AFRICAN SAFARI NEWS
October 2005

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But the Okavango has a way of defying death in the sheer exuberance of life here. Even as the last grasses of winter wither and curl up under the acacia trees, the promise of rebirth is everywhere, from the swelling curves of the bellies of the female impalas, who will begin to give birth in just a few weeks, to the exploding green leaf buds on Baobab Bob. As he prepares to come into leaf and to stand guardian over another of the countless hundreds of summers he has lived through, Bob is providing shelter to a brood of young Meyer's Parrots, who themselves will go on to propagate other trees as they drop seeds during feeding.

The concentrations of game around the major channels, particularly in the Simbira and Moporota areas, are quite outstanding, with the stripes of hundreds, even thousands of zebra shimmering in the heat waves, and the massive shapes of elephant herds appearing like mirages of lost cities as they follow the ancient paths that only they know to the water.

As channels dry up into disconnected pools, like a diamond necklace snapped and spilled on the ground, the hapless barbel and other fish that did not manage to escape are pursued mercilessly by many birds, which systematically clear each fish trap of its besieged residents. Most spectacular among the birds are the giant, unwieldy pelicans, which retire to roost each evening in the Mokolwane Palm trees, lending a prehistoric aspect to the timeless Delta sunsets with their hunched pterodactyl-like silhouettes.

October is hot, and there's no denying it. However there are many ways of coping with and enjoying the summer heat - many of which we have learnt from observing nature around us. While we haven't yet tried wallowing in mud, hippo-style, we know how refreshing a dip in the cool plunge pool can be, and we have taught many guests the trick with the wet kikoi, which makes for a very relaxing mid-afternoon siesta.

As November's temperatures are often reduced by the eventual onset of the rains, October is perhaps our hottest month. Daytime temperatures reached from 35°C to 39°C (100°F to 108°F) while nights were warm, from 13°C to 22°C (56°F to 74°F). Despite the recent timpani sounds of thunder - answered by echoing applause from us - we did not experience any rainfall at Mombo in October. Watch this space, though.

Wildlife
In every sense Mombo is an oasis away from the cares and worries of the worlds, and the lush green grasses on the floodplains surrounding Little Mombo in particular have played host to several breeding herds of elephant; it is easy to be lulled into a state of extreme relaxation watching the gentle swishing of their trunks as they pluck bunches of grass and then slap it against their legs to shake off any sand (so that it doesn't cause wear on their teeth). Some of the herds have tiny calves - on a game drive at the very beginning of the month we just missed seeing the miracle of birth but got to see a calf's first teetering steps into the world outside the womb.

Mombo is of course a fantastic place to be born an elephant, but even here there are serpents in the grass, hidden dangers about which a young elephant knows nothing. One evening the air was rent by the distressed trumpeting of a female elephant, and then shattered by the diabolical giggling of hyaena - a noise usually heard when they are excited at a kill or in danger. We only learned the true, terrible story the next day: a cow elephant had left the herd to give birth, and had then become separated from them. Her newborn calf was seized by several hyaena and she was unable to chase them all away.

Thankfully the merciful cloak of night hid this event from us - it would have been a very harrowing scene to witness. Elephants are one of the few animals thought to grieve in a similar way to us, so we could see the sadness of the mother who had lost her calf for days afterwards.

The elephants have shared the Mombo floodplains with a great many zebra, lechwe, and occasionally, huge herds of buffalo. Sometimes in the evenings a stately parade of giraffes will leave the shade of an island treeline, and make their graceful progress down to the water to drink. As the sun sets, our resident porcupine emerges from his palm island to gorge on palm fruits, and perhaps a nervous herd of impala too, spooked by the real or imagined shape of a hyaena. And over their heads, the rhythmic swoosh as Spur-winged Geese flap their way to their roosts, and the occasional soft whistle when one of them is missing a feather.

