Ingwe Pan Camp Wildlife Sightings July 2024
Winter may be coming to a close, but July still had its fair share of chilly mornings, with guests often needing to bundle up. In the afternoons, the temperatures increased, bringing the impalas, elephants, and buffaloes to Ingwe Pan for a drink. The cold temperatures would return in the evenings so we would warm up around the fire, share local legends and trade stories of the day’s sightings.
The Perfect Start To A Safari
It only took moments for a newly arrived group of guests to see something amazing. They saw a leopard kill an impala as they were transported from the airstrip to the camp. After witnessing this and going through the area, they decided to see Ingwe Pan Camp for the first time, put down their luggage and enjoy a spot of tea.
Afterwards, their guide took them back to the scene of the leopard kill and found the culprit sleeping next to its kill. The game drive continued when they picked up some fresh buffalo tracks, which led them to the massive herd. Elephants were also in full display on this game drive, showing off how they stand on their hind legs to feed on Faidhebia tree shoots. Finally, the group went on a mokoro and saw more elephants and even some hippos as they gently floated down the river.
Sneaky Sneaky
Leopards are elusive by nature, and true to this, we had a hard time catching more than a glimpse of them on the final day of week one in July. As we checked into camp, one of our guides spotted a leopard in the bushes and alerted the others, who all got in their vehicles to see the spotted predator. Unfortunately, it was not there anymore, so everyone went back to camp for high tea. However, during high tea, we saw the leopard again and jumped into our vehicles to look for it, but it had done a disappearing trick again..
So, we decided to cut our losses and wait to see “Sneaky” on another day. As a consolation, we managed to track a male lion for about three kilometres on a walking safari later on in the day. We watched with adrenalin pumping through our veins as it drank water in the pan near camp.
Look What The Lion Dragged In
On a morning safari in the middle of July, one of our guides was assessing some drag marks he found while on a safari with his guests. Suddenly, they heard crunching and rustling in some nearby bushes. He asked them if they would like to see what it was.
On their way there, they heard a growl and realised they were only 20 metres away from a male lion carrying the remains of its warthog kill into the bushes. When we got back to the site of the drag marks, we realised it led us to the warthog’s borrow, where lion tracks were found digging into the barrow three days prior!
Until next time
Everard
Ingwe Pan Camp
