Deteema Springs Camp Wildlife Stories July 2025
July at Deteema Springs Camp brought crisp early mornings and chilly nights, making hot water bottles a welcome companion on game drives. The cool air awakened the bush, offering prime conditions to witness thrilling predator-versus-prey chases. By afternoon, the sun warmed the landscape, and both hunters and their quarry could be found resting lazily in the shade, enjoying a rare pause in the day’s drama.
Wonderful Welcome
Our new intake of guests was graced with incredible wildlife sightings before they had even arrived at Deteema Springs Camp.
We were on a slow drive from the airstrip when we saw a beautiful elephant drinking from a watering hole. Not long after, a cheetah raced across the road in front of us. For 10 minutes, we marvelled at the slender cat before it went on its way.
Suspiciously Quiet Lions
We often look out for tracks when we go on game drives, but on this day, we didn’t see anything interesting. After a while, we decided to go to Big Toms, one of our favourite game areas. It was quiet, almost too quiet. The impalas that we normally find in great numbers weren’t there, so something had to have happened to keep them away.
We continued searching for wildlife until we struck gold. Around a bend, we found a pride of lions devouring a buffalo kill.
Follow The Buffalo
On an early morning game drive, we picked up on some buffalo tracks. We followed them until we saw a large cloud of dust in the air. We headed straight for it and found a large herd of buffalo all huddled close together.
Buffalo herds are built around complex social bonds, with related females and their young forming the heart of the group. These close-knit herds are essential for survival, offering safety and protection for the calves .In some areas, massive superherds of thousands can form, giving even the most confident predator pause.
The Day’s Last Leopard
On our way back from seeing lions and buffalo on a walking safari, we heard an impala sound the alarm. Excited, we looked for what was causing the commotion when one of the guests saw a leopard walking towards our safari vehicle.
Not ones to miss an opportunity, we stayed to watch the leopard until the last light of day began to fade.
Elephant Armchair Safari
From the comfort of Deteema Springs Camp, we managed to see elephant bulls enjoying the nearby water seeps. They moved in and out of the water, drinking, cooling themselves with water and mud, while some young bulls even started sparring.
Our guests had never been that close to elephants and said this is an experience they’d never forget.
July treated us to incredible wildlife sightings, and we can’t wait to see what August has in store.
Until next time
Ntandoe
Deteema Springs Camp
