Ngoma Safari Lodge Wildlife Stories October 2024
As in previous years, October at Ngoma Safari Lodge was hot. During the hot, dry season, animals are most active when it is cooler in the early mornings and at night. Wildlife activity seems to revolve around the water sources, with animals congregating around camp, the river and the slowly shrinking waterholes.
A Final Breath
Seeing a lion kill for the first time is a life-changing experience. Our guests had one such experience when we witnessed the Ngoma lion pride bring down an eland on an early morning game drive.
We had missed the initial chase, but we were lucky enough to arrive when one of them pounced on top of the struggling antelope. As soon as the eland was down, the other lions joined in on holding it down until it was finally deceased.
Follow The Clues
On an afternoon game drive, our guide Jo got a tip that there was a male lion at a portion of the concession called Ihaha. After some deliberation with his guests, they headed to the location for some lion spotting. Little did they know that what they would actually find was a very happy leopard.
One kilometre from their destination, a female leopard crossed the road in front of the safari vehicle. Ecstatic at the sighting, they followed her to a freshly killed adult kudu. A few of our more experienced guests asked Jo who killed the kudu. He inspected the kill and found leopard tracks around, fresh claw marks and the telltale sign of the kudu’s head turned backwards. Concluding that the happy-go-luck leopardess did it.
Disappearing Act
African wild dogs are some of the most elusive animals to spot at Ngoma. That’s why when some returning guests saw some wild dogs on their most recent stay with us, they were thrilled.
We went on an early morning game drive to take photos of the copper-coloured sunrise when we spotted some animals behind us. Intrigued, we went to see what they were. To our surprise, it was a pack of African wild dogs. We were all excited to see the animals going about their morning. But, just like they suddenly appeared, they vanished five minutes later into the nearby bush.
Paddling Pachyderms
One of the most exciting sightings of the month happened on a boat cruise. We were having a leisurely ride down the river when we spotted a single-file line of adult and adolescent elephants swimming to Sedudu Island.
This was incredible. It was many of our guests’ first time seeing elephants swim with the exceptional coordination to paddle one after the other.
This month was amazing. We could not ask for a more diverse and enthralling range of animal sightings. We can’t wait to see what November has in store.
Until next time,
Jo
Ngoma Safari Camp
