Wild Dog Pups in Selinda!

The past 2 weeks have been fantastic for guests from Selinda and Zarafa Camps in Botswana’s Selinda Reserve, with regular sightings of the 4 to 5 week old wild dog puppies. The alpha female dog was heavily pregnant in early June when she disappeared into the den site. Four weeks later on one of the first visits to the den she revealed her babies, and aren’t they just the cutest thing you have ever seen?? We are really optimistic that these pups will have the chance to reach adulthood and bolster the numbers of the Selinda wild dog pack.

Leopard - Hyena clash: Savuti Camp

From our friends at Wilderness Safaris, we bring you this exciting game report from Savuti Camp in the Linyanti Concession in Botswana.

The healthy flows of water in the Linyanti River over the past few years have been good for the local hippo population. And where animals live, so too they die, and when an adult hippo succumbed just a few hundred metres from the river, its demise signalled a free-for-all amongst some of the resident carnivores. For the first day and a half, a clan of spotted hyaena dominated the carcass, tearing it open from the belly, and eating a large portion of the meat. The next day, the hyaenas, having fed to saturation point, moved a short distance away.

Some of them lay down in nearby pools of water to cool off, and others made their way to the river to drink. Some simply lay in the shade of bushes, digesting their easy meal. Their absence allowed another carnivore's access to the remnants of the hippo, in the form of a young male leopard. When we arrived at the sighting the leopard was struggling mightily to try and bite his way through the very tough skin of the hippo's leg. It looked to us as if he was trying to sever the leg and make off with it. The skin was too tough though, and the leopard continued to methodically work off small bits of meat, and gulp them down.

Later that afternoon, as the sun was setting, the first hyaena returned. The hyaena approached the carcass directly opposite the leopard, and began to eat, but the leopard was having none of it, and after threatening the hyaena for several seconds, he made a sudden, snarling rush at his bigger adversary.

When male leopards and hyaena clash, it is not always clear which animal is dominant. On many occasions an adult spotted hyaena will manage to drive a leopard off a kill, but at other times the leopards fight back and successfully defend their food. The outcome may depend on the motivation levels at that time of the particular animals in question, in other words, which one is the hungriest. Any sustained fighting carries risks for both participants as neither of them can afford to carry injuries.

In this instance, the male leopard had the most to lose. The hyaena had a bulging belly but no stomach for the fight, and this time it backed off in the face of the leopard's aggression. Darkness had already fallen when we left the leopard quietly tearing away at the carcass. The next day there was no sign of him, and the hyaena were back, finishing off what was left of the hippo.

Want to visit Savuti Camp and get in on the excitement? Call us to plan your customized safari!

Observers: Lets Kamogelo and Grant Atkinson
Photographers: Lets Kamogelo and Grant Atkinson

Kings Pool Camp Sightings - March

Something interesting or exciting is literally always going on in Botswana; and most times our partners at Wilderness Safaris are there to see it. This game report comes from Kings Pool, a beautiful, luxurious camp in the Linyanti Reserve in Northern Botswana.

Kings Pool Camp has nine beautifully appointed tents of canvas and thatch. Each has a large bedroom area, lounge, private plunge pool and 'sala'. The spacious en-suite bathrooms are tiled with double showers and hand-basins - as well as an outdoor shower for those who wish to shower close to nature. The lounge, dining room and pub areas are on expansive raised decks. There is also a communal pool and an open-air 'kgotla' for dining under the stars. Game viewing at the camp is wonderful, as evidenced by the following sightings report.

As the sun slowly sets at the close of another great African afternoon, a range of vibrant colours reflect off the great Linyanti River as it leisurely meanders downstream. Just before the colours disappear completely, the tranquil water surface explodes, and the last afternoon light sparkles off of each water drop as a hippo breaks the surface in front to breath.

Hippo males have been fairly aggressive towards other males this month and two hippos have died from male territorial clashes. These carcasses have been located close to camp on two separate occasions, attracting numerous vultures and other carrion eating birds as well as hyaenas, jackals and on the second carcass - the lion.

