News / Camp News

Elephants and the Savute Channel - past and present

11 Aug 2009

Location:  Savuti Camp, Linyanti, Botswana
Date:  07 August 2009
Observer: Grant Atkinson
Photographs: Grant Atkinson

The sequence of adjoining images were all taken right from the deck of Savuti Camp which looks out over the currently flowing Savute Channel - one of the biggest events in Botswana in recent times. What has been even more interesting is how the elephant population has reacted to this rekindled water source.

I was deeply struck by the changes that have come about in both the environment and the elephant behaviour in the Linyanti Concession. In the years when the Channel was dry, from 1983 up until 2008, the onset of the dry season in June brought about a daily influx of elephants to the four artificially pumped waterholes that were situated along the dry river bed. Observation hides were in place at two of the waterholes, to enable up-close visuals with the thirsty elephants.

With the return of water to the Channel last year, this has all changed.  The narrow ribbon of grassland with a dusty river bed where the channel once flowed has now been replaced by soothing, clear water once again. The Channel is now flowing, bank to bank, and currently stretches for 60km, having just past the Chobe Cutline moving ever closer to the Savute Marsh. Hippos, waterbirds, catfish and water lilies have all recolonised the new water, with the Channel now even sharing wildlife affinities with the Okavango Delta.

Just as big a change has taken place with the elephants' behaviour.

In years gone by, each waterhole would have been surrounded by thirsty, hot and agitated elephants. As there was often not enough water for all, the elephants would have to push, shove, and jostle their way to the head of the line, just to get a chance at a drink. All the water in the waterhole at Savuti Camp used to be consumed by around 11h00 each morning, and then the elephants would just place their trunk over the pipe transporting water to the hole, and drink directly from there. 

Smaller elephants, or herds of females with young, would often have to stand for hours waiting for a turn, and if it came at all, it would often be brief, before a bigger bull would force them out of the way. All night, the air would be filled with the sounds of the thirsty elephants as they rumbled and trumpeted at their forced meeting place around the waterhole...

Today, the scene is very different. The Channel winds right past the front of Savuti Camp, and there is even water under the deck of the main area. The old log pile 'hide' is now almost in the river itself, and is hardly noticeable amongst the bright green grass.

There are still lots of elephants though, and they still come to drink in front of the camp.  What is so different now though is that their visit to the water is a happier, more relaxed event. From the camp's main deck in the last week of July we watched a herd of 25 elephants slowly making their way to the water's edge, some feeding on emergent vegetation as they moved along.  They entered the water, and for half an hour we enjoyed the spectacle of elephants drinking, play-fighting, swimming, standing and walking. They visibly 'rejoiced' in the changed conditions.

The experience was the same on all our game drives out of the camp. Instead of stressed herds competing for a few thousand litres of water, these elephants now have a lush, deep waterway from which to drink.

Certainly, none of us knows how long the Savute Channel will keep flowing, but while it does, it is a wonderful place to be: for the wildlife that lives here, and for those of us who are lucky enough to be able to spend time at Savuti Camp.

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