Sightings update at Savute Safari Lodge

The last week has seen the build-up of thunder clouds all around the Savute Region. The first couple of raindrops have fallen on the parched earth. (Only 1mm, but every drop helps!) With the first drops of the summer, a lot of animals are starting to move through the region, following the clouds to where the most rain has fallen.

While driving around the camp I was very surprised to come across a single Sable Antelope Bull that was resting in the shade of some Apple Leafs at the back of the camp. During tea time he decided to come down to drink at the waterhole directly in front of the camp. Although we do see the occasional young bull at some of the natural waterhole in the area, this is the first time that a mature bull has been seen drinking at the waterhole directly in front of the camp, and this with everybody having tea while overlooking the waterhole.

Yet this was not the only sighting of Sable in the area. A couple of days later the guides observed a breeding herd of nine animals walking towards the Mababe depression, where the majority of the rain has fallen.

On a game drive in the Rhino vlei area, the guides observed a small herd of rather large antelope crossing the Savute Marsh to the south of them. On driving closer to the area, they were lucky to observe a herd of Eland moving across the plains. This was only the second sighting of Eland this year, making it a rare occurrence indeed!

That afternoon Energy, one of our guides, took some clients on a game drive towards the Harvey’s Pan / Quarry Hill area. In between the dense vegetation he could see a grey shape moving amongst the trees. Not being able to see what it was, he decided to follow the shape until it broke cover and appeared in a big clearing which it crossed at speed. He was very surprised to find out that it was a Gemsbok, very seldom encountered in this area. The Gemsbok is usually restricted to the Kalahari Region, at least 300km to the south of us so a sighting in this region is very uncommon.

The birds has been following the same patterns as the beasts, and a number of migratory species and seldom seen species are now coming into the area, waiting for the abundance that the first rains would bring. Sightings include Yellow Billed Kite, Long Crested Eagle, Pygmy Kingfisher and even some Violet Backed Starlings that has decided that the sprinklers around camp make the perfect drinking spot.
As the clouds are building up again today, we are waiting for the first big thunderstorm, bringing rain to the area. Who knows what other species the first rains would bring!

PS: For the Large predator watchers: The Lions are still in the area, with one large male regularly entering camp at night. The Wilddogs has also decided to come and rest in camp late in the afternoon on Wednesday, with the six pups entertaining everybody with their antics.

Kobus Lubbe, Savute Safari Lodge Manager

Redbilled Quelea, Savute Safari Lodge

It is not only the mammals that are congregating around the waterholes of Savute, even the birds are flocking to get some water. Guinea fowl, Doves, Vultures and a myriad of other species are ascending in ever increasing flocks on the edges of the water. One of the most abundant species in this regard is the Redbilled Quelea. Flocks, often numbering millions are descending on the waterholes in front of the camp. As one of our guests recently exclaimed: “It sounds like a distant explosion as the millions of wings beat the air when taking off” The sound often carries for hundreds of meters as the flocks swirl in the sky.

From a distance the flocks look like smoke in the sky. Ever changing patterns as the birds turn and twist in the air. They appear very similar to sardines schooling in the ocean, large groups moving in perfect harmony. This synchronized movement is enabled by a phenomenon of sight known as the flicker effect. Human sight sees images flickering at a rate of around 25 images per second as fluid motion, a relatively slow rate of sight. The Queleas are much more advanced in this regard, seeing more than 300 frames per second. The smallest movement of the bird next door can therefore be acted upon a lot faster, something crucial if you want to avoid a midair collision. Imagine trying to run on the ground in crowds of more than a million people, all a couple of centimeters apart. Now try and imagine doing this without even touching the person next to you – impossible! Yet the Quelea is not doing this in the two dimensions on the ground, but in the three dimensions of space. They do not only recognize the movements of the birds in front and to their sides, but also the birds above and below them, acting accordingly in order to avoid any collisions.

Quelea are currently starting to enter breeding season in the region, and are starting to congregate around the breeding sites in the area. This herald a time of plenty for a lot of other species. Raptors can often be seen flying around the nesting site and often some are seen on the ground, too heavy with food after raiding the nests of the Quelea. Snakes are also common around the breeding colonies. Making their way from one nest to another and swallowing eggs, chicks and adults as they go. Even the smaller carnivores are making the most of the meal. Slender mongoose, African Wildcat and Blackbacked Jackal can often be seen foraging around the nesting sights, looking for any stragglers or dead chicks that were kicked out of their nests.
The advantage of living in such large flocks is that here safety lies in numbers. With millions of eyes scanning the skies for predators the presence of danger is noticed very quickly. One bird on his own makes an easy recognizable target for Raptors, but to pick one target out of a group of millions is a daunting task.