Another recent addition to the Kings Pool package is a resident male lion. Guests have heard his majestic roar calling his lioness and cubs on most mornings and evenings. These contact calls have been so close on occasion that they can be heard above the cracking and rumbling of thunder and lightning during a typical summer storm. This male lion has also attracted the attention of another two males form the concession next door and they have been making brief visits to the Kings Pool area. The Kings Pool lioness and cubs have also been playing their part in entertaining our guests this month. The cubs always put on a good show as they pounce, run, stalk, bite, and play attack each other - fun, fun, fun!

Elephant are never far from the area, with breeding herds slowly moving through camp and the big males moving around without a care in the world. Our guests this month have had the pleasure of spending an afternoon on the Queen Silvia - the Kings Pool double-storey barge - and witnessing elephant crossing the great Linyanti River. From the upper deck of the Queen Silvia, looking down on a small herd of elephant swimming, playing, splashing and at some points fully submerged with only their trunks out of the water for air is truly a magnificent sighting - just add a gin and tonic and a beautiful sunset and life cannot get much better.

A trip to Kings Pool would not be complete without seeing a leopard or two. Our guides found male leopards, female leopards, climbing leopards, leopards with kills, shy leopards, sociable leopards, young leopards and old leopards during the course of the month.

Unusual and rare sightings this month have included roan antelope, cheetah, wild dog, Osprey and Bat Hawk. So all in all, quite an exciting wildlife month here at Kings Pool.

Guides - Khan, Diye, O.D. and Lemme

Wildlife photos courtesy O.D., camp photo courtesy Dana Allen - Wilderness Safaris

Tubu Tree Camp Sightings - March

This game report is courtesy of our partners at Wilderness Safaris. We can never get enough reports on the big (and little) cats!

With anticipation growing daily we were finally shown the new kittens of Tubu Tree. Since the beginning of November, when the Jao Concession lion pride was last seen together, the daughter looked as if she was ready to give birth any day. She disappeared for a while only to be seen in December again - looking thinner and obviously lactating. Then she was seen in the daytime hunting, even hunting out front of Tubu Tree Camp on the floodplain. This got everyone excited and all decided to try and follow to get the answers to all the questions of how many cubs there were, where they are, male or female etc.

One of our questions is now answered as camp guide and guests recently investigated a Hooded Vulture sighting and found the mother feeding on a wildebeest. Having heard an unusual sound, they decided to sit and wait it out to see what would happen. Their patience was rewarded when over an hour later, just before full darkness, four little ones came out to join mother. What a sight - they were able to catch a couple of pictures and spend a little time with them before they went back into hiding.

Tubu Tree Camp is also known for leopards. Of course they were not to be outdone by the lions: our resident queen leopard, Boat Station Female was also seen lactating on the 23rd of November 2010. She also kept her cubs hidden for a while and then sightings started up again and tracks were seen of a little one with her, which just added to the anticipation for cubs.

Finally we had some sightings but with the bush being lush and thick it made it hard to follow. One morning drag marks were spotted going across the airstrip and into the bush. Just a few metres in, there she was with an impala kill and one little cub who was full energy and a little shy of its safari vehicle encounter.

This now leaves us with three young male lions just over a year old and four little lion cubs making a total of seven young lions running around, coupled with two one-and-a-half year old leopards and another young leopard cub. The questions is now how many kittens can Tubu Tree have? Never enough, it seems.

