After our 05:45 breakfast we boarded our trusty Landcruiser photo-truck and by daybreak we were heading for the mopane bush region where lion calls had been heard during the night.
To get to our intended location we had to ford the one metre deep river as the log bridge we normally use had been damaged and was no longer usable.
We had barely moved off the main track when William called out ‘dogs’. Our great fortune was such that we had come across the same pack (paint) of five painted wolves as the one encountered two nights ago; Latin - Lycaon pictus.
We spent fifteen minutes following these impressive wolves with their large upright ears and their dappled brown, black and white colouring. At one stage three of them sat down in the middle of the track and commenced grooming each other with licking and gentle biting. This provides a key means by which the pack maintains its strong communal bonding.
Painted wolf
Painted wolves
If this wasn’t reason enough for excitement, Corinne then called out ‘lion’. It was now 06:45 and for the next two and a quarter hours we followed this adult lion as he meandered along a track for three or four kilometres. He even crossed the damaged bridge and we photographed him from below as we forded the river once again.
Lion
Lion
The lion stopped every now and then to spray urine onto bushes to make it clear that this was his territory. At some stages Matt had to take a circuitous route through the thick scrub to gain a position where we could photograph the lion as he approached. Matt did an amazing job of keeping in close contact and yet not causing the animal to become concerned and move away from us.
Lion
We had extended opportunities to photograph the lion drinking when he reached the Khwai River and then to see him close up when he lay on the grass in front of us and commenced grooming and sleeping.
Lion drinking
Lion drinking
As the lion lay there on the river’s edge a group (soak) of red lechwes on the opposite side looked across tentatively at this mighty predator and decided that it was time to move away. Eventually we did the same with each of us having now hundreds of photos to select from.
Khwai River
Morning coffee
During the morning’s safari other points of interest included sightings of reed bucks and kudu. The principal birds of interest amongst others, entailed long-tailed magpie shrikes, hornbills including large ground hornbills, a secretary bird, a European bee-eater and many lilac breasted rollers.
Ground hornbill
Magpie long tail shrike
Red-billed hornbill
On our return path to the camp we had a brief glimpse of a barred owlet but it was too quick to photograph.
At 11:00 we were just about home and there in a small and somewhat muddy pond were two hippos. This provided a great finish to an exceptional morning’s activities.
Thomas & Barbara greeting us at Pangolin Khwai Camp
Tony writing the blog
Lunch was followed by siestas!
We resumed our safari adventure at 16:00 and spent the next three hours meandering along sandy bush tracks looking for points of interest. A main focus was on finding a leopard but the nearest we came was to identify a female leopard’s track by her spoor (footprints) in the soft sand.
Many of the usual birds were sighted during the later afternoon when the temperature started to drop. The middle afternoon temperature of 35°C meant that a very high proportion of all birds and animals were under cover seeking protection from the heat of the day. In this heat the numerous surrounding native sage bushes provided a most appealing and spicy odour. The natural sage oil works as an effective insect repellent and lions have been known to roll in the sage bushes to gain a covering of the sage oil to ward off bothering insects such as flies.
Sage plant
We spent some time with a large herd (ballet) of impalas. This is the most abundant antelope in Botswana and its perfectly proportioned body makes it undoubtedly one of the more attractive animals to view here.
Impala
Impala
Impala
Because impala are predated upon by painted wolves, lions, leopards, hyaenas and crocodiles they often referred to as the “McDonalds” of the bushveld. To accentuate the issue, these lovely antelopes have a distinctive “M” in black across their golden rumps.
Impala
A male within the herd was overly active suggesting that the rut (mating season) has commenced. He pursued individual does for several minutes but in the instance we observed, he was unsuccessful in gaining a desired union. Interestingly, the females have the capability of delaying gestation beyond the usual 6.5 months and this occurs particularly in seasons where food and water supplies are limited.
When startled, for example by a predator (or the starting of a car engine) impala leap in the air sometimes as high as 3 m so as to confuse predators. They can bound 12 m along in a single move and are capable of achieving running speeds of up to 80 km/h to escape predators.
We saw many birds most of which had been sighted previously. A fork tailed drongo was very obliging and allowed us close contact as was the case with little bee-eaters and mourning doves.
Fork-tailed drongo
Woodland kingfisher
Red-eye dove
We encountered the three wattled cranes we’d seen yesterday as they busily dug with their beautiful red beaks into the wet marshy sand for worms and other morsels.
Wattled crane
Wattled crane
Cape turtle dove
Leadwood trees by waterhole
Corinne, Jak, Rae, Malcolm & Matt on the safari truck
On returning to the camp at around 19:00 in the dark we were greeted as usual by Thomas and Barbara with flashing green and white lights prior to them offering us ice cold face washers to maximise the welcome.
Pre-dinner drinks around the tiny campfire were followed by a pleasant dinner and then an early night especially considering 05:00 is starting time again tomorrow.
Today will be remembered as the day when painted wolves and a lion were seen in quick succession; individual sightings that are not always guaranteed even if guests stay for a week.