Brothers Leo
Two well grown males (brothers) with classic dark manes roam the mopane woodlands.
All Hail the Kings
Lions strolling past within a quick paw's swipe of the safari cars generally get a little attention.
In the open cars, t's hard not to feel like a sandwich on a cafeteria shelf - free food without the stress of a hunt.
Those in the know say lions don't distinguish between the vehicle and the people - they only perceive a single large object. That's a very reassuring theory.
Riding the Bicycle
A very relaxed leopard in what we are told is the classic 'riding the bicycle pose'.
This Little Piggy is in Trouble
A sad ending for this warthog piglet. This female leopard took it into a thick bush. We sat and waited for the next hour to the sounds crunching of bones.
Leopards mostly drag their prey up trees to keep it safe from other predators and enjoy it at leisure. In this case the piglet was consumed in one session.
Ever Vigilant
We watched this female leopard for over two hours. She had picked a tree with a termite mound encompassing its base as a vantage point.
A few impala wandered by. Their luck was in as they didn't get too close. A noisy baboon troop agitated her and she hid behind the trunk as they passed by. Eventually she gave up her vigil and wandered off.
Death in the Mopane Forest
This young elephant was taken down by a pack of spotted hyenas in thick mopane scrub. As the tusks have just began to protrude, we were told it would have been about two and half years old.
Clues of a Battle
We were driving looking for wild dogs as they were denning in the vicinity when our guide noticed dust in the distance. We then stopped at a waterhole to photograph a yellow-billed stork and the guide heard hyenas giggling. He put the puzzle together and we headed for the dust.
Judging by when we first saw the dust, we arrived about 10 minutes after the elephant had been taken down.
Where Was the Herd?
We saw no sign of an elephant herd and we wondered why this youngster had not been protected. How did its mother react? Was it was ill or weak? Another mystery of the African bush never to be resolved.
In Come the Dogs
When we arrived on the scene, wild dogs were circling the hyenas but wisely decided not to challenge the status quo.
Once the hyenas had taken their fill, the dogs returned and picked over the carcass during the next hour.
Wild Dogs in Late Light
We came across this same pack of wild dogs late afternoon the night before the elephant attack. They were just rising after an afternoon siesta and going through their ritual greetings before heading off to hunt.
We followed them as best we could and whilst they came close to a herd of impala, the hunt was unsuccessful. The pack was well dispersed through long grass and this inhibited their ability to track prey.
Endangered Status
Known also as painted dogs or African hunting dogs, wild dogs are endangered due to habitat loss and poaching. They are efficient hunters and thus are a more than little unpopular with farmers.
This pack of 18 was denning nearby and the alpha female was back with the pups. At this time the den had not been located by our guides.
More on wild dogs and the results of a hunt in Okavango Delta Predators.
Serval
These African wild cats are solitary and usually nocturnal so it was a delight to have this one bound past us whilst we were watching lions.
Caracal
Another solitary cat which is also known as a desert lynx.