Yellow billed Kites are often seen trying to target the flocks around the waterholes, very seldom with any success. A few unlucky ones are picked up out of the water where they were pushed into by the flock, but the majority of the birds escape unharmed.

Look at the smaller things in nature, such as the Quelea, to add some spice to your next trip to the bush.

Kobus Lubbe – Savute Safari Lodge Manager

Chobe Game Lodge Sightings Update

Chobe Game Lodge Sightings Update
September 2008

September in Chobe is normally a month remembered by staff and guests alike as a month punctuated by bouts of hay fever. It has been very hot with afternoon temperatures soaring into the high 30 degrees Celsius and very windy. Its is due to all the dust blown up by the wind combined with pollen from large amounts of spring blossoms out in the bush that most people sinuses were put under severe strain.

The terrific game viewing made up for all the sniffing and sneezing. Lion sightings abounded as the lions had much to feast on – not only prey animals they brought down themselves but also because there was a high mortality rate among the larger animals like ellies and buffalos with high energy requirements. Our local pride split up into smaller bands patrolling up and down the river looking for food. It was therefore quite common for our guides to find more than one lion sighting per game drive. This was the case with a group of our guests, Pedro Perigot his wife Adriana and their two sons Paulo and Joao.

On the first afternoon they went out with Field Guide Michael Dinyando and found a group of lions feeding on a dead elephant. The scene maybe gory but Pedro managed to get in some fantastic pictures of the lions feeding on the carcass.

The following morning game drive was just as fortunate when they found a mating pair of lions.

The late afternoon game drive produced the cream of the sightings when they found a pair of lionesses chasing a group of giraffe across the floodplains of Puku flats. The giraffe managed to make good their escape but later the evening the same luck did not befall a buffalo cow. She was brought down and killed right in front the game drive vehicle and Pedro and his family were lucky enough to witness the whole event happening right in front of them. Again it is a very gory scene but such is the way of nature. Pedro graciously donated these pictures to us.

With regards to our bird life we can report that the first intra-African migrants have returned, the most notable of these being the yellow-billed kites returning en masse from their hunting grounds further north on the African continent. The only Palearctic migrant we’ve spotted so far was a ruddy turnstone, still partially in its breeding colours. These little wading birds breed in the Arctic tundra region and here for the southern Hemisphere summer months.

October is always even hotter and we may have our first showers of rain already next month. We may also see the first baby animals being born for the season, with the warthogs being the most likely species to have their babies in October already. We will keep you in touch with the Environmental happenings through October.

Compiled by: Wouter Theron, Environmentalist, Chobe Game Lodge

Elephant Surprise at Camp Moremi

It was an unusually quiet night, the August winds that have been blowing for the past 3 days had just settled down in the early evening to a light, calming breeze. Nothing to be heard except for a few frogs harmonising their melodies, this all means that summer is just around the corner us!
Peaceful and serene.

All that changed at around 2am when an elephant’s trumpet ripped through the air, continuing with these frightful screams for at least 10 minutes.

I awoke with a fright and thought the poor thing must’ve been standing in the water and got too close to the electric fence, zapping it into shape.

I’m sure I can hear the buffalo grunting in the distance?
Unsure and knowing that the early morning wake-ups are soon, I drift back off into a deep sleep.
The alarm at 5am jolts me from a deep sleep, I’ve got to get up and get breakfast ready for our eager guests.

There is a smell in the air, what is it, maybe the buffalo?
A mix of excited and sleeping faces at 6.30 for breakfast, what was that noise last night was the question everyone was asking and of course what will we get to see today?

The game drives had not even reached the front gate when it was discovered what that smell was, our pride of 6 females and 2 magnificent males with all 11 cubs of different ages have taken down and killed an elephant, right at the Camp Moremi entrance!!

The lions are eagerly tucking into their breakfast. By 11am the males stomachs are bulging heavily with so much meat, that they can’t even stand. The rest of the day is spent eating, sleeping, eating, sleeping, with an occasional cub looking for some attention.

Not the smell of buffalo, but in fact the smell of death lingered into the evening, with hyena cackles all night long.

When the males roar for all to know that this is indeed his territory it is so loud the floor boards in the main dinning area vibrate!

