Sightings October 2018
What an incredible sightings month we had at Machaba Camp & Little Machaba!
The death of a hippo attracted lions & hyenas in the marsh. Plenty of photographic opportunities there. A rather sad story developed near the Maghoto area: an elephant cow died in labor, attracting one of our big male lions. The next day he had managed to pull the stillborn calf out & happily feasted on it. This attracted a male leopard. Needless to say lion & leopard sharing a meal was a rare & unusual thing – did they get along? Of course not, but both managed to get a share of the spoils being in each other’s vicinity.
Wild dog activity has been good as well – unfortunately a lot more pups were lost – the pack is down to 3 pups surviving. Their killing sprees have been regular & a pleasure to watch. They have crossed the river several times as well.
As for our leopards – phew – what can we say! They have performed over & above their normal duties. Leopards killing lechwe & impalas, pulling them up trees or munching on the ground – we have seen it all! I don’t think a day went by without seeing a leopard – or 2 or even 3!
Wild cats have been spotted a lot lately on night drives – as were honey badgers. And serval cats have been making some more appearances as well. The hyena den is occupied once more & the yelps of little cubs are heard. They have not been sighted yet though – we are all waiting in anticipation for these gorgeous creatures to surface. A lot of buffaloes and elephants have been spotted in our area – they love the riverine landscape in particular.
The rains have held out so far, making the temperatures soar high. It has made however for some amazing game viewing!
We look forward to November & the rains that it will hopefully bring!
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