishing owl whilst out on the boat.

Lagoon Camp

Leopards certainly seem to be doing well in this area of late, since the lions are spending more time in the south of the area. There were two sub-adults aged just under one year, found on an island about ten minutes drive from camp. They were both relaxing in their own individual trees, and provided one of the best sightings of the month. A female was also seen drinking from the lagoon in front of camp during siesta time!

One african wild dog from the Lagoon pack appears to be missing, so there are now 12 adults and 8 sub-adults, down from 21. The pack in itself is still doing well, and warthog continues to be the current prey of choice, with several meeting their end this month.

Perhaps following on from the wild dogs’ experience, (or is it a plague of warthogs?) a female leopard also caught a nice piece of pork for her dinner early in the month.

Having not seen the three cheetah brothers in several months, we were surprised to find tracks of a solitary cheetah moving close to the camp. A few days later, the cheetah was found, and it turns out to be one of the brothers who had previously separated from the coalition for a month. We wonder if this is it for him, and he won’t return to his brothers - or will his brothers follow him too?

A lovely herd of around 100 eland were found along the cutline, but these animals are always very shy, so we were not able to watch them for long before they moved off.

Elephants are also in large numbers, with the breeding herds back in the area. These herds are normally too shy to come through the camp, but cross the channel just to the west of the camp on most days. Bull elephants, however, are much more confident around human habitations, (the elephants were obviously here before we were!) and two males are found ‘hanging out’ between the kitchen and the dining room on most days. This makes for some long detours for the plates and food if they are too close to the pathway….

Night drives have been a little quiet, as the grass is so tall in most areas. It should only be a few weeks, and the long grass will fall flat, enabling great visibility.

Lebala

At the beginning of the month, a very relaxed male and female lion pair were seen along boundary road mating – a good chance that we may get some cubs in around three months if the pride’s structure remains stable and is not threatened by intruding males.

A pack of thirteen wild african wild dogs were seen three days in a row, mostly resting when we found them, but on one day they did attempt to hunt but were unsuccessful. The Lagoon pack of 20 african wild dogs also paid us a visit at the end of the month, and were successful in their impala hunt.

Towards the end of the month, we had an unusual sighting: a male cheetah. Since the coalition of male cheetahs moved out of the concession past Lagoon some months ago, cheetah sightings have been very rare. This male was found after an hour of intensive tracking, moving through the Kalahari apple leaf. A hyena was also following him, keeping a slight distance, perhaps in the hope of stealing any kill the cheetah makes. A day or two later, the same cheetah was found resting close to the airstrip.

We were lucky enough to have a sighting of three sub-adult Roan antelope – all very relaxed, as well as a herd of 7 male sable antelope. Eland herds as well were often seen in the vicinity of Steve’s Pan, as it seems they favour this site for their nightly rest.

Breeding herds of elephant abound on every game drive, feeding, drinking, moving through the floodplains and sometimes having mudbaths, which looks like a lot of fun, but potentially smelly.

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Kwando Safari Sightings for January Part II

BillGiven — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 19:57:00 -0700

Kwando Safari Sightings for January have arrived. In our previous post, we looked at Kwando Lebala Camp and Tau Pan Camp - today we take a closer look at the sightings for Kwando Lagoon Camp, Nxai Pan Camp, and Kwando Kwara Camp.

Kwando Kwara Camp

January had lion sightings almost every day, including regular sightings of the Solo pride, (two males and four females). One of the females has two young cubs. We’ve also seen mating lion this month, so hopefully in a couple of months time, there will be even more cubs in the area!

Hyenas were also seen – both on drive and in camp! A pair of eyes glowing back at you as you are walked to your room, gives everyone a start, but they turn and move off with that easily-recognisable loping gait of a hyena. Out on drive, one car also came across four hyenas having an intense fight. After the fight, one of the hyenas had a broken leg, and the three other hyenas left him. It’s going to be a very harsh, short life too for that hyena, as it is essential that the hyena can hunt for him/herself, in order to survive.

Lots of general game throughout the concession, with large herds of zebra in the Splash area in particular, and many groups of giraffe dotted everywhere. One afternoon game drive found five giraffe sitting down together – an unusual sighting, and once they realised that we were watching, they clambered to their feet.