So much game of course means a real concentration of predators at Mombo. Mombo's legendary cheetah coalition, the two grizzled brothers known as the Steroid Boys, have been much in evidence again this month. Although they range over huge areas of Chief's Island in the heart of the Moremi Game Reserve, they return time and again to this one special corner of the reserve, drawn here by the prevalence of their preferred prey, impala.

Their sudden transformation from being stationary - although watchful - on a termite mound into a blur of spots streaking across the tawny savannah never fails to thrill anyone who has the privilege of watching these speed merchants in action. The Steroid Boys have long been known for unusual behaviour, and they have rewritten the rulebooks several times - not least when they mastered the technique of chasing red lechwe into water, and drowning them.

Confrontations between leopard and cheetah are rare, which is probably a good thing for the slighter cheetah, as they invariably come off second-best and are forced to rely on their speed to keep them out of trouble. This month however we watched a fascinating episode when they succeeded in chasing off a male leopard which was attempting to pirate their kill. The leopard beat an ignominious retreat into the nearest tree, and to the victors the spoils - the two brothers were then able to continue feeding on the impala carcass.

We are watching every development with our new pack of wild dogs with bated breath, as it seems they may be on the verge of establishing themselves in this area again. Perhaps this may be the start of a return to the dog days of the late 1990s when wild dogs were one of the most visible predators at Mombo. The three adults we have been seeing all year had three puppies which began accompanying them on their hunts, although during this month one of the half-grown puppies has disappeared.

Despite this tragedy, and their reduction in strength, these champion survivors have clung onto their foothold at Mombo undaunted, and we have had some fantastic sightings of the pack this month. One of the best was actually from the deck of Camp, late one afternoon when they came trotting across the floodplain, their multi-coloured coats striking fear into the hearts of the antelope, and their brilliant white tail tips streaming out behind them in the rosy evening light. One of those African moments that remains with you always.

The wild dogs too have had to dispute with leopards over kills on at least one occasion, and even our fearless young Far Eastern Pan Male, was obliged to jump into a tree to escape the snapping jaws of the indignant dogs. Nearby, a much larger leopard in a Jackalberry watched the incident with perhaps a measure of interest - this was the young male's father, the wily old Burnt Ebony Male.

Lion
As their roars echo through the Camp, the Mombo lions are very difficult to ignore. Whether it is the young cubs, growing up fast and getting into new mischief each day, or the old male who has formed a coalition with two younger, nomadic males, the lions here are a constant source of awe and excitement.

The evening meal is always a highlight of the safari day: great food and excellent wines to accompany reliving the day's adventures, but sometimes even highlights have to be postponed. As we were collecting the guests from their tents for dinner one evening, the sharp ears of one of our guides, Francis, picked up the distinctive sounds of lions arguing over a kill, and we soon realised that one of the guest tents offered the best vantage point, so we all trooped onto the deck to watch an impala kill change hands, from the six young lions who had killed it, to the coalition of three males.

The strongest of the three took, well, the lion's share and refused to let his companions join him as he crunched through the ribs just a few metres below us. No honour among thieves! We watched the whole drama, spellbound, and when it was all over, and the disappointed hyaenas had slipped away into the darkness, we finally returned to the dining room. I think a lot of our guests ordered the vegetarian option that night!

Rhino
October is in many ways a month of waiting: waiting for new leaves to sprout, for new impala lambs to take their first ungainly steps, for the first scarlet flash of a Carmine Bee-eater swooping alongside the vehicle to snap up an unfortunate grasshopper. Some animals just can't seem to wait, however, and with a gestation period of sixteen months, you can understand a white rhino female getting impatient to give birth.

And so it was this month that we found yet another new white rhino calf - our seventh since we started our joint rhino reintroduction project with the Botswana government just four years ago. This was the smallest calf we have yet found on our monitoring patrols - only three or four days old and still too small for us to know if it is a male or a female. The mother is Kabelo, one of the first rhinos to be released at Mombo in November 2001. In fact, by a happy coincidence, we discovered this latest calf on October 19th, the fourth anniversary of rhino returning to Mombo after an absence of perhaps two decades: a perfect way to celebrate this conservation milestone.

