MUDDY HYENA: a dry spell in the rainy season

Giant Baobab in full bloom at Savute (elephant on the left)

It is interesting to live in a place so driven by the weather. While in the States we might check the weather forecast to see if we need to bring an umbrella or wear a heavier sweater, here how much it has rained, if it has rained; if it’s going to rain, if he hasn’t; when it might rain, if it’s been a long time; and which road to take, if it has rained…these are the dominant conversations around town, especially during a dry spell in the rainy season.

A couple weeks back we headed out to the Chobe National Park for a week of camping so Paul could so some mapping for the Wild Life Department and the Anti-Poaching Unit. Any excuse to get out in the bush works for me! We spent our first couple of nights camping on the Savute channel and were amazed at the number of elephants and diversity of birdlife.

Our campsite on the Savute Channel

Elephants in the Savute Channel

Knobbed Bill Ducks

Paul with Carmine bee eater escorts

Despite the heat of the rainy season, there are things to love about Botswana this time of year. One of my favorites is the influx of migratory birds. Specifically, it is hard to match the joy of a carmine bee eater escort. As one drives through the grassy fields in Savute, stirring up bugs as you go, out of nowhere appears the most colorful bee eaters that swoop and swerve all around the vehicle to catch rustled up bug snacks. Evidence of pure joy spreads across our faces! And just as mysteriously as they appear, they disappear, satisfied with their catch.

A closer view of carmines

After Savute we head north toward the Chobe River Front for a few nights stay up that way. Chobe is known for its stunning river front drives, abundance of elephants and diversity of wildlife. Because this rainy season had started out strong (although had recently experienced a two-week dry spell), we suspect that the wildlife may have moved off to graze and drink in other areas. We are shocked by what we find!

Biodiversity on the Chobe River Front

Mid-day one afternoon we are overwhelmed by the number of elephants, giraffes and impala we see in the flood plain. The waters have receded to just an outline of the river and the plains are rich with green grasses. Looking out as we come down toward the river front drive we see, literally, thousands of elephants. Apparently the dry spell has caused the herds to come back to the river front to drink and graze and frolic in the mud. The elephants are rolling in it, digging in it, pushing their siblings down into it. While I know one is not supposed to anthropomorphize animals, they certainly look like they are having fun to me! Even a typically stoic Cape buffalo (one of the most dangerous animals in Africa) enjoys a good mud bath.

A typically stoic Cape buffalo

Must be casual Friday?

Sable on the Chobe flood plains

Patiently waiting vultures

On another afternoon, while in the park we notice an unusual scene. There are several vehicles stopped to investigate what the vultures are waiting for. When an animal has been killed, vultures typically wait their turn perched up in trees until whomever has made the kill is finished. Climbing to the top of our vehicle we see three adult female lions and five cubs. On further investigation we realize that what they've killed is a cow that has crossed over from the Namibian side of the Chobe River. This is a bit of a contested area in that there is wildlife on the Botswana side but cattle on the Namibian side. A cow crossing into the national park is pretty much "dead meat" and the lions have decided, "beef, it's what's for lunch!"

Looking back across the river we notice three Namibians sitting on the banks of the river. We suspect that it was their cow and they are waiting until the tourists leave to cross over and seek revenge. While it might seem risky to kill a lion for killing a cow, Southern Africans LOVE their cows is a way that is hard to explain. A person's wealth is often measured in cows. "Labola" or bride price is often paid in cows. We worry for the lions' safety.

As we are watching, a small family of elephants rush in to push off the lions (perhaps they are concerned for the well-being of their own young; all but one of the adults runs off), the anti-poaching unit outfitted in camouflage and automatic weapons whizzes by. We flag them down and explain the situation. After some cajoling, a couple of them grudgingly agree to see what the Namibians are up to. When they return after speaking with them, they explain that the three are simply "waiting for the lions to cross again" which, of course, is illogical because the lions did not cross the first time (the cows crossed to the Botswana side - there is no way a cow carcass could have been dragged back across the river, up a hill and at least 100 meters toward the treeline). We fear a conflict of interest as these Batswana love their own cows as much as the Namibians do.

Our dirty, dirty vehicle

On our return trip back through Savute we encounter the fall out of a return of the rains. A day or so prior to our return, the area received over 60 mm (~2.5 inches) of rain in one night. What this means for our drive is a long slow mud filled ride up over humps in the sand and splashing plunges into an endless number of mud puddles of varying depths. Fortunately we meet an acquaintance on the road from Maun (headed to Zambia) who advises that we take the road to the left as opposed to the one to the right (where he describes long stretches (over 100 meters) of flooded areas with water up over the bonnet or “hood” in American parlance). The left road proves passable and we race to set up camp before the black skies of an imminent thunderstorm open up to bucket more rain down on us. We are successful and hunker down in the tent with a bottle of red wine, sleeve of crackers and some cheese to enjoy the (mostly) dry inside of the tent (we had a couple leaky corner seams after several hours of rain). When it finally passes we are greeted by a beautiful double rainbow that we will have to remember in our minds since we could not fully capture it in pictures.