Vumbura Plains - October 2007
12 Nov 2007
The month of October brought the first rains of the season to the Delta, and with it, the first migratory birds. Waking up to the call of the Woodland Kingfisher early in the morning has been refreshing and the vegetation is already looking greener and more lush.
Game sightings in and around camp have also been plentiful and exciting, including buffalo, lion and leopard. The Kubu lion pride were seen at the beginning of the month feeding on a sable antelope. Even with their full bellies, the sub-adults proceeded to chase one another and play in the rain. A herd of approximately eight hundred buffalo also caught their interest and the lions half-heartedly followed them for an hour before losing interest.
Big Red's pride was much more successful with the buffalo one week later. After a great deal of stalking, hunting and chasing, they were seen finally taking down a buffalo calf. By mid-October, the Kubu pride was back on form and, rather conveniently, killed a buffalo right outside Vumbura North Camp. The guests didn't even have to leave their rooms for fantastic game viewing!
Our local male cheetah, Vuku, has been seen this month in a variety of different situations. The guests were lucky enough to observe him stalking and taking down a young female reedbuck. He began feeding, but was then shortly chased off the kill by a clan of hyena. Two days later he was found with an impala kill which he managed to retain long enough to eat himself. He was seen in the same area for the next 2 days looking very full and satisfied! He was then seen later in the month being chased in circles by a troop of baboons. It was an entertaining sight for the guests, but seemed very frustrating for poor Vuku.
Three different leopards have been seen in the area in the last month. A young male that was first observed about 5 months ago is now being seen more frequently, along with the resident adult male, Gorasen, and our local female, Selonyana. All of them were seen hunting independently, but only Selonyana made an observed kill - a terrapin, which she devoured swiftly.
An unidentified leopard was even seen making an entrance into a wild dog sighting at the end of the month! A pack of 21 dogs, including 9 pups, had come through the area two days prior and were first seen hunting and killing an impala. The guides kept a close eye on the dogs' movements for the next few days and were rewarded with the sight of a full pack hunt. Two baby tsessebe were the focus of the dogs' attention - they stood no chance with the dogs working as a team to hunt them down. As the kill was made, the pups were squealing for food and the noise and sight of the feeding frenzy was unbelievable. The young tsessebes clearly did not satisfy the dogs as they proceeded to chase an adult red lechwe into the nearby water. The dogs and lechwe all looked nervous as they raced through the water, clearly worried about the presence of crocodiles. As all this was happening, a leopard was observed climbing a nearby tree to get a better view of the events unfolding. It relaxed in the tree for a couple of hours, watching the dogs unsuccessfully chasing the lechwe.
Throughout the month we have had many elephant encounters on drives and within camp. The 'Vumbura' breeding herd has been seen every few days feeding close to the walkway and then drinking and bathing in front of North Camp. General game sightings have also been good with the water holes attracting large numbers of zebra, giraffe, warthog, wildebeest and sable. The hyena den close to camp has proved once again a great spot for close encounters with 9 young pups. They are extremely relaxed and very curious meaning great viewing and photo opportunities for guests.
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