News / Camp News

Kwetsani Camp - June 2008

07 Jul 2008

Temperature
The winter solstice has come and gone this month; it is hard to believe that half the year has already passed us by but wonderful that the days are now getting longer and that summer is on the horizon. We certainly have nothing to complain about this year as we have had the most spectacular winter weather, generally with daily minimums around 15° Celsius that have risen rapidly to produce wonderful warm sunny days. The temperatures have been many degrees warmer than expected and despite them dropping a little during the last few days of the month, they are still very bearable.

Wildlife
As usual nature has been exceptionally kind to us. We have enjoyed some really wonderful interactions and sightings and have been thoroughly enjoying the time of the year when we are able to experience the floodwaters of the Delta and also combine the water experience with wonderful trips to the woody savannah on Hunda Island. How wonderful it is to have the contrast of the floodplains and the dry savannah that are separated by a scenic 15-minute boat ride through the lily-lined channels and lagoons.

The month started off with high drama when we had four hyaenas pitting themselves against Freddy, our resident male lion, on the floodplain in front of camp. The altercation interrupted breakfast for our guests who then hastily jumped onto a Land Rover to watch the drama unfold. Freddy dealt with his spotted enemy, although not without a few battle wounds. He then remained close to the island for a couple of nights where he roared loudly, presumably hoping for a response from one of his females that are accompanied by his male and female sub-adult offspring. Apparently his calls went unheeded and he spent the following two days looking rather thin and battle-weary, enough to evoke some emotion in our guests who were very concerned about his wellbeing.

For the remainder of the month we have not seen or heard from the female and offspring, the only signs are her tracks on Hunda Island. Finally, Freddy returned looking far healthier and obviously better fed; however, his age is beginning to tell. The many battles he has fought are clearly evident, but we live in hope that he still has time to spend with us, even if it is as a lone male that has been dethroned by a coalition of younger lions.

It seems that our leopards have noticed the lower profile of the Kwetsani Pride this month; we have had the most amazing leopard experiences and sightings. Beauty, our resident leopard, has been ever obliging and has been seen constantly throughout the month with her cub that is now climbing and jumping confidently in and around the trees. Of course, like all kittens, the cub is ever active and always playing with mom. What a joy it has been for our guests to spend hours watching these fabulous interactions. Thanks to honeymooners, Karl and Leah, for sharing this picture of Beauty and her cub with us.

Freddy's return also caused some exciting interactions when Beauty was found with a fresh reedbuck kill on the floodplains far from the safety of trees in which she would normally drag and hide her prey. There was great consternation as Freddy approached mother and young leopard that were both eating at the fresh kill. Fortunately the lion was detected and the leopards deserted their prey and headed for the safety of the woody islands where they could seek refuge in the safety of the trees. Guides and guests watched with utter bemusement as Freddy came within 15 metres of the reedbuck and was still completely unaware of the kill, as he was upwind with a very strong breeze blowing.

As the morning drive progressed Freddy headed towards the leopards and eventually had a heated encounter with the leopards that were now in the safety of a giant marula tree, where Beauty hissed viciously at the lion who would not hesitate to sink his teeth deep into the cub's fragile body if the opportunity arose. To watch encounters in which a young leopard cub could at any stage be instantly killed is difficult, but such is nature and the ruthless way in which its balance is maintained. This is certainly not an easy thing for humans to comprehend.

After a rather fascinating day, with wonderful sightings and interactions between leopards and lions, and with guests still on a predator high, two leopards greeted them literally 100 metres from camp. What an end to a perfect day.

Seeing these two leopards together certainly dropped a missing piece into our puzzle as a few days earlier we had had another huge nighttime commotion with impala alarming and mobbing a leopard, whose eyes we could see in the dense bushes around the camp deck. On this occasion guests again left the glowing embers of the fire, clambered onto a game viewer and were rewarded with a wonderful sighting of our enormous and very elusive male leopard that was obviously very well fed. We found him close to the boat station, the other side of camp, probably 300 metres from where we had just heard the activity. We were certainly amazed at the distance between the initial sighting and the spot at which he was found; it was now obvious that we were dealing with more than one leopard. Later that night we heard the rasping cough of the leopard throughout the night, the sounds being similar to a bow saw cutting rhythmically through a log.

Just when we thought we had seen all of the leopard activity we were in for, there was more. Cliff and Mary, our British guests, were returning from a wonderful mokoro activity in which they had had an elephant pass gracefully in front of them followed by an enjoyable Kwetsani sundowner. Having been treated to a great day with sightings of lion and leopard they came across three more leopards at our boat station. Needless to say the camp jumped into life with everyone again hurriedly climbing onto Land Rovers and quickly moving off to find these creatures. All guests had wonderful sightings of the leopards, the cherry on top then being two hyaenas that passed within metres of the huge male leopard, the hyaena herself an enormous female. They watched and shadowed the leopards that were moving in and out of the bushes and long grass, obviously on the hunt. The night was pierced by the sounds of nervous baboons perched high up in the fan palms. A leopard's nightmare!

It seems as though we had a month of predators, and while these are wonderful animals to see, particularly when we have these amazing interactions, this is not all that Kwetsani is about. During your visit to Kwetsani we will share the wonders of the Delta and its waterways; you will look out over our pristine floodplain littered with red lechwe, baboon, warthog and will hopefully be treated to wandering elephants and other species throughout the day.

Guests have also spent many hours game viewing and picnicking on Hunda Island enjoying the herds of zebra, wildebeest and buffalo and also getting to enjoy the stately giraffe grazing on the abundant acacia thorn trees, their primary food source.

Finally at the end of the month our French guests returned from their picnic on Hunda Island with amazing footage of a mother leopard carrying her cub across the water by the scruff of its neck to safety. They also boasted amazing pictures of breeding herds of elephant and other sightings from their day out. Then, just before their afternoon drive and to the delight of all guests and staff, Broken Nose, a resident lioness and her cub, came strolling past the front of camp. The female cub that was first detected in November 2007 is doing very well and appears to be helping in the hunt already. The two females were seen chasing a civet across the Kwetsani floodplains when they all stumbled across a steenbok hidden in the long grass. Pandemonium followed with both steenbok and civet managing to escape the hungry lions. The day was not over for our French guests as they were met by a breeding herd of elephant feeding on the foliage in front of camp on their return.

Thanks to Jennifer and Cathy for sharing some of their wonderful experiences like the powerful Martial Eagle that had snatched a steenbok.

And so we have reached the end of another interesting month with wonderful sightings, experiences and weather. We hope you will be able to visit us one day and share this pristine and unpredictable wilderness with us in the near future.

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