Guest Experience
In addition to cool, wet kikois, we've been helping our guests cool off with iced drinks around the pool, and to make the most of sunny days in the bush with picnics under shady umbrella trees - featuring Craig's infamous chocolate Amarula sauce pancakes. We’ve been sampling the dishes on the new summer menu with delight - everything from Jerusalem artichoke soup with extra virgin olive oil, through yellow fin tuna tartare with avocado and tomato salsa and fresh lime and ginger dressing, to mango-yogurt ice cream with wild berry syrup. A glass of homemade lemonade to wash it all down and waiting for the first rain shower of summer really isn't too arduous at all!

Guest Feedback
As always, we will leave the last word on the wonders of Mombo and Little Mombo in October to the guests who shared them with us:
- Our guide Brooks was outstanding - as was the hospitality!
- Lee was an extremely intelligent and sensitive guide
- All was fantastic and the staff were excellent
- Lee, Tlamelo, and the rest of the staff were phenomenal. We can't forget Caitlin either - she was terrific!
- The best safari Camp in Botswana!
- The highlight was the lions and leopards up close and personal!
- It is the experience of a lifetime and we especially hope our daughters get to enjoy it - we will spread the word! We would not change a thing!
- Keep up the good work - you do not need to change a thing!

Tubu’s average minimum and maximum temperatures for October were 22° and 35°C respectively. It is traditionally the hottest month and the swimming pool was often filled with guests at midday. Cold outdoor showers, room fans and copious amounts of iced tea have helped us through the month.

The night drives have produced some very interesting sightings, such as Marsh Owls, civets and Selous’ mongoose. This is only the second time this species has been recorded at Tubu. A serval was seen hunting rodents on the edge of a rapidly drying pan; the serval uses its oversized ears to locate its prey and then pounces from heights of a metre. Rodents make up the majority of its diet along with invertebrates and small lizards.

Guests standing on the deck of Tent 2 before breakfast one morning, looking out over the floodplain, were lucky enough to notice a pair of aardvark disappearing into a palm island. It seemed to be a mother and her young judging by the size difference between the two animals. This is one of the hardest animals to see due to their secretive habits and the unsociable hours they keep, often only beginning a night’s foraging around 22h00 or 23h00.

Another great sighting was the congregation of more than a thousand zebra on a floodplain south of camp, accompanied by wildebeest and tsessebe. The first zebra foals have been seen among the herds, staying very close to their mothers, apart from when the excitement of four new legs becomes too much.

For the birders we had many exciting events this month, with “fishing parties” at the top of the list. As the floodwaters recede, many fish are trapped in small pools providing an easy meal for many bird species. The small pool creates a feeding frenzy as many bird species, including Pink-backed and White Pelicans, Marabou, Saddle-billed and Yellow-billed Storks chase the fish into the shallows, squabbling and fighting over their catches. Great photographic opportunities!

The first summer migrants have arrived and none more noticeable than the Woodland Kingfisher. This beautiful turquoise kingfisher, which eats small frogs and insects, not fish, inhabits the woodland where it can be heard making its unmistakable call. Other colourful migrants making their first appearances are European and Carmine Bee-eaters, Wahlberg’s Eagles and Yellow-billed Kites. Recent sightings include Marico Sunbirds, Palm Swifts, Broad-billed Rollers, Scaly-feathered Finches and, along the water’s edge, White-browed and Black Coucals, Slaty Egrets and Black-crowned Night Herons.

Six new lions arrived in the area this week – great news for Moa’s Lion Monitoring Programme. Whisker patterns are used to identify individuals, and comparisons with animals on records confirmed that these lions had never been seen before at Tubu. The first pride of three females - one adult and two sub-adults - were found sleeping one morning in the southern part of the concession; later that night they brought down a young wildebeest. The excited guests watched in fascination as a male lion appeared out of the darkness followed by two adult females. The late arrivals chased off the three females, the male declaring his rights to the kill with loud roars. We hope to see more of these lions in the months to come.