Everybody was excited to get out this morning and see the hub of activity.
The males are strewn across the road with huge stomachs and no regard to move for anyone, the females gnawing on the leftovers of ribs and the little cubs fighting over the lifeless trunk.

All of this right here on our front door step!

I seriously love my job

Kirsty Grubb Roberts
Camp Moremi Manageress

Independance Day Celebrations at Camp Okavango

Independence Day Celebrations at Camp Okavango
30th of September

The Camp Okavango team was very proud to celebrate 42 years of Independence with all the guests! This is a very special occasion for every Motswana as they have a reason to be proud of a wonderful country, a peaceful history and a loving people.

The celebration took place before brunch. Every guest was invited to join us at the dinning area. The celebration began with a vibrant entrance song by the staff. This was followed by another song, welcoming the guests to our celebration.

{Camp Okavango choir – the beginning of our Independence Day celebrations}

We then explained to the guests the meaning of the songs that had been sung, before asking everyone to stand for the national anthem which was sung in both the official and national languages of Botswana – English and Setswana.

We then followed the sing with a brief presentation on the history of Botswana. The presentation was done by Mc, a proud local manager. This gave everyone insight into the development and growth of such an outstanding country. From it’s begins when the 3 chiefs of Botswana back in the 1800’s sort protection from the British Empire to the discovery of diamonds, one of the country’s biggest economic earners to date.

After learning what makes Botswana such an extraordinary nation, the staff entertained our guest with a few more celebration songs and Kutlwano, a member of the team performed a traditional dance.

{Kutlwano performing a traditional dance}

The festivities continued with more celebrations songs followed by a delicious brunch. A camp tradition took place with the chefs each making an Independence Day cake. The cakes were decorated in the colours of the Botswana flag. The blue of the flag represents the blue skies of Botswana that brings the ever needed water to the lands and the black and white symbolize racial harmony within the country. The cakes were enjoyed by both guests and staff.


{The chefs with their Independence Day cakes}
From left to right: Lovely, Michelle, Phetsi, Refilwe and Phodiso

Written by: Michelle Fowler – Camp Okavango Manager!

Month of Prayer Botswana - September

The month of September is filled with many celebrations for Botswana. The team at Camp Okavango love taking part in celebrations and more importantly enjoy sharing these festivities with our guests in camp.

On the evening of the 29th all the staff at Camp Okavango and guest joined in on an observance of the month of prayer. Each year in Botswana, September is put aside for a month of prayer in which the country as a whole focuses on the prayer topic that has been chosen. This year the topic was “HIV and AIDS – Stop Aids and keep the promise”.

As a company Desert and Delta Safaris has taken a very positive stand on HIV and Aids and has implemented a staff wellness policy that does not only focus on those infected and affected by HIV and Aids but staff wellness as a whole. The month of prayer is a special month for us at Camp Okavango. A prayer committee was formed and they helped to organize and facilitate prayer meetings with the staff. For the month of September we also held weekly prayer meetings with the staff and during those times we focused on praying for those who have been infected by HIV and Aids but also those who have been affected by the disease.

On the night of the 29th the staff and guests took part in a candle lighting ceremony as a tribute to those who have been affected in any way by HIV and Aids and as a way to create awareness for this cause in that way trying to help stop Aids and to keep the promise.

Written by Michelle Fowler - Camp Okavango Manager

The Savute Pride, Elephant Kill

Saturday night, 11th of October
The Savute Pride did itself proud again.

It was around 21:30, just after dinner, that I went down to the fireplace in front of the lodge to get the fire going before our guest come down to enjoy a nightcap. Just as the fire caught nicely I heard a growl very close by. A huge female lioness was standing a couple of meters away. I retreated slowly, and made my way back to the bar to ensure that everybody was behind closed doors. After a while Gwist, one of our guides and myself took a vehicle around the front of the camp to see if the lions were still around before we escorted the clients back to their rooms.

Two Lionesses were directly in front of the fireplace, staring intently at the 150 or so elephants that were milling around the waterhole. On returning to the main area, we could just make out the one female as she walked past the front. A couple of minutes later we all could hear the frantic yelps of a pack of Wild dogs in the area. It was not easy keeping everyone inside, knowing what action there was around the waterhole – but as always – safety always comes first.

After less that a minute we could hear the panicking bellowing of an elephant. Very carefully I made my way down to the swimming pool deck. The two Lionesses have just brought down an elephant cow of around ten years old. With great care we moved the clients to a position from where they could observe the elephant and the lions. As we were not sure where the other lions of the pride were, this was only for a couple of minutes before we made our way back to the bar.

