Kwando Game sightings September 2007

Herewith the latest sightings report from Kwando:

September 2007:

Lagoon

. Lion sightings were good throughout the month, with the four male lions establishing their territory in the Lagoon area. They were seen on numerous occasions but were unfortunately not seen making any kills.
. Four different leopards were seen in the Lagoon area during this month. All these leopards were very relaxed and made for some good photographic opportunities.
. The two cheetah brothers made their monthly appearance in the Lagoon area as usual. They were seen stalking and killing an impala next to the river in the water cut area,
. The Lagoon pack of 6 dogs and their 9 pups are doing extremely well. Although they have left the den for quite some time now, they are still seen on a regular basis. They six adult dogs were seen killing an impala and then they brought the pups in to come and share the kill.
. Night sightings were very good this month, with an elusive aardvark being seen. Chameleon, springhare, and giant eagle owl were also seen on some of the night drives.
. Big groups of elephants, breeding herds as well as bachelor groups, have been seen on the floodplains and on the riverbanks. Some of the single bulls have also been visiting the camp during the nights.
. Big mixed herds of buffalo, some of them with 1500 and more buffalo in the herds continue to been seen grazing on the flood plains. Some of the bulls were seen mating with the cows and there are lots of calves in the herds.
. General game was very good with both roan and sable antelope being found. Big herds of zebra and large journeys of giraffe were also seen. Wildebeest, steenbok, lechwe, and impala made up some of the many other species of general game that were sighted.
. A record of 4 porcupines was sighted on one game drive during this month. Honey badgers were also seen on a regular basis
. Birding was good during this month, with secretary birds as well as some ostriches being seen. Marabou storks and black-bellied korhaan were also spotted.


Lebala

. Two male lions killed a buffalo east of Lechwe Island. A new pride consisting of 2 adult females and 4 one-year-old cubs appeared on the scene and were seen on a regular basis. The resident pride of 3 lionesses, 8 cubs and two males had made several kills during the month. The pride of 13 also moved regularly between Selinda and Lebala.
. Leopard sightings were excellent during this month. A male leopard was found after 45minutes of tracking, but he was not relaxed. The resident female was found with an impala kill but she lost it to the hyena as the kill was still on the ground when they appeared. Two other males were found in separate locations. One of them had killed a porcupine while the other one had a steenbok in one tree and an impala up another tree, 30 meters away.
. An unknown female cheetah was seen in the area for 3 days. She managed to kill an impala on the third day and then left the area after feeding on her kill. A new coalition of four cheetah had been spotted in the area but they were very nervous and could not be approached. The two-brother cheetah also spent some time here and managed to kill a young kudu near halfway pan.
. A pack of 11 wild dogs and their 2 pups made a surprise visit to the area for one day. They managed to kill an impala during their visit but some male lions robbed them of their kill. The lagoon pack, consisting of the 6 adults and 9 pups also put in a short visit before moving back towards Lagoon camp.
. Big breeding herds, bachelor herds and some single bull elephants are a common sighting on the flood plains.
. Big herds of buffalo, some ranging between five hundred and a thousand animals were found along various plains. They were mostly seen mating and drinking with some of the bulls fighting for females.
. Excellent general game with many large journeys of giraffe, impala, waterbuck, Tsessebe, Wildebeest, Steenbok zebra, red lechwe and kudu. Some herds of roan and sable antelope were also seen during the drives.
. Night sightings were good with both species of jackal being seen. Some of the hyena clans were seen feeding on a buffalo calf at Tsessebe Island while another group stole a leopard kill.
. Birding was excellent during this month, with most of the summer residents around. The carmine bee-eaters are breeding and the weavers are busy making nests. Lots of kingfishers around as well as a giant kingfisher spotted on the railing of the camp bridge.
. Porcupine sightings were great throughout the month and some guests were lucky enough to see a very elusive pangolin. African wildcat and honey badgers were also seen almost every day as well as many species of mongoose.

Kwara and Little Kwara

. Lion sightings were again very good during this month. A pride of 7 females managed to kill a zebra, while the two big males killed a buffalo. There were lots of hyena and vultures around these kills. The pride of 5, consisting of four females and one young male were hunting zebras but had no luck.
. The well-known female leopard and her cub were seen often throughout the month. She managed to kill a reedbuck and left the kill to go and fetch her offspring. When they got back the kill was already taken over by a clan of hyena. Two other female leopards, one fully grown and the other a young one were also seen during the month. They were both very relaxed and made for some good photo opportunities.
. Two groups of cheetah were seen during this month. A female with her 3 sub-adult cubs were seen hunting but they had no success. The 3 brothers were also seen hunting impala but they were also not successful.
. A small pack, consisting of two wild dogs spent some time in the area. They were seen hunting impala but no kill was witnessed.
. Only a small amount of bachelor herds and some single bull elephant were seen during this month. Some of these bulls were seen swimming as well as crossing the channel in front of the boat cruise.
. Big herds of buffalo have been visiting the area. These herds are coming out of the mopane woodlands where all the waterholes are now dry.
. Hyena was seen most nights patrolling around the camps. Both black backed and side-striped jackal were seen during the night drives.
. General game sightings continue to be very good. Giraffe, zebra, tsessebe, warthog, kudu and some sable antelope were seen.
. Good sightings of Civet, Serval and African Wild Cat have been reported. The game drives have found numerous active Aardvark holes but animals have been eluding the drives up to now.
. Birding was spectacular in this month. All the summer residents had turned up and started breeding at Gadikwe lagoon. The heronry is filled with yellow-billed storks, marabou storks, egrets and many other species of birds.