The Early Bird...catches 2 Lion?

Bird transects are not always the most exciting…well not compared to tracking lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dog anyway. The last 2 mornings I have woken up at 5am, had some coffee, fed and bathed Squishy and left camp by 6:15 am to go and conduct these 2km bird transects for Bird Life Botswana. While the exercise itself is not all that complicated, driving off road in this area is no joke. I have been amazed at what these vehicles can actually do. Mopane trees at least 10 cm in girth are nothing for these Land Cruisers/Land Rovers. They eat them like spaghetti. Logs on the ground are driven over and mud gets left in dust, so to speak. This morning, our transect ran from the Gomoti River straight inland. Every 200m we stop for 5mins, identify and count birds that we can see and hear. Deciphering between that cheep and this cheep is quite the task to say the least.

            Sven and Katrina had just been joking around about how I was climbing straight from the front passenger seat onto the roof as though I wasn’t allowed to touch the ground. I passed on the mocking and carried on. You just never know what’s going to be in the bush right next to your car. At the next stop, we are about to start our 5min count where upon I hear Sven say “lion”. Thinking he is joking, as this morning we have already seen bald eagle as well as polar bears, I don’t even look up. But with a little more persistence Katrina and Sven both point off to the left of the vehicle. 

The younger of the 2 males.

Sure enough, there are 2 large young male lions peering over the top of the grass at us about 20m away. They are both beautiful specimens, pictures of perfection. We finish the count and move closer to them. The 1 male moves off a short distance, while the other remains where he is. 

 

The other young male.

What a beautiful boy!

They are nervous about something, but it isn’t us. Barros is the main male lion in the area and I would also be nervous if I was these 2 males. He isn’t one to be messed with apparently. Neither are collared but we manage to get whisker photos to be able to identify them later and hopefully in the not too distant future collar them. Eventually, they both slink off into the bush still looking highly nervous. And so we continue along on our transect counting birds and not straying too far from the vehicle.

            Upon returning to camp, Dix (the tracker from Dog Camp) radios Dibatana and asks that we check up on a signal he is getting from Priya, a female cheetah. She is not far off and on the border of our concession and Moremi National Park. Katrina, Rio and I shoot off in pursuit. We reach the cutline and hear from Dix that he has actually found her and gives us directions to where he is. We head off road into the bush and spot Dix parked next to some bushes. There underneath is Priya on an impala kill. She is not alone. 

Priya, her cub and the impala kill.

Out of the grass pop 2 beautiful cubs. The one cub rejoins her on the kill and starts munching away. The other cub lazes in the grass obviously quite full already. These cubs can’t be more than 4 months old and have not been seen with her before. All 3 are in beautiful condition and not at all bothered with us parked a mere 7/8m away. 

The one cub, what a cutie. And so relaxed.

We managed to watch them for about an hour before we have to head to the airstrip to pick up Kerry, one of Rodney’s friends visiting from Johannesburg. What a great moment, sitting in the bush and watching these magnificent creatures. Not only is it wonderful to be able to see these cheetah, it is even better that they are not at all fazed by our proximity. 

Priya

             In the late afternoon, I head out on another drive with Kerry as no one else wants to go out, as it had been a sweltering day to say the least. The elephant numbers in the area appear to be growing rapidly and each plain is littered with herds. Priya and her cubs are no longer with their kill but have moved back into Moremi, where we are not allowed to venture. We do however manage to pick up Chellak, a male leopard, who is close by. We track him to a thick island of trees and venture in to find him. I spot him lying on his back, paws in the air, under a low bush. We drive to no more than 6m away from him and he doesn’t even lift his head. We wait patiently for him to get up  or decide its food time or at least feel that he needs to pose for some pictures but eventually we realize that he is in fact not going to move. So we make our way back to camp through the herds of elephants who are now shouting the odds at each other.

            What a great day…lion, cheetah and leopard all in one day. Now that is what you call special. I definitely consider myself incredible lucky to not only see these animals, but also to be able to get so close and not have to share them with any irritating tourists. What a pleasure! I go to bed with the biggest smile on my face and excitement of what is to come tomorrow

A beautiful way to end a day in the Okavango Delta.