Verney's Camp Wildlife Stories June 2026
Weather Report
Winter had fully arrived in Hwange National Park, and we here at Verney’s Camp felt it. Morning and evening activities often require ponchos and warm water bottles, with temperatures reaching as low as 3.7ºC. However, we think braving the cold weather is worth it.
Early mornings and evenings are the best times to view predators. The cool weather and time of day allow them to chase down their prey away from the midday heat and direct sunlight, all ready for us to see from the safety of our safari vehicles.
Pachyderm Parade
With the natural pans in Hwange National Park slowly starting to dry up and disappear, an influx of elephants has slowly started to appear at the permanent watering hole in front of Verney’s. These gentle giants came from all directions, looking to quench their thirst, and giving us one of the best armchair safaris imaginable. On a good day, we saw over 500 elephants coming to drink right in front of us.
The Chase Began
One night early in June, we heard lions calling out at Manga Pan. The next day, we set out to find them and found lion tracks leading to a pool of fresh blood. We looked around the area, but could find no sign of the lions or a lion kill.
What surprised us was that African wild dog tracks were crossing the lions’ tracks, making us wonder whose blood that actually was. We continued to search until we finally heard them growling from a nearby treeline. When we finally got to see them, the beautiful pride of two males and lionesses was feeding on a kudu.
Verney’s For The Save
One morning, after all the guests had left for their morning game drives, we saw a herd of kudus speeding past Verney’s, with some even bolting for refuge at our communal lounge. We were confused by all the commotion until we saw the pack of African wild dogs behind them.
In the kudus' haste to escape, some of them even came straight towards our staff, which, for a second, puzzled the wild dogs. That brief moment of hesitation gave the antelope the window they needed to gallop off into some nearby bushes and escape the jaws of their pursuers.
Mother Hyena
Verney’s Camp is known for having a very good hyena population, but in recent months, we had not seen them as much. At most, we would catch them coming for a midnight drink of water, then disappearing again. What we assumed, and later confirmed, was that they had moved their den somewhere further from camp but still in the Verneys’ concession.
Despite this, we did manage to get a good close-up encounter with a female hyena and her pups. She paid our safari vehicle no mind, and as she came closer, we saw a sign of her lactating while her little ones were sniffing curiously around our vehicle.
Verney's Camp had an incredible variety of wildlife sightings in June. Come back soon for more highlights from Machaba Safaris and Hwange National Park.
Until next time,
Yvonne & Themba
Verney’s Camp
