Wildlife Sightings Report August 2021
What a month August was. The passing of our director Mr Hatshe hit us all hard. While we bid him an emotional farewell, we celebrated his life like we celebrate this astonishing natural marvel that is Africa!
The month's warm days, beautiful sunsets and spectacular wildlife sightings included lions, leopards, elephants, wild dogs and even honey badgers.
Digging For Dinner
We always get excited when we spot honey badgers! At first glance you might mistake them for large weasels but don’t be fooled, these deceptively powerful creatures are also one of Africa’s smartest. One evening during dusk’s beautiful light show we managed to spot a couple of them digging for something. After some time we discovered that they unearthed a rat for dinner!
Another Pack Enters Khawi
Since the last time we spotted our resident wild dogs, we have not seen or heard anything about their pups. This being one of Africa’s wildest and most unforgiving wildernesses, we can only assume that the pack has lost all its pups, but we remain hopeful that that's not the case!
We did manage to spot two healthy familiar faces hunting around Machaba Camp. What’s more, we saw another pack of four wild dogs hunting and roaming around Khawi!
Surprise Lion Picnic
At Machaba Camp we can almost guarantee you’ll see at least one lion! Throughout the month we witnessed lionesses playing with their cubs, male lions patrolling their lands, families stopping for a drink by a nearby watering hole and ambush parties stalking, chasing and killing their prey!
We even spotted five lions by accident! On this particular occasion, we went to prepare a surprise bush picnic only to find five lions having a waterbuck picnic of their own right where we planned on setting up.
Not to miss out on this amazing viewing opportunity, we went back to camp, gathered our guests and took them to see the lions. Later we set up their surprise bush picnic in a different location.
An Elephant’s Open Bar
As always, the elephant population around camp is incredible. With the Khwai River so close to our front door, elephants come from far and wide to drink, play and bathe in the refreshing water.
The surrounding trees are also a treat for our large grey guests. Breeding herds often walk through camp and bachelor herds are often found just munching away at the trees in Machaba.
Another Happy Family is Born
We couldn't be happier to tell you that our resident leopardess Seronga has given birth to two adorable leopard cubs! We only got a glimpse of them once this month but that was all we needed to warm our hearts.
The cubs were about one and a half months old when we spotted them at their den under a fallen acacia tree. Since then the happy little family has moved to a more secluded den. After her move, mama was spotted scouting out our curio shop while on a hunting spree.
Machaba Olympics
A Machaba Camp we love to have fun. So in celebration of this year's incredible Olympic Games, we decided to have our own athletic competition with our Machaba team and our beloved brother-and-sister duo, Khan and Nala.
From classic events like the 100 m dash to more unusual custom games, every one of us put on a show worth a free trip to Tokyo! Check out our Machaba Camp Olympic Games in the video below:
See You Next Time
From honey badgers digging up a meal to mama Seronga having two more mouths to feed, August at Machaba Camp was an absolute blast to witness. With all this happening, we can’t help but wonder what September has in store!
Until next time,
Shaun and Eclke Malan
Machaba Camp Managers
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Machaba Camp
Find out more about this camp in the game-rich Khwai Concession situated in the northeastern section of the Okavango Delta.
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