On the 7th January, three cheetahs were found to be hunting. The guests were lucky enough to see them chase and catch a tssesebe in front of the car. The cheetahs were seen several other times during the month.

The wild dogs were also fit and well, with the pack of eleven seen most often. They caught impala regularly, and with the odd variation in their diet of other young antelope. In addition, an adult female and two male dogs were found in the Splash area. They also had luck with their hunt, and were feasting on a young impala. Towards the end of the month, the pack numbered eight adults and five pups, so it’s likely the dogs are just hunting in different areas, separating for a little while before rejoining the main group.

Sometimes, a guest takes the time to write about what he or she has seen, rather than the guides filling out the sightings book. Here an extract from an anonymous guest, that sums up a couple of days at Kwara:

“We stayed for two days and had brilliant sightings. Day 1 – three cheetah brothers set up a fantastic and successful kill. Saw vultures attacking a baby zebra carcass. Caught three male intruder lion marking new territory. Saw a beautiful female lioness devouring a baby warthog. Had evening tea with more than 30 hippos basking in water with a beautiful sunset on one side and the rising moon on the other.”

Other great sightings this month included guests who recorded 95 bird species in the three days they were at Kwara, and a very rare sighting of a sitatunga antelope whilst out on the boat.

Kwando Lagoon Camp

Three female lion (two adults and one subadult) were found sleeping south of John’s Pan at the beginning of the month, but sightings of lions were sparse for the rest of January.

Leopard sightings were good, with relaxed females and males being seen – including one which was seen when the guide was walking guests back to room number 4 at night! A female leopard was also seen several times in the area around the BDF camp – she was very relaxed.

The cheetahs remained absent, not having been seen since the lions chased them nearly two months ago. However, right at the end of January, the three brothers suddenly reappeared in the mopane scrub area, looking fit and healthy.

However, other predators are making up for their absence, with the Lagoon Pack of dogs being seen almost every day with kills. They are focussing on baby impala and tsessebe, but kills have also included adult warthogs, impala and reedbuck. The pack spent three days closer to the Lebala camp, but then moved back in the direction of Lagoon.

A very lucky night drive found an aardvark moving along the Old Lebala road, but hyenas, serval cat, porcupine and side-striped jackals were more commonly seen on the night drives.

Although large buffalo herds are absent, there have been amazing sightings of a herd of eland numbering more than 100 individuals. Eland are notoriously shy – in spite of being the largest antelope – and often people are only able to have a fleeting glimpse as an eland departs. With such a large herd, they are slightly more relaxed.

Nxai Pan Camp

A phenomenal month at Nxai Pan with the zebra migration in full swing. The foals are already quite big, and all the herds look in great condition – apart from the odd one or two that show tell-tale signs of having a close shave with a lion.

Everywhere you look on the pan, hundreds and hundreds of springbok are milling around, with their young offspring bouncing and pronking (yes that is a real word, it describes the vertical springing jump with arched back that springbok make!) . Not exactly sure of the cars, the young sometimes approach closer than the adults out of curiosity, before moving off, with their out of proportion rabbit-like ears flicking to and fro.

With there being so many zebra around the park, the lions have dispersed, as there is no need to stay close to the waterholes, hoping that something will come down to drink. In addition, three days of heavy rain – the most rain northern Botswana has seen in 40 years! – meant that there are pans in many more spots, rather than the few isolated waterholes. Two male intruder lions were seen at the beginning of the month, but the young pride also saw them and moved out of the way quickly! Sadly, it’s thought that these male lions then moved out of the park and into the surrounding areas to the west, where they spent several weeks in January catching the much easier prey of domestic cows. There was a report at the end of the month of farmers shooting these ‘problem animals’.

The cheetahs, however, are still around, and we have had some lovely sightings. One of these included a young male who was seen close to the road, only a few minutes after heading out of the camp on morning game drive. He was posing elegantly, and was very photogenic. At one point, he decided that he needed to practice his hunting skills, and instead of focusing on one of the numerous springboks that were never far away, his attention was drawn to a very suspicious looking pile of elephant dung. He leapt and pounced on it, and created his own game of football with the dried dung, much to the amusement of the on-lookers!

