News / Camp News

Vumbura Plains Camp - March 2009

07 Apr 2009

Weather
A week of wind and rain heralded the beginning of March. The floodplains and roads were visibly full and the rain water level seemed to increase on a daily basis. The weather certainly did not dampen spirits though and vehicles were often seen leaving full of poncho-clad guests eager not to let the rain spoil their fun. In fact, the rain seemed to enhance game viewing in the area with plenty of vegetation available and lots of water sources.

Wildlife
Large herds of zebra, elephant, giraffe and kudu were seen regularly, with buffalo moving through the area on a number of occasions. The concession is also lucky enough to provide a great habitat for the rare sable antelope and they seem to have taken to the area around Vumbura Plains so sightings have been frequent and very close to home!

Our local pride of lion, the Kubu Pride, has three additions to their family: 6 month-old cubs. Their area of operation has been around Motswiri Road, Little Vumbura Boat Station and Vumbura Paradise towards Ostrich Road. The three new cubs are doing well and it is thought that the absence of one of the other adult females may suggest that even more youngsters are on the way. If they're as playful and curious as the current cubs, it will be a delight. Guests have seen the pride feeding on a variety of kills this month, including warthog, reedbuck and wildebeest.

A new pride of lion in the area has provided us with even more lion action. At the start of the month four females were seen with the two males, although recent sightings have only included two females. These lions seem to be in a great condition and are tolerating the vehicles well, with the exception of one female who remains very skittish. This pride has now overlapped onto and seems to be taking over the territory that formerly belonged to the Kubu Pride, with the latter now moving more to the west.

Wild dog sightings were common this month and included two different packs. The Mapula Pack, made up of five adults and seven sub-adults, seemed to be making use of the whole concession and were seen all over; they were even seen in conflict with the Golden Pack and it seemed that they had the upper hand as the Golden Pack were being chased away. The Golden Pack was formerly made up of 22 individuals, but now seems to have drastically reduced to only five adults. The guides speculate that the pack may have become too big and competition for prey was just too large for them to remain with so many members in one pack.

Birding
With so much water around this month, birding on the concession has been fantastic. The floodplain in front of camp has been a hive of activity with Wattled Crane, Fish-Eagles, Darters and Saddle-billed Stork seen on a daily basis. Our resident African Scops-Owl should not be forgotten either - he perches in the jackalberry tree above the stardeck and calls each evening providing a lovely soundtrack to dinner. South Camp is also home to a family of Crested Barbets that have now raised two broods in one of the ornamental palms that stands in the dining room. The latest fledglings flew the nest at the beginning of March and are now seen around camp growing in confidence.

Conversely, the migratory bird species are declining in number as they move northwards to warmer climes. Species such as the Southern Carmine Bee-Eater, Woodland Kingfisher and Yellow-billed Kite have been seen less regularly. The disappearance of these birds signals the approach of winter and a definite chill can also be felt in the air in the early morning.

It is with anticipation that we wait for the winter to arrive and the floodwater from Angola to make its way into the Delta. One of the highest floods on record is predicted which will certainly make things interesting for life in camp and for the wildlife outside it.

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