Observers: Justin Stevens, Jacky Collet-Stevens, Brooks Kamanakao
Photographers: Cathy Kays, Brooks Kamanakao

The Last Lions - movie review

I'm just back from a screening of The Last Lions and I'm still breathless. The movie tells the story of a lioness and her cubs and their struggle to survive in the African bush. It also paints a picture of the need for conservation, as lion numbers have decreased from 450,000 just 50 years ago, to around 20,000 today. With the constant expansion of human settlements and encroachment on to once protected lands, lions are more threatened than ever before. The cinematography in the movie is absolutely stunning. The images have an almost still photo quality about them, but are brought to life in a way that keeps the viewer at the edge of their seat for the entire movie. From the quiet beauty of the Okavango Delta landscape, to the images of birds skimming the waters for fish, or capturing the erie nighttime fog surrounding an enormous herd of Cape Buffalo; this is National Geographic at its best. The story itself is more tense than I thought possible; over 90 minutes of intense action in the lives of this little lion family. This movie is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for young children or those sensitive to the occasional violence seen in nature. It is however for lovers of Africa, its wildlife and nature in general. It is typical of National Geographic and does not shy away from difficult images or an unhoped for result in nature, so be prepared. The other bit of magic worth mentioning is the sound. Sitting in the theatre (even one with a somewhat dated sound system) made me feel like I was in the bush. The morning sounds of African birds, the nighttime sounds of hippos and insects, buffalo marching through the tall grass...it's all there invading your senses and takes you straight to the African wilderness. Kudos to National Geographic and Dereck and Beverly Joubert for making a masterpiece. Feel free to share your thoughts on the film with us on Facebook or leave a comment below. Don't forget to watch the trailer; for every trailer viewing on YouTube, National Geographic will contribute $.10* (up to $100,000) to lion and big cat conservation in Botswana. You can also text LIONS to 50555 to donate $10. (msg & data rates may apply). Donations go to the National Geographic Big Cats Initiative. Want to visit the Okavango Delta? Call us to plan a trip to Duba Plains where the movie was filmed.

Photo - Beverly Joubert / National Geographic

Botswana Chitabe Lediba Camp Update

From our partners at Wilderness Safaris comes this excellent game report from Chitabe Lediba.

Weather
The month of January has had some good rainfall and we've recorded 295mls, which in previous years would have constituted half our annual rainfall. We've also had some spectacular storms, as only Africa can produce, with laser-like lightning shows coupled with thunder that at times literally made the earth shake.

Landscape
The concession is alive with youngsters of all living creatures. Everywhere you look there is an enormous variety of birds - especially waterbirds - and animals and the flora is looking beautifully lush and green. It truly has become a paradise.

Wildlife
The wildlife sightings have been spectacular as usual, even with the rain. Chitabe can proudly announce a few new family members in our various groups of predators. The collared cheetah was found and to the surprise of everyone she proudly paraded her four new gorgeous cubs. However, it does appear that towards the end of January, she may have lost one of the cubs as we only spotted three little faces on the last few occasions that we have seen them. Mortality rates among cheetah cubs is high, so we do keep fingers crossed that the mother's good parenting skills will enable the remaining three to survive.

Our resident leopard are also sporting and nursing new offspring, together with our two small prides of lion. The Chitabe pack of wild dog have been seen only a couple of times during the month, which is normal as this is the time of year that they traverse their home ranges. Numbers fluctuate between 24 and 26 dogs, but we are pretty sure that the pack is still at full strength with a total compliment of 26 members.

Love seems to be in the air as our guests and guides spotted both leopard and lion mating. We hope therefore that we can announce some new arrivals in the near future.

All the general game including impala, giraffe and zebra are also in abundance and all proudly showing off their young. It is such a treat to watch these young animals running and playing with their herd mates, so full of energy and excitement.

Birding
Birding has been absolutely amazing. The summer migrants that visit us at this time of year are still keeping the camp and concession entertained by their beautiful song and chatter. Thanks to the rainfall all the floodplains and depressions have filled up, attracting a huge variety of hunters and waders, congregating together as friends.

Camp News
During the last two weeks of January all the old rooms at Chitabe Lediba were dismantled and removed and the sites have been prepared for new structures. In addition to all new guest rooms, Chitabe Lediba will also be replacing the swimming pool and the decking surrounding the pool as well as putting in a new kitchen, laundry and a couple of storerooms.