The waterholes do still draw different species together, though perhaps not with as much angst as it can be during the dry season, it’s still important to be cautious when drinking. That must somehow explain the interesting meeting of a zebra and a leopard tortoise at one waterhole one afternoon. The tortoise had made it to the edge of the water, and was about to drink, when an approaching zebra startled him. He quickly withdrew his head and legs into the safety of his shell, but the sudden movement in turn startled the zebra. The two animals then proceeded into a ‘duet of startlement’ as each one alternately relaxed, then noticed the other one, made a quick withdrawal, in turn startling the other animal. Eventually, both animals realised they were not under immediate attack, and managed to get on with the business of drinking.

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Kwando Safaris Sightings for January Part I

BillGiven — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:26:00 -0700

Kwando Safari Sightings for January have arrived. In this first post, we'll feature Kwando Leabala Camp and Tau Pan Camp - note that Kwando Safaris has included a rather lengthy and interesting introduction to the rainy season as part of this first update. The next update will feature Kwando Lagoon Camp, Nxai Pan Camp, and Kwando Kwara Camp.

Kwando Safaris - January Rains

PULA! The rains arrived with a vengence in January..... read on

January forms part of the so-called rainy season in Northern Botswana. Unlike in other countries, the rainy season is not like monsoon, but simply indicates the time of year when rain is expected and hoped for, as opposed to the majority of the year when no rain at all falls. Generally, the clouds build up for a few days, and then there is a sudden and brief thunderstorm, which quickly settles the dust.

This January, about 27 out of 31 of those days followed this pattern. Four of them, however, broke all patterns. On the 16th January, it started raining. Hard. And it kept raining hard. For just over three days, it let up for only short periods, and by the end of that time, rain records that had been held for more forty years in Northern Botswana had been broken. Many camps reported over 55 mls of rain in each of the three days – figures that are rarely achieved. Just over one third of the annual expected total rainfall fell.

Although rain is a cause for celebration in Botswana, a country that is almost entirely covered by the Kalahari sands, all the staff sympathised with the guests who struggled through the rain to experience some of the safari they had travelled so far to see. For many, it was a bigger struggle than anyone anticipated, as the cloud cover remained so low, the small planes that act as the shuttle buses and supply vehicles of the safari industry were unable to fly. Some guests had to spend an extra night in a camp rather than moving on to the next, and a few missed their international connections, though with good humour – the camps are a slightly better place to spend a night rather than cramped inside a metal tube! .

Luckily, in most areas on the fourth day, the rain stopped and the sun came out. Areas such as Nxai that had been particularly parched prior to the rains, sucked up the water quickly, so that there was soon little to be found on the baked dry tracks. In Kwara, on the 15th of January, a manager noted how dry the area was, with no water under the three main bridges. Three days later, it was back to using the bridges, as the rain had re-filled the channels and pans. It has not rained again since.

So what does this mean for the coming flood season? Rainfall in Botswana does not form part of the catchment area for the rivers that make up the Delta. However, the cloud cover that provided the rain also covered most of Southern Africa, and resulted in the destruction of homes in many countries due to fast rising river waters A larger than normal rainfall in Angola will lead to a big flood in the Delta in a few months, depending on how much is sucked up by the vegetation as it travels along the slow moving river - for the Delta, it’s a matter of waiting and seeing!

Kwando Lebala Camp

The beginning of the year saw the Southern pack of dogs moving north west of Lebala camp. After feeding on impala one day, the pack spent the whole day along the edge of the water at Leopard road, before heavy rains arrived and they moved off to the thick Kalahari apple-leaf for cover. The next day they were found again, eating two baby impalas, and interacting with a group of hyenas. The dog pack was seen regularly throughout the month of January.

The hyenas started the month with full stomachs, when a clan of 20 were seen feeding on a baby elephant. It could not be determined what had killed the baby, or if it had died of natural causes.

Lots of breeding herds of elephants are back in the concession, and are seen daily feeding and having mud baths after the good rains.

