Sightings July 2019
It has been a successful month for sure… Cold to say the least, dry as well, but some great game sightings.
Unbelievable – another sighting of the elusive pangolin here at Machaba Camp & Little Machaba! This time attempting to climb a tree! How amazing is this!
This little creature is conquering the hearts of everyone here – staff & guest alike. We all thought we were blessed last month to be reporting this sighting, however, 2 months in a row seems a little unreal & too good to be true.
After last month’s rather sad occurrence where 4 lion cubs got killed, we are happy to say we still have some of the other cubs who luckily were stowed away. They have been providing us with some great entertainment – jumping the rapidly receding Khwai River.
The 2 male lions trying to take over the territory are still around & their roaring calls linger through the nights. The female lions have been cautious & are keeping silent. All we can do is wait until the next king is crowned.
The lionesses with their cubs were spotted in camp the one night, only to follow some lone buffaloes into the night. The next morning, we found a pack of hyenas feeding on the carcass. A clan of 18 hyenas came in that same evening to feast on the leftovers. The night was filled with hyena howls & laughter.
Oh, and did we mention we witnessed 7 lionesses feasting on a Sable antelope! Once more, seeing a Sable in the wild is quite a rare event here in Khwai, seeing 7 predators feasting on its meat even more so!
Elephant sightings have been exceptional this month. Just around camp, we have had countless elephants. The Khwai River is the obvious watering hole for them. Same with hippos, the number of hippos grunting throughout the night is enough to keep you awake.
And as always, our leopard sightings have been through the roof! There seems to be some sort of territorial feud ongoing between Mmatsebe and the Seronga female. We are keeping a close eye on the events developing & hope our loyal, lovely Mmatsebe remains the undisputed ‘Queen of Khwai’.
Until next time…
Shaun & Elcke Malan
General Management
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