Photographs courtesy Bill and Barton Barker; Sondra Lee and Debra

Where to find wild dog!

Here at Africa Adventure Consultants we have a bit of an obsession with wild dog. The little guys may not be the most impressive creature you'll spot while on safari (in terms of size!), but what they lack in grandeur, they make up for in character. Lyndsay had great sighings in Botswana and South Africa last May and several of our travelers just returned from Botswana with some amazing photos and video footage of wild dog (stay tuned for the July newsletter!). Thanks to our partners at Wilderness Safaris, read on to learn more about this unique African animal.

Revered and reviled

"The African wild dog is one of the most revered, reviled and fascinating animals on the continent. It’s unusually communal and s

eemingly caring social structure endear it to human beings while it’s hunting style has been described as savage and cruel by people who don’t understand it. It is Africa’s second most endangered carnivore.

(Incidentally, the dubious distinction of ‘most endangered carnivore’ on the continent goes to the Simean jackal or Ethiopian wolf – a reddish jackal-like canid that lives in the Afro-alpine regions of Ethiopia).

Life and times of the African wolf

Wild dogs are the wolves of Africa and their zoological name Lycaon (Greek for wolf) pictus (Latin for painted) is an appropriate moniker. Their social structure is very similar to their European and American cousins although at 27kgs, they are about two thirds t

he mass. The pack (from two to up 30 individuals) is lead by an alpha pair who, unless the pack is enormous, is normally the only one to breed. This they do once a year, normally in the winter when the vegetation is thin allowing the pack increased visibility which suits their pernicious and unsubtle hunting style. The whole pack will feed the pups by regurgitating meat for them. They do this for sick and injured members too. Wild dogs favour woodland and savannah habitats but they can easily exist in grassland.

Wild dog packs are highly efficient hunting units. They do not employ the subtleties of the stalking feline counterparts. Instead they simply sight a herd of potential prey and then tear off after them, sometimes reaching speeds of 60 kph. The alpha male normally leads the hunt and packs have been known to chase prey for more than five kilometres at a time. They’re not particularly fussy eaters and will eat anything from scrub hares to wildebeest. That said, they like their meals fresh and tend not to eat carrion or rancid meat – unlike jackals, hyaenas and the big cats.

Where are they now?

Wild dogs used to be distributed throughout Africa but for the desert and rain f

orest regions of the continent. During the last century however, these incredible animals were been reduced to an estimated 5000 individuals. Their decline has been brought about by human persecution, disease and habitat loss. Most of the remaining dogs are concentrated in southern Africa with a small population in Tanzania, an isolated group in Senegal and there are confirmed populations in central Africa. There are also anecdotal reports of dogs from Mali, Guinea, Gambia, Nigeria, Algeria and Mauritania.

In southern Africa, the dogs occur in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Angola and the far north east of Namibia. There are also records of individuals in Mozambique south of the Zambezi River.

Botswana offers some of the best wild dog viewing with packs found in the Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve, Chobe-Linyanti river system, Nxai Pan National Park an

d Chobe National Park. They also occur in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.

In Zimbabwe packs occur in the Hwange and Mana Pools National Parks although they also live in Gonarezhou in the far south east – these probably come in and out from the Kruger in South Africa.

In South Africa, the largest wild dog population occurs in the Kruger National Park and visitors to the southern end of the Kruger and nearby p

rivate game reserves often have fantastic wild dog sightings."

By now you are probably wondering where you can spot these curious creatures. Some of the best camps for viewing wild dog in Botswana include Duba Plains Camp, Chitabe Camps, Zarafa Camp, Selinda Camp, DumaTau Camp, Kings Pool Camp and Kalahari Plains Camp. We can create a customized safari to visit some of these camps and increase your chances of spotting wild dog, or you can book our Botswana Deluxe, Botswana Great Wilderness Journey, Botswana Wild Kalahari or our Ultimate Botswana Safari. Contact us for more information.