Tau Pan Camp

Tau Pan lion pride (currently just the two females and six young lions from the litters two years ago) had a good start to January, and killed an oryx on the southern side of the pan. They were seen feeding on it, after having taken it down during the night.

By the middle of the month, they had killed another oryx, which they seem to finally be developing a skill at catching!

A couple of days later, a cheetah was seen hunting to the west of the waterhole, and managed to catch a duiker. He was able to feed on the duiker for some time, before the jackals that had moved in on seeing him catch something, irritated him too much and he left.

A large number of white storks arrived in Tau Pan- 105 to be exact (!)… - and spent the days feeding on insects. The jackals – several families live on the Pan – tried their luck at catching them, but were unsuccessful. Jackals have an interesting family structure – the parents normally mate for life, and one or two pups from the first litter they have stay with the parents to help raise the next litter, before moving off and finding their own mate.

Our lovely visitors from last month – the wild dogs – also came back this month to the waterhole in front of camp. Numbering seven – two adults and five subadults – spent time running through the waterhole and playing. All look healthy, though the alpha female does have some scars on her shoulder and back, but these seem not to be bothering her. Last month there were eight in number, so we are hoping that the missing one was busy out hunting at the time they were seen.

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Leopard School at Mara Plains

BillGiven — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 09:29:00 -0700

The best moments on safari are when we can witness the natural behavior of the animals. Among the big cats leopards are unique for their trait of carrying their kills up into trees. This definitive behavior is a critical one as it provides the leopard with a chance to safely cache food and consume as much as they want at their leisure without worry that lions or hyenas will pirate their hard won prey.

It is an impressive display of strength and agility. To observe a leopard carrying a kill up a tree is without doubt one of the most thrilling safari sightings.

On the last Big Cats & the Migration safari that I guided our group had the fascinating opportunity to not only see a leopard haul an impala up a tree but to actually observe a mother tutor her daughter to develop this vital skill. On a night drive we were sitting in the dark near the base of a tree containing a young leopard named Fig (about 10 months old). Soon Fig’s mother Acacia arrived, a bit breathless with a freshly killed young impala dangling from her mouth.

After gathering herself Acacia sprang to the tree and hauled the impala up the tree toward Fig. Then in an extraordinary teaching moment, as Fig approached and vocalized in excitement for food, Acacia purposely dropped the kill to the ground forcing Fig to descend the tree and bring the kill up on her own. Practical learning at its best!

Fig came down, secured the impala and impressively climbed the tree with the kill. Once sufficiently high up the tree it was a bit comical as Fig struggled with how to secure the carcass and numerous times she tried to bend down to eat only to have the prey slipping off the branch requiring her to quickly snag it and try again. Eventually she found a suitable fork to wedge the kill and eat.

Fig secures impala and starts to eat.
© Bill Given

Acacia is a leopard I know well having spent nearly 4 hours with her on my first ever visit to Mara Plains Camp in early 2009. At that time she had two very young cubs and she successfully raised both to independence. Her daughter in that litter, Pretty Girl, is the leopard that I’ve seen most at Mara Plains and has been my favorite.

In February I was able to see Fig when she was just about 10 weeks old and it was very rewarding to return in October and see her successful development. It is a privilege to be able to visit the same area frequently and track the lives of these remarkable leopards.

Fig secures impala and starts to eat.
© Bill Given

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Kwando Safaris Sightings for June Part II

BillGiven — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 09:38:00 -0700

Here are the June Safari Sightings from Kwando Safaris! After yesterday's recap of Kwando Kwara and Kwando Lagoon Camps, we're now covering Tau Pan Camp, Nxai Pan Camp, and Kwando Lebala Camp. Enjoy the update.

Kwando Lebala

The 2nd of June brought an interesting event for the workshop staff at Lebala, as a pack of wild dogs killed a waterbuck after the guests had gone to bed one night. They relaxed in the open fronted garage after having their midnight meal! Although the guests didn’t get a chance to see them there, the next morning the dogs were found not too far away.

