The first odd one of this year was a herd of around 60 Giraffe in the Marabou pan area. Usually we do have Giraffe in the area, found in family groups of around five to seven animals. To see a herd this size is unique, and a phenomenal sighting.
From the arrival of the first rains in the area (normally around December) until the last rains (usually in March) we have a group of Buffalo in the area, never as abundant as in the Delta, but enough to make it a special sighting. As soon as the rains stop, the Buffalo move to the northern areas of Chobe. This year the normal movement pattern changed substantially, propably due to the good rain we received in March. I woke up a couple of days ago (around 02:00am) to the sound and smells of a herd of large animals moving just outside camp. Looking outside, a herd of 28 Buffalo was settling in for the night in the Savute Channel, directly in front of the camp. Since then we regularly see their tracks and droppings around the area. A second herd of about 23 animals have moved into the Marabou Pan area. For the first time on record, we have two herds of Buffalo giving every indication of spending winter in the area.
The larger grasers are also putting in some guest appearances this year. On two separate occasion, a single Sable antelope was observed grazing at the start of the Marsh. A small herd of Roan antelope are also regularly observed in the Harveys Pan area. Although not rare in the northern parts of Botswana, these two species are very seldomly seen in the Savute areas. As Savute is closer to a desert area, the grass cover is usually very sparse, making life for true grasers very difficult.
To top off the list of scarce antelope sightings, a herd of around 150 Eland was observed moving across the southern section of the Marsh. Although common in other parts of Botswana, Eland are very seldom observed in the Savute area.
On Saturday the 31st of May I joined a group of clients for an afternoon game drive. When driving around the Leopard Rock area, I spotted what appeared to be the back of a Lion in the bushes around 100m from the road. We stopped to have a better look at this suspected Lion (It turned out being a tree stump). As we stopped, we noticed a group of seven Wilddog in the tall grass directly next to us. The tall grass acted as perfect camouflage for the Dogs. For about 20 minutes we observed the Dogs playing right next to the vehicle. A young Kudu came walking across the road, resulting in an abandoned chase by the dogs, after which they disappeared into the Mopane Thicket.
A perfect end to afternoon game drive was enjoyed at sunset by all!
This story was submitted by Kobus - Savute Safari Lodge Manager
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