Botswana - Okavango Delta - Machaba Camp

An Eventful Drive

One afternoon drive this month was filled with some incredible and somewhat unique sightings. On our return journey back to camp we came across a pack of wild dogs, a leopard feeding on a baby lechwe, a cheetah walking across the road, lions feeding on an elephant, hyena cubs and even hippos mating.

You never know what the bush will show you but on this particular afternoon it showed us everything!

Cat Up A Tree

Every now and then even the guides are surprised by a wildlife encounter. While we bumbled along the road in search of some big cats, we were excited to stumble across a very unusual sight. At first, we noticed just two black-backed jackals at the base of the tree.

We soon realised that they were watching something up the tree. Hidden in and amongst the foliage was an African wild cat. The jackals must have chased the wild cat up the tree and so began their long game of “who is more patient”.

Cat Week

During the course of one week, we had the most extraordinary sightings of cats both big and small. In just a week we spotted lions with cubs, two male leopards fighting over territory, a leopard flushed up a tree by a hyena, and a rare sighting of the reclusive serval. What a week!

Strength of a Leopard

It never fails to thrill and shock us just how strong a leopard can be. We were able to show our guests the leopard’s ultimate display of strength as one leopard hauled a large male impala up a nearby tree.

The ease at which it was able to achieve this was astonishing. We came back the next day to see that the leopard had a youngster with her. We watched for some time as they both fed on the impala in peace.

We love it when we have a month of wildlife encounters that remind us of the unpredictability of nature in the African bush. We cannot wait to see what the next month holds for us at Machaba Camp.

Until next time,
Oddy
Machaba Camp