A couple of days later, the pack of ten dogs hunted and killed an impala, only to have it taken off them by a group of hyenas. The next day, the hyenas obviously thought they were on to a good thing and found the lagoon pack of dogs (18 individuals) that had just caught a warthog. However, this time, the tables were turned, and the dogs chased the hyenas away. Finding the closest source of cover possible, a hyena dashed under the stationary game drive vehicle, before slinking away when the dogs returned to their kill. The same dogs killed an ostrich the next day – a very unusually kill for wild dogs.

Later in the month, a leopard was seen stalking an impala, when suddenly a different group of impala came running past – the leopard managing to catch one and pull it down by the neck. Less than five minutes later, three wild dogs appeard from the bush, and went straight to the leopard and took over the kill.

A group of three lionesses didn’t have as much luck as the dogs though, as the same day they hunted and caught a young calf, that had become slightly separated from the main buffalo herd. Realising what had happened, and responding to the cries of the calf, the buffalo herd turned and moved in on the lions. Greatly out numbered and unable to hang on to their prey, the lionesses had to flee from the impending arrival of very upset weighty buffalos. The calf managed to then move off with the rest of the herd, though the state of its injuries were unknown.

With the eagle eyes of the tracker and guide working as a great team together, its not often that guests manage to spot something before them. However, a young first-time safari visitor queried what the strange red thing was that was up a tree that they had driven past. A closer inspection was called for, only to discover it was the bloody remains of a porcupine, stashed in a tree. A little more investigating, and a leopard was found close to the bottom of the tree, injured as a result of its tricky hunt for the porcupine.

You don’t always have to venture far from camp to have the chance of seeing some pretty amazing sightings. In fact, you don’t even have to venture further than the bar stool on some nights… a rather adventurous serval cat passed through the lounge and dining area, on the way to his nightly hunts, whilst people have been quietly enjoying a pre or post-dinner drink.

A chilly end to the month as the temperature dropped to between 8 and 12 degrees at night, this is the start of the cold July months. You need to wrap up on the early morning and evening game drives, but its still pleasant during the day, with temperatures of around 25 degrees.

Interestingly, there is also a second push of the flood waters, with water seeping across the flood plains. The spill way, which is the connecting fault line between the Okavango and Kwando rivers also increased in the flow of water moving into the Kwando river.

Nxai Pan

As the weather gets colder, but remains sunny, the waterholes have become the meeting point – for friend or foe. This month the cheetah with her two young were seen regularly, often in the vicinity of the wildlife waterhole. Mostly relaxing, we were also lucky enough to witness them hunting and bringing down a springbok close to the waterhole.

The lions also use the lack of water to their advantage, with ten of them (seven adults and three youngsters) lying in wait to the side of one of the waterholes, in the hope that some other thirsty animal would be caught off guard. No such luck on the times we saw them, but their patience would have won out at some point.

Elephants continue to visit each of the waterholes, and even youngsters are being seen from time to time. The breeding herds are not always found in the park year round, but now is a good time to see them. The rest of the year, it’s the males that dominate the area – and they definitely dominate – taking over the waterholes and keeping other animals out of the way!

Tau Pan

All six lion cubs are alive and well – and growing up fast. The bigger they get, the harder it is to tell the difference in age between the two sets of cubs that were born only a handful of weeks apart. Still playful as ever, they proving a larger headache for the rest of the pride as they get bigger. The pride was seen often this month at the waterhole, and passing through the camp – and heard particularly well in the early hours before dawn when the sound of their roars travels best through the air. Not that it has far to travel when they are in the camp and roaring… a thin wall and mesh windows doesn’t block out a lot of sound!

Towards the end of the month, the females and cubs moved away from the camp for a few days, leaving the two big males wandering around looking for them. Why the females do this, we can’t be sure, but the two males continue to come to the water hole to drink, and look slightly despondent.

Other large predators that were seen this month included cheetah at the Deception Valley area, and a few leopards. One big male leopard was seen close to camp, strolling along the road, and we had a good sighting of him before he sauntered off into the bush. Not too long after we lost sight of him, one of the staff at camp found the male leopard drinking sedately out of the swimming pool!

Naturally enough, it’s not all about big predators at Tau – there are plenty of other animals to see including large groupings of giraffe, wildebeest, oryx, black backed and side-striped jackals, bat eared foxes, cheeky ground squirrels and honey-badgers.

