Amazing Kwando Sightings in October!

Posted on 8th December 2014

October – a crazy month for wildlife sightings! Thankfully, the world of photography has changed to digital, or there might not have been enough film available!

Predators in particular were making successive appearances, where difficult decisions had to be made… shall we go watch that leopard hunting? Or those male lions snoozing? The wild dogs with their puppies playing, or the cheetah that’s just made a kill? The benefit of spending a few days in Kwara, is that at this time of year, you can probably catch up with all of the above – though there were quite a few mokoro and boat activities abandoned at the last minute as leopard sightings or hunts were called in from the cars out on drive…

A male leopard was seen on Maheke Road, heading towards an old hyena den. At the den, he investigated a few of the burrows, but found nothing of interest on the inside, and then moved to the top of a termite mound to rest.

In the continued absence of the large numbers of lions the female leopards have been even more relaxed then usual, and were sighted often. One of the females managed to kill a porcupine, and was seen feeding on that – a  rather prickly meal.

Some wild dogs – 8 adults with 13 puppies – were seen several times in the first week of the month, including when they made a kill right in front of the car. With a pack that size, there was not enough food for everyone, as they had killed an impala that was not yet fully grown. No doubt they had more success later in the day. The dogs spent a few weeks in the Lagoon area, before returning to the Lebala for a visit. 

Lions took down two buffalo in the morning, and by later afternoon, when the game drive returned, had managed to finish most of the meat!

The two cheetah brothers spent a week in the area, but still no sign of their brother. As they travel very large territories, it’s possible that at some point in one of their travels they crossed out of the wildlife management areas and into the surrounding farm lands. This can be a dangerous area for predators, as farmers see the cheetah as a threat to their stock, and may shoot them. Perhaps the third brother fell foul of some farmer in this area.

The big herds of buffalos have now broken down into smaller herds, and have started to spread out looking for more appetising grass. A hint of rain in the northern skies will see them heading in that direction to see if there is better grazing there.

With the rise in temperatures and no rains yet, the raptors are scanning the dry ground for prey, as visibility is excellent in the short grass. Hawk eagles, brown snake eagles and tawny eagles were sighted often.  Summer migratories including Wahlbergs eagles have also arrived in the area to breed. The carmine bee-eaters are settling in to the holes in the side of the river bank, and raising their young.