As everyone was settling down with a stress reliever, I observed another movement next to the swimming pool. A Leopard used the opportunity created by all the turmoil to come and get a drink from the swimming pool!

After escorting the majority of the clients back to their rooms, we could hear the male Lions approaching the area. Soon a huge male, accompanied by a female with two cubs were seen drinking around the swimming pool before making their way down to the kill. At around 00:00 we were eventually able to close down the main area for the night and went to bed, hopefully getting some sleep with the noise of Lions and Elephants all around us.

For me sleep was out of the question: I realised that there is a dead elephant in front of the lodge, not only attracting lions and other predators to camp, but also soon the smell of dead elephant would pervade the area.

Early morning we had to make a plan. With the assistance of Wildlife services we decided to drag the carcass a little bit up stream and on the other side of the channel. Much easier said than done.

A chain was attached to the one hind leg of the elephant and to the Wildlife Services vehicle. We probably moved it about 30cm before the vehicle was completely stuck in the soft sand. Only one solution; attach another vehicle to their vehicle and pull it out. So with another vehicle attached to the Wildlife Vehicle we pulled the car out of the sand, still no luck, even with two Landcruisers moving the elephant any further, was impossible. Next plan was to go to our neighbors at Savute Elephant Camp and borrow their tractor to try and get on with the job. Again the whole story repeats itself. This time however we had a plan that worked. The tractor was attached to the Elephant Carcass, Wildlife Services Landcuiser was attached to the tractor and in front of the whole lot was one of our Landcruisers, attached to the Wildlife Services vehicle. With major discussions, co-ordination and quite a few nervous moments the whole train started moving over to the other side of the channel. After a couple of repositioning we managed to get the carcass about 150m away from the camp fence.

We barely unhitched the chains or the big lioness was out of the bushes directly above us, reclaiming her prize. As I am writing this (around 21:00 on Sunday) I can hear the lions as well as the elephants around the waterhole.

Who knows what this night will bring?

Kobus Lubbe – Savute Safari Lodge Manager

Savute Predator Update

Savute Predator Update, September

As the days get longer the daytime temperatures are soaring at Savute. During the last couple of weeks the temperatures has been hovering at around 38ºC during the afternoons. Fortunately the evenings are much cooler, making a good nights rest possible. The dry season is here in full force. All the natural waterholes are dry, and water is restricted to the artificial waterholes. This leads to greater concentration of animals around these waterholes, with the predators following their prey the only sources of water. This results in excellent sightings of predators, often right in camp where they come to drink from the swimming pool.

Since February the sightings has been as follows:

Lion

February 3
March 19
April 27
May 21
June 15
July 40
August 25
September 37

Wilddog

February 7
March 13
April 13
May 6
June 7
July 17
August 5
September 11

Leopard

February 26
March 18
April 13
May 12
June 17
July 31
August 26

September 26

Cheetah

February 0
March 5
April 0
May 10

June 8
July 24
August 4
September 5

These figures are the amount of times we have seen the various predators, and not the amount of animals in the group.

At last the Wild dogs are back in the area. The Alpha Female gave birth to six pups, and they are all doing fine. For the past two afternoons the adults came to the waterhole in front of the lodge, bringing the pups along. It is amazing to see the six pups (now around three months old) playing around the waterhole. One of the things that can keep them occupied for hours is the sight of their own reflection in the waterhole. They seem never to get tired of their own reflections, chasing the other “dog” in the water. Too soon the adults would call them back to order, and they would disappear into the bushes on the other side of the channel.

On Tuesday night Gwist (one of our guides), myself and two clients were sitting around the fire at around 22:00. In the bushes on the other side of the channel there appeared to be a pack of Wild dogs, but we were not quite sure as they were amongst the low shrubs. All our attention was intently focused on the Dogs. Imagine my surprise when Gwist suddenly took me by the shoulder and showed me to look behind me. A huge male Lion was drinking from the swimming pool, less than 10m away from where we were sitting! Quietly we got up, and made a very slow and careful retreat to the dining room, from where we could safely observe one of nature’s greatest beasts.

Savute never cease to provide the thrills!

Kobus Lubbe- Savute Safari Lodge Manager

Surprising scene at Xugana Island Lodge

Xugana Island Lodge
Oct. 6, 2008

FEET DON’T FAIL ME NOW
Thanks to guests Lottie and Denzil Murray-Lee of England, you can see the latest surprising scenes from the Okavango Delta.