Although elephants are a rare sighting in the Kalahari, another rare elephant sighting is that of the elephant shrew. This small rodent – the name is not descriptive of its large size, but rather of its large proboscis – was spotted in the late afternoon, darting around the sandy vegetation looking for food, in the vicinity of a group of ground squirrels

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Kwando Safaris Sightings for June Part I

BillGiven — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 06:00:00 -0700

Kwando Safaris June Sightings

Here are the June Safari Sightings from Kwando Safaris! Today, we're leading off with Kwando Kwara and Kwando Lagoon Camps. In the next blog installment, we'll be featuring Tau Pan Camp, Nxai Pan Camp, and Kwando Lebala Camp. Enjoy the update.

Kwara Concession

Lagoon was pipped at the post this year – for the first time since we have been operating in the Kwara concession, a pack of wild dogs – the 12 that we have been seeing regularly during the last two months – has denned in the area. On the 4th of June, guests were on a drive and came across dogs at a den site about an hours drive from camp. This was great news, as its likely that the dogs will then remain in the same area – though they may move den sites – and we will have the chance of seeing them raising young puppies. A few days later, the puppies emerged from the den for the first time – ten gorgeous mini-versions of the adult dogs, many with the lovely milky cream patterning of their mother.

The den was moved about 10 days later to a site about 500m away – we are not entirely sure why, but a black mamba was seen by the guides on more than one occasion near the original site.

The three brother cheetahs of Tsum Tsum seem to be based closer to camp, and were seen four or five times nearby. In addition, another coalition of two males and a female were spotted – still young, this will be a grouping of brothers and sister. The coalition of three cheetahs were seen several times this month, including when they were seen killing a female impala. As the grass gets drier, it withers and falls to the ground, creating nice open areas that are perfect for the cheetahs to hunt in.

A lioness with two young was also seen eating a male kudu. It would be unusual for one female to be able to bring this down on her own, so we suspect that there were other lions involved in the actual kill. The next day, a male lion also killed a reedbuck, close to the airstrip (always a challenge for our arrivals and departures, when the camp has to radio the air charter company and advise ‘keep an eye out for the lions’ as lions are not always keen to leave their kills, even if there is a plane landing on the nearby runway)

Game viewing has been great with the two male lions from the seven that we have seen in Kwara with two females from Shindi Area. They killed a kudu not far from the airstrip on the 12th and were located 10metres behind room number five at little kwara. On the 15th they were seen stalking tsessebes again in the area of the airstrip,

General game viewing is also good with giraffes, zebras, and big herds of elephants. We also saw a serval cat one morning feeding on a python, which it had killed the night previous, and another two servals feeding on frogs. A surprise sighting of an aardvark, who dived back into his burrow when he realised he had been seen.

Kwando Lagoon Camp

Although the wild dogs at Kwara may have denned before our ‘traditional’ pack up at Lagoon, news came through on the late afternoon of the 21st of June, that the alpha female had chosen a den. She had spent most of the last month moving around the concession, investigating her old den sites, and surveying potential new ones. Ultimately, it was a den that she had used four years ago – just a short distance south of the camp – that she selected as her first den site this season, and this is where she will have given birth. That afternoon, she was down the den, and did not join the pack for the afternoon hunt – nor will she, until the puppies are old enough to be babysat by another member of the pack, some months hence.

Later in the month, the wild dogs changed hunting tactics and for five mornings in a row, managing to catch buffalo calves from the large herds that have been seen in the area. This is a very risky business for the light-weight wild dogs, as an angry buffalo mother is a formidable opponent, let alone the rest of the herd. Even with the buffalo, the dogs were still hunting in the afternoon – usually impala or young kudu.

Although the lions were elusive this month, mostly staying in the part of the concession closer to Lebala, there were tracks of a lioness close to camp. The three brother cheetahs also arrived back in the area this month, looking healthy and well-fed.

