Verney’s Camp Wildlife Stories July 2025
While the days were relatively warm, July had us bringing out the blankets and hot water bottles in the early mornings and evenings to ward off the cold. The colder the weather, the more likely predators will go out hunting, and that's exactly what we got this July.
Where Are The Lion Cubs
On an afternoon game drive, we encountered a lioness resting peacefully, when she suddenly stood up, revealing her enlarged teats. This was an amazing sightings.Enlarged teats indicate that a female has been nursing cubs. We tried to find where she might have hidden them, but to no avail.
Later, another lioness appeared. We suspect that the second female might have moved the cubs to a different hiding spot to protect them from other predators. We watched them for a while, hoping the mothers would hunt something for their little ones, but they were too lazy to chase any of the roans or elephants nearby.
Unlucky Lions
Just because a hunt is unsuccessful doesn’t mean it wasn’t an incredible sight to see.
On an evening game drive, we spotted a herd of buffalo being hunted by three lions. Two lionesses flanked the herd on one side while the lone male was on the other. They tried by all means to chase down, pounce and catch one of the massive herbivores, but it seemed like it was just not their day. Better luck next time.
High Tea Hyenas
While we were enjoying a refreshing cup of tea and delicious pastries at camp during our afternoon high tea, two hyenas came running from our tented area towards the watering hole.
This unexpected moment got everyone excited, and we got to watch these thirsty scavengers drink for a few minutes before they went their way. There was just enough time for every guest to take a photo of this moment.
Predator Hide & Seek
Before breakfast even started, we spotted a male lion drinking water from the nearby watering hole. We went to wake up the rest of our guests to see this amazing close encounter, only to find some of them watching him from their tents.
We ushered the guests to the safari vehicles to get a closer look, but when we started the cars, he ran away. We followed his flowing mane and wagging tail as he ran, but eventually we lost him.
When we got back to camp an hour later, three lionesses, one of which was pregnant, were waiting for us!
July was an amazing month for wildlife spotting. Come back next month to see what August had in store!
Until next time,
Stanley, Rutendo & Luba
Verney’s Camp
