Chobe Game Lodge – Latest Wildlife Sightings

Buffalos moving in to drink at sunset

Chobe in winter time will at first glance strike one as a very dry and harsh environment with cold mornings, mild afternoons and dry and dusty skies. But these factors contribute to the intensity and striking beauty of the area. The dusty skies for instance causes some of the most spectacular sunsets one could ever wish to see. And the dryness is part of an age old cycle of wet and dry seasons that govern this part of Africa. Part of the uniqueness of Chobe National Park is that it lies within one of the largest expanses of wilderness left in Africa, allowing animals to still follow the migration and movement patterns dictated to them by these climatic cycles of wet and dry. We are currently moving into the heart of the dry months, and the river has become the focal point of the regions’ wildlife movement. The river will now hold them captive for the rest of the dry season, forcing them into competition with each other for food and living space as if the onslaught of predators and disease wasn’t challenging enough. Only the very fit and healthy will live to see the next rains.

Apart from the usual large herbivores like buffalos and elephants, antelope species that normally prefer to avoid the crowds like tsessebe, roan and sable antelope as well as eland, have quietly moved in and have become a common sight as they nervously move in to drink and then try to vanish back into the miombo woodlands.

A group of male giraffes on their way to a mineral lick

Shadowing these herds, enjoying a time of absolute plenty, are the regions apex predators – the lions. They were relatively easy to find on our game activities as they simply moved up and down the river front targeting the buffalo herds especially. Apart from our usual pride we’ve also spotted a nomadic trio, two young males and a female being especially active between Chobe Game Lodge and the village of Kasane, but making very sure they do not meet the main pride. The Chobe pride itself seems to have a new addition in their ranks – a female was spotted with a cub that couldn’t be more than a few days old on the Water Cart loop. When the cubs are still young the mothers tend to hide them well so we will only later be able to confirm if indeed she has only one cub.
Leopard taking a break after a hard days’ work

Leopard sightings were also predictably common. They compete directly with lions for the same prey species, but cannot face up to lions which would be superior both physically and numerically in direct confrontations. We have noticed in previous seasons that the predominantly nocturnal leopards seem to adapt their behaviour to avoid confrontations with lions, by being more active during hours of daylight. This behaviour favours us greatly when it comes to sightings.

Pregnant alpha female

The wilds’ wide wanderers, wild dogs have also graced us with their presence on a frequent basis. We had a pack of 6 moving in and hope they will settle down for a while since the alpha female is heavily pregnant. Wild dogs roam over great distances in their hunting and only settle down to den when they have pups. This pack is the same group we were seeing over the Christmas/New Year period. Wild dogs have unique individual coat markings, making them easy to identify individually. The most striking pack member of this group is an individual with a very distinctive black and white banded tail.

Winter is never the best time for reptile activity but we had a great view of a large python as it crossed the road. It was probably just going out to sun itself a bit.

Pythons are the only protected reptile species in Botswana

Apart from that there were no other snake sightings recorded around the Lodge. Along the river banks crocodiles and monitor lizards were common; the water monitor lizards in the image below were seen mating near the boat station of the Lodge. Water monitors lay their eggs inside active termite mounds, digging their way in with their strong claws. After laying the eggs the female leaves the mound and the termites will close the damaged parts she left in an effort to protect the colony against intrusions by other predators. Monitor lizard eggs are well protected inside the mound as the termites keep the temperature and humidity levels constant – just right for the eggs to incubate. The eggs will take 9 to 10 months to incubate.

Mating monitors

We are incredibly privileged to be at the centre of all the action here at Chobe Game Lodge. No words or pictures could ever fully describe in full the wonder nature is playing off right outside our doorstep. We will however try to keep you up to date in following posts on this blog site as the exciting dry season has now only really commenced.

Regards,

The Chobe Game Lodge Guides Team

Written by:

Wouter Theron
Environmentalist
Chobe Game Lodge