Lovely sightings also this month of the hyenas with their cubs suckling from their mother, and also a caracal sighting in the evening. General game is prevalent, with the common giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and tsessebe, as well as regular sightings of herds of eland, as well as small herds of roan antelope and sable

Some of the smallers sightings this month: a common platana frog was found hopping along the track, trying to find water, short-tailed eagles fed on the remains of the kills left by the dogs.

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Kwando Safaris Sightings March 2012 Part II

BillGiven — Tue, 01 May 2012 11:04:00 -0700

Here is part two of our Kwando Safaris April sightings. Today, we discuss Nxai Pan Camp and Kwando Kwara Camp.

Kwando Kwara Concession

The beginning of March is the beginning of the fishing season – however, this didn’t seem to be limited to just humans enjoying throwing a line in the water to see what they could pull up for dinner: the first ‘legal’ day for fishing saw a crocodile munching on a fish, and, in the same area, a serval cat, having dexterously grabbed another catfish out of the water with his paws.

lions were seen almost every day in March, mostly doing what lions like to do for most of the day/night: sleep! Two adults and one youngster did manage to stay awake long enough to kill a tsessebe however, and all the lions look healthy, so they all must be hunting whilst our backs are turned! At night, as the temperature cools down, its worth waiting around to see if they will call – the beautiful deep roars resonate through the night. Solo pride (seven individuals) came into their own later in the month, and spent a long time stalking a group of giraffe. After much effort, however, they came away empty-handed.

This month we were lucky enough to see a pack of 12 wild dogs a couple of times – on one occasion they went hunting and killed a young kudu, and an impala at the same time, ensuring enough food for the whole pack. Three cheetahs also managed to kill a young kudu calf, and were seen feeding on that. When the cheetahs left the carcass, six hyena.aspx">hyenas quickly moved in to enjoy the remains. A solitary cheetah also managed to kill a reedback close to the airstrip.

General game has been excellent, and there was a special sighting of a sitatunga in a marsh area. Normally this shy semi-aquatic antelope is only seen from the boat!

Nxai Pan Camp

The female cheetah with her two young cubs is still being seen regularly – every day or two in the month of March. Although we were not lucky enough to see her kill, she and her cubs are obviously well fed, and we often saw her resting and relaxing close to the waterholes. One morning, a jackal got a bit too close for comfort to the cheetahs –jackals often follow predators to see if they can scavenge any part of a kill that is made. On this occasion, the cheetah cub took offence, and chased the jackal, managing to hit it with a paw. The jackals escaped, but ran off calling in distress.

The recent rains have allowed fresh green grass to grown, making good grazing and attracting good general game including springbok, zebra and oryx. This in turn encourages the predators to the area, so as well as the cheetahs, we have had several sightings of the Nxai Pan pride of lions – a group of six adults with three young. One of the females was also seen with an unidentified male along Baobab Loop.

The larger groupings of zebras have started to move back towards Magkadigadi Pans, but there are still good sized herds of around 30 individuals left enjoying the grass around the pan.

The elephant bulls spend much of their time strolling around looking for good sources of food, but because of the limited amount of water available, they usually come via the camp waterhole at some point during the day, pushing the general game out of the way to drink.

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Kwando Safaris Sightings March 2012

BillGiven — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:28:00 -0700

It is that time of month again - we have the latest sightings from Kwando Safaris. The sightings in this two part blog post are all from March, 2012. We lead off with wildlife sightings from Kwando Lebala Camp, Tau Pan Camp, and Kwando Lagoon Camp. Tomorrow, we'll discuss the sightings from Nxai Pan Camp and Kwando Kwara Camp.

Kwando Lebala Camp

The three cheetah brothers were seen at Lebala a few times early in the month, and caught a baby zebra, before moving north.

At the end of the month, 11 wild dogs were seen (aptly along Wild Dog Road) chasing impala. They had no luck catching any impala, but they did bump into an African Wild Cat – a cat that is the same size as a domestic house-cat. Like most cat-dog relationships, the African Wild Cat still appeared to be the boss, stood his ground, and the dogs gave up and left. They had better success on later days, and caught and killed several impalas. After one of these kills, two hyena appeared, and attempted to steal the kill off the dogs. The dogs turned on the hyenas, and several launched themselves on to the back of one of the hyena – both turned and fled, with out major injury.

