Cats, Dogs and an Aardwolf!

Lions with a leopard up a tree

He is perched at the tippy top of the tiniest of branches of the only reasonable sized acacia tree on the way to leopard pan in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve that can serve as his escape. Escape, that is, from four angry lions doing their best to follow him up that tree after he has inadvertently wandered into what is “their” territory. If they catch him, he is dead…literally.

We catch a glimpse of something spotted out of the corner of our eye as we sit and watch four lions, one adult, three still young enough to have spots on their bellies and legs. They are having a nice late afternoon snooze, occasionally waking to taunt the two tortoises they have managed to take hostage. One is flipped on its back, four limbs and head tucked in for safety. We’re not sure if it’s alive or dead. The oldest female watches it curiously but he doesn’t dare make a move. The baby tortoise is, at times, rolled around in the mouth of one of the young ones like a hard candy. Phew…his spits it on the ground and bats it with his paw.

Lioness on the move

Waking up from an afternoon nap

Just a few more minutes of rest

Taunting a tortoise

The leopard stops dead in its tracks as it spots the lions in the open pan. It’s as if we can read his mind, “Freeze,” he thinks, “Don’t move a spot. Maybe they won’t see me.” He sulks to the ground, ears flat, shoulders tucked in tight, tail wrapped around his body, trying to make himself invisible. This works for a while until the adult female lion spots him. They are in a stare off for what seems like five minutes. Nobody moves.

Slowly she rises and heads toward him. He sprints off through the bush. She follows, not in hot pursuit but definitely after him. The three young ones realize something is going on and follow. We drive down the road to see if we can see what will become of this unlucky leopard. By the time we reach the only reasonably tall acacia tree, he is in the top most limbs and all four lions are trying to figure out how to climb up after him. Realizing they can’t do it, they give up and head off down the road. Only after he is sure they are gone does he start his precarious decent. Interestingly he does not completely descent to the ground and run off. Rather he secures his safety in higher ground and watches to make sure they are truly gone. First, he climbs down to between two large limbs where we can visibly see him taking deep breaths. Then, he moves to a more comfortable seated position for further observation and finally, lying with belly wedged between two branches, his breathing calms and he rests a bit. Looking at us, then looking down the road, he sees their return long before we do and then chooses a quick descent and immediate departure from the scene of his near death experience.

Lions give up and head down the road

Initial descent perched between two limbs

Still watching for lions

A bit more relaxed, for now

Storm clouds brewing at sun downers

Despite the heavy rains (four days of socked in rain in the Central Kalahari…I thought this was a desert??) and, when it wasn’t raining, extreme heat, we had a delightful safari into the Kalahari, up to the Khwai River, then on to Savute in Chobe National Park. It started on the first night with the most amazing sky at “sundowners” (an evening tradition in the bush) when our evening glass of wine ushered in storm clouds and inevitable showers. 

Rain in the distance at sundown, Central Kalahari

 While some safaris produce “lion anxiety” (when, as a guide, you anxiously hope for a lion sighting because your clients so desperately want to see “cats”), on this one cats were the theme of the trip. In twelve days we say, one pride of five lions and a leopard in the Central Kalahari, one leopard and a small spotted genet on a night drive near the Khwai River, two male lions on two separate occasions up in Savute and a pride of two adult females with seven cubs on our way back to camp one night tucked under a bush as we rounded the corner (only about five hundred meters from our camp sight) and…oh yeah, another leopard from a distance in Savute (as we peered off with our binoculars trying to catch a glimpse of the leopard drawing so much attention from another safari vehicle, I felt kind of bad thinking “this really isn’t a great leopard sighting” because, of course, all leopard sightings are great, but some are more great than others). Absolutely unbelievable…I guess that makes up for the lack of lions from May to August last year. The “cat drought” is over.

Pride of nine on the way to camp

Old male lion in Savute

Large herds of elephants blocked our passage on roads, came closer for a curious look as we watched them bathe in the mud and graze the fresh grasses brought on by the rain. At one campsite we had tucked our tent into the cover of trees hoping for some relief from the relentless sun during the day, only to realize our locations may have been too “tucked away” for the elephants to see us at night as they browsed the tree leaves near our tent and grazed on the grasses. At one point it was “elephants to the left of us, elephants to the right” as Paul and I stood and watched out the screen windows of the tent hoping they wouldn’t take a short cut through the trees in which we had set up our home. Crunch, crunch, rip, rip, chew, chew, plop, plop, plop (as massive poop hits the ground)…we stand silent hoping for the best.

Curios ellie takes a closer look

Carmine Bee Eater

The summer rains and high grasses also bring more insects creating a delectable buffet for birds. We saw more than a hundred different species of birds on this trip and some of my favorites were the Lilac Breasted Roller, a common African beauty and the Carmine Bee Eater, who migrates to Africa during this time of the year. On one drive through high grasses in the Savute marsh we were escorted by multiple Carmines flying up and around our vehicle, swooping down swiftly to scoop up bugs we’ve dislodged with our movement. It was magical, as if we were being escorted by flying flashes of purplish red, green and turquoise. Stunning!

Lilac Breasted Roller

Our days start with a cacophony of sound which reminds me of a symphony warming up. Each bird singing its own song to start the day; uncoordinated tweets and whistles waking you from your sleep.  We’re never quite sure what any day on safari might bring but this sure is a nice start.

Aardwolf Yoda imitation

One day we are entertained by the curiosity of an aardwolf in the Central Kalahari whom I happen to catch a glimpse of as he pops his head out of his den looking like Yoda from Star Wars. Head pops up, he takes a quick look around, head goes back down. As a nocturnal creature he should be sleeping in preparation for his nightly feast of insects but this particular day he’s too curious to sleep.

Then next day we are following a pack of nine wild dogs as they kill an impala. As one takes off in hot pursuit of its next meal, the others follow, on the job training so to speak for the five young pups. We miss the actual kill (fortunately, don’t really need to see the cute defenseless impala killed) but manage to see the pursuit and the feast after the fact. The pups are allowed to eat first, while the four adults wait in the wings. The pups chirp and tweet as they pull at what remains of the carcass. We wonder if these pups might be the off spring of the pregnant dog we saw in this same area back in July. They would be about the right age. When they are finished, nothing remains of their young victim. They seek shade with full bellies for an afternoon nap.

Wild dogs in Khwai River Area

Wild Dogs on the Kill

Baby Impala (not the victim of the kill)

Our days end with the ritual of “sundowners” where a nice glass of wine greets a beautiful African sunset which never fail to cause one to stop and reflect on the highlights of the day and appreciate all that one has been so lucky to see. 

Sunset at Khwai River

Sunset in Savute