Antelope dominate the statistics but predators abound
July was a busy month in the hide. Antelope figures far exceeded all the other species and impala graced us with their presence on every single day of the month. Bushbuck, nyala, duiker and even a steenbok showed up. The kudu have made a return as well after a short absence during much of June. There was a surprise visit by a sounder of warthog, a species we haven’t seen since the summer. Even the elephant were here for most of it, absent for only 5 days in total.
Lions and Leopards showed up on several occasions
Predators have been quite active this month with numerous lion and leopard sightings. The big cats always stir one’s emotions up, especially when you realise they came to visit just after you retired for the night. On a few occasions the leopard turned up on nights between guests which is either very cunning or probably just unlucky coincidence!
Other predator activity at the waterhole
One lioness that went past bore the marks from an encounter with a porcupine sometime previously as she clearly had a few quills still stuck in her face. Porcupine quills can create nasty problems for predators due to all the bacteria that builds up on them. Not being able to clean their quills in the same way most other mammals can groom themselves and due to living underground in their burrows, porcupines build up large amounts of bacteria, which when they embed in the skin of their attackers can create perfect opportunities for gangrene to set in. Thankfully wild animals are way more resilient than we are and many of them manage to get through these uncomfortable ordeals.
Away from the camp on drive we were also blessed with some great lion sightings. The one morning we headed out and not far from the camp came across a herd of impala that were beautifully composed in the early morning sunlight. All the guests focus was on the impala when I happened to turn the other way to see a lioness stalking them not even 20m from the game viewer. Needless to say, the focus very swiftly changed from left to right and we enjoyed the next 10 minutes as the pride zoned in on their quarry. In the end the over-eagerness of one of the youngsters meant the lions would go hungry. Interestingly the thin lion that we told you about in June was with the pride but he was straggling at the back, trying to keep up with them. Sadly this was to be the last time we saw him.
Even a Steenbok drops in for a drink
The bush is tinder dry now with no sign of any rain on the horizon. That is usual for this time of the year, and we would normally only expect to see the first signs of summer rain in either September of October. However, a Steenbok showed up on 2 consecutive days to drink, and for me that is a real sign of how dry it really is. These animals hardly ever drink as they manage to extract all the moisture they need from the plant material they feed on. I think I could probably count on one hand the number of times I have observed them drink in all the 34 years I have worked in the bush.
The camp gardens are aflutter with avian antics!
The aloes were in full bloom for much of the month and attracted a huge amount of attention from the various sunbirds, the crested barbet, a black headed oriole and even the grey go-away birds. On the camera we managed to see a brown snake eagle coming in for a drink, and a pair of Egyptian geese made their appearance on a couple of days. The hornbills seem to be gearing up for the coming breeding season and we observed on many occasions bonding with each other by gripping each other’s bills, almost in a passionate embrace.
