Mana River Camp Wildlife Stories June 2026
Weather Report
Mana Pools National Park and Mana River Camp have experienced the classic Zimbabwean winter. Mornings are cold, with temperatures gradually rising to a hot average of 30ºC. As the night falls, temperatures climb back down to a chilly average of 6ºC.
Missing Lions
After a couple of days of looking for lions, we had joked that they had gone missing. As the caretakers of this magical wilderness, it was our duty to find them, and on one of our game drives through the picturesque Mana Pools National Park, two massive male lions walked out of the bushes. They were stalking impalas, an uncommon act for us to find lions in the middle of. What a way to find misplaced big cats.
Morning Glory
During an early morning game drive, as the sunlight shone through the Albida forest, we heard lions calling out to one another. Excited at the many possibilities, we followed the sound. When we got there, our expectations were shattered. 18 lions were busy crossing the road, making for a spectacular photo opportunity from one of our first sightings of the day.
Pathfinder
We were canoeing down the magnificent Zambezi River late one afternoon when a colossal elephant appeared and crossed the river in front of us. It was crossing from the mainland to a nearby island on a path known only to it. What made the sighting even better was the beautiful amber sunlight that illuminated every wrinkle on the elephant's body as it took one massive step after another.
Boswell’s Back
Boswell, the pioneering elephant that stands on its hind legs to get the juiciest leaves from the top of trees, has returned! He normally disappears during the wet season to areas where there is plenty of grass and trees. Three months later, he is back and standing on his hind legs, showing the youngsters how it's done.with
Mommy Coming Soon
After we had left for an early morning activity, one of our guides radioed in that African wild dogs were spotted next to the Cheruwe bridge. We drove straight to the location and found that the dogs were preparing a den. Staggeringly enough, we could not find the alpha female, which led us to believe she would have a litter of new pups coming soon!
Mana River Camp had some incredible sightings in June. We can’t wait to share what July had in store!
Until next time,
Emmanuel & Tinashe
Mana River Camp