On an early morning in the middle of the month, a lion was heard calling close to Lebala camp. Rushing through breakfast, the guests headed out with the guides following the calls. The large pride male, regular to the area, was found not far away, very relaxed. He is not in good condition however, and lost his brother in a fight with pride that has a territory further to the east.

Elephants still abound everywhere – large breeding herds, sometimes up to 100 individuals – are seen on most game drives. They are also seen regulary in front of camp, and can be heard during the night moving through the water, shuffling hippos out of the way.

Tau Pan Camp

The Tau Pan pride of lions were seen most days this month – often around the water hole near the camp. There was a bit of a concern on the 11th of the month, when it appeared two cubs were missing, and the females were slightly bloodied – it was thought possibly an intruding lion had been involved in a fight with the pride. Luckily after five days, all the Tau Pan pride, including the six cubs, were seen together again, looking in good condition. , Towards the end of the month, they were spotted feeding on a giraffe, which they managed to finish in one day! Two days later they pulled down an oryx during the night, and had finished it by noon the next day. It takes a lot to feed four adults, and six fast-growing cubs!

There were several sightings of leopards, including one male that spent 20 minutes in the late afternoon relaxing on the road, before sauntering off.

After the March rains, the antelope seem to be increasing in the area – lots of oryx, springbok, and wildebeest seen around Tau pan and along the road to Deception Valley. The beginning of the month saw a few new additions: oryx and springbok babies were seen following their mothers closely in the Tau Pan area.

Investigating a cloud of dust that didn’t seem to be decreasing in the breeze, a honeybadger was found digging in the ground. A couple of jackals stood off close to one side, interested in what the honey badger might discover, After about 15 minutes, the honey badger dragged a dead young warthog out of the burrow. The jackals tried to claim the prize, but were put off by the hissing and growling of the honey badger, as he trotted off into the bush with the warthog dangling from his mouth.

Another unusual sighting was of a snouted cobra, which was attempting to hunt ground squirrels. The squirrels, however, were having none of it: a head to head fight between both species ended with the cobra slinking off down a hole, perhaps for a bit of a rest from the chirruping and chattering ‘prey’.

An interesting sighting of a pale chanting goshawk attempting to grab a guineafowl resulted in the goshawk being kicked and flung across the ground – leaving with a few bruises and a few less feathers!

Kwando Lagoon Camp

A new pride of lions – 4 adults and two cubs about a year old – moved into the area early in the month. They spent some time following a herd of buffalos, but were not seen to have been successful in a hunt. It will be interesting times when this pride bumps into the regular lions of the area – though they may have just been sneaking through their territory, in the hope of catching some food.

The three cheetah brothers were seen early on in the month, but then headed north into an area that we could not follow. Another type of cat – the caracal – was a more unusual sighting this month.

There were several leopard sightings, including a female leopard who was chased up a tree by the wild dogs. However, her patience paid off, and the dogs lost interest. When they moved off, she climbed down the tree, and fed on the carcass of an impala that was located about 50m by the tree. The dogs themselves hunted a young kudu for themselves that afternoon. Earlier in the month, we had also seen a male leopard who had pulled an impala into a tree and was oblivious to the hours we were able to spend watching him eat and relax.

Quite amazingly, all wild dog puppies have survived and are coming close to matching the adults in size. Now able to cover large distances as a pack together, they have been moving through the Kwando concession, going towards Lebala camp and then back again to the north-west every few days. This provides a challenge for the tracker and guide teams, but adds to the excitement, as hard hours of tracking are put in with the reward of a great sighting of the dogs at the end.

In addition to the known jackal dens from previous months, a hyena den has been discovered. Interestingly, there appears to be only one female hyena suckling her two young in this den. Three porcupines were seen coming out of a hole near the den, with the baby hyena snuffling around the hole when they had left.

The more unusual antelope – roan, sable and eland were all seen several times this month, together with regular sightings of giraffe, wildebeest, zebras and tsessebes. Breeding herds of elephants are seen throughout the area, and the bulls are still coming into camp – possibly looking for the marula fruit which is about to ripen.

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