The couple embarked on a walking safari with Xugana guide Joel Body and tracker John Dikeledi on Palm Island yesterday morning and came across this determined old bull elephant. By golly, this fellow had a single-minded, motivating hunger for fruit from the palm tree. The fruit, however, was out of reach even for this behemoth.

What to do?

Something unusual, that’s what. While Body and Dikeledi had seen elephants raise their front feet a bit to help them secure a better position for feeding, they had never seen an elephant use yesterday’s method. The old bull planted his right foot up one palm tree and the left foot on another, then stretched himself erect, his trunk aloft like a telephone pole.



That elephant stood “like a person,” Dikeledi said. (Like a person of such ungainly bulk that he appeared he might topple over backwards at any second.)

But the old bull elephant braced himself for the task quite handily indeed. With his pushup maneuver, he was able to reach that high branch and shake it hard to break loose the fruit.


From their vantage point, Body, Dikeledi and the Murray-Lees had a fine view of the elephant’s wide-open mouth. The Murray-Lees declared this two-legged elephant feasting a highlight of their trip -- in Denzil’s opinion, another moment of “magic” in Botswana.

--Maria Henson
volunteer, Desert & Delta Safaris

Khumaga Primary School Project - Makgadikgadi

Khumaga Primary School, Leroo La Tau Lodge, Botswana, Sept. 26, 2008

Today I have a box of treasures to carry back to Desert & Delta headquarters in Maun. The children of Khumaga Primary School in the village six kilometers away from the lodge have “done their level best,” as their teachers say, to draw and paint the animals of Botswana.

You’ll see in the photos some of the scenes from the week. Aren’t they marvelous?

The Khumaga Primary School Art Project began on Monday when DDS assistant manager Mpho Ditirelo and I showed up at the school with crayons, magic markers, colored pencils, brushes, tempera paints and the finest paper seen this side of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. (One of the park’s entrances is just 4 kilometres from Khumaga Village.)

I asked that any interested student feel free to participate in drawing his or her favorite wild animals of Botswana. Sixty-two children, from ages 7 to 14, squeezed into a classroom on Monday to draw. All of their art would be appreciated, I told them. All of it would be shared with lodge managers, perhaps guests and certainly managers in Maun. Mpho guided them in Setswana in case my English with an American accent (from the American South no less) left them confused.

The students were quiet and serious as they went about their work. They drew intently for about 2 hours. I would remark later how the room was filled with boys. Few girls had decided to participate. When I asked why, I was told that girls thought art and drawing were boys’ work, which, as an art history minor, I found to be an interesting cultural phenomenon in Khumaga.

Mpho and I had brought fancy art paper for painting – 30 sheets. That meant that 30 students would move on to the painting stage: 10 on Tuesday afternoon, 10 on Wednesday and 10 on Thursday. Everyone was an artist, of course. Mpho and I assured the students of that fact. But some would be asked try their hands at painting.

And so they did, under a big tree in the school’s courtyard, when it was 40 degrees Celsius in the shade. No complaints from the students, however. Each day I could see the interest building. Other students pressed in close to the artists to look over the shoulders and exclaim their praise. Some simply wanted to run over and touch my white hand. I watched the painters share their paints and help each other, with advice and sometimes a stroke of a brush. I watched them grow in pride in their work.

Soon I heard them imitating me: “Very nice. Perfect. Excellent!” They said it to me. They said it to each other.


The teachers told me that as the week went on more children wished they had participated. Those who had joined in could be seen practicing their drawings in class. They were proud of their art. Each day I held up finished paintings for children huddled near various doorways across the courtyard to see, and they smiled and waved their approval.

One painter, Seabo, did extra drawings and brought them to me as a gift. (I now have a drawing of a professional wrestler and one “of your cat” causing havoc in the kitchen. (How did he know?) Percy, an especially talented 12 year old, received extra drawing paper to do some sketches at home of Khamaga Village. He came to school on Thursday with four drawings of the Khumaga scene: round houses, the kgotla for village meetings, the welcome sign and the Botswana flag.

The materials we brought were new media for the students. With practice they would be even better, the teachers told me. I think they were wonderful as they were.

We hope to sell their paintings in Desert & Delta curio shops at lodges in Botswana. The money will go to buy traditional dance costumes for Khumaga Primary School, a place of talented dancers as well as painters,

Maria Henson, volunteer,
Desert & Delta Safaris