We look forward to having you here with us at Tubu.
Tubu Greetings!
Anton and Carrie

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Mokoro trips are of course still very busy, with hundreds of birds moving into the ever-increasing shallows around camp. A large flock of Spur-winged Geese has been camping in front of the lodge and can be seen feeding madly in the shallows. On one occasion, an African Fish Eagle almost collided with one as he tried to swoop down and catch a fish, much to the fright of the goose! A couple of Striped Kingfishers and lots of Little Bee-eaters are hanging around as well. A treat for now is the sighting of sitatunga on several occasions. This will be more frequent as the water drops and they become more mobile. Pel's Fishing Owl is also around and has been sighted right here in camp a few times.

Elephants are ever frequent in camp, but it seems Jack has moved south to better food. He did eat everything here after all. A few new chaps are hanging around. One little guy is really cheeky and snapped off a Tikki Lantern at ground level, right in front of us. He did it out of pure mischief.

Lions have been seen sleeping, mating, sleeping, mating, and more sleeping. Two new big males have been camping on the Jao and Kwetsani floodplains. The more dominant one has enjoyed the attentions of the lady that frequents the area. This must be very tiring, as he is mostly seen sleeping. Leopard have been calling near to camp and have been seen occasionally out on drive. One female seems to be heavy with milk and quite possibly has cubs hidden in a thicket. A very special cat sighting was that of an African wildcat carrying a kitten in broad daylight to a more secluded spot. She obviously thought the helicopter landing area was a little close for comfort.

Out on the plains, the numbers of lechwe are diminishing as they follow the water. Many are arriving at Jacana and will provide awesome viewing in the next months. A few giraffe are ambling about and more and more big buffalo bulls are wallowing in the muddy areas or grazing in the shallows. The usual residents: zebra, wildebeest, tsessebe and impala can be seen lazily grazing and herding on the plains

Temperatures are soaring up to 40° Celsius and the humidity is increasing slightly. The last week has delighted everybody with a few clouds sprouting up in the afternoon sky.

November is here and we look forward to Bana Ba Naga (Children in the Wilderness) at the end of the month.

Cheers,
Vonan & Chez
The Jacana Management Team

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As to be expected, there was a lot of animal activity on the fringes of the retreating channel systems - the only place where water is available, although it is fast dwindling.

The pools of water in the channel west of the camp have been a focal point for thirsty elephants, and every day we saw dozens of them coming down to drink, bathe and have a dust bath before setting off in their eternal quest to satisfy their enormous appetites. The plunge pool in the camp has been a favourite watering hole for our resident baboon troop, and their antics have been extremely amusing to watch in the afternoons, as the youngsters tussle amongst each other, carefully watched by their mothers and the large male guardians.

Seven female lions and their nine cubs killed an impala ram close to the camp one night, and then a couple of nights later killed a zebra on the open area within sight of Chitabe Trails. Ebs had anticipated them ambushing a herd of zebra heading for the water, and true to form, it happened right in front of him and his guests.

We also had some wonderful wild dog sightings - one afternoon they caught and killed an impala, and while their attention was diverted as they called their cubs to the kill, a hyaena arrived on the scene to try his luck. When confronting a large but lone opponent like a hyaena, the dogs use their superior speed and numbers to harass the intruder - biting at the hindquarters and keeping up the chase until it eventually gives up - in this case, across a water channel. In another instance, the wild dogs were relaxing after a morning hunt when a male lion picked up their scent. He burst out of the woodland where he had been lying and ran after the pack, but fortunately they had heard his approach and made off at top speed with no injuries sustained. They must still remember their last run-in with the lions that left two of them injured - one without an ear.

Out in the dry Acacia woodland on the way to the Gomoti Channel, a dead elephant was the scene of many other interactions between two prides of lions, a clan of hyaena and of course jackals and vultures.

One afternoon, Ben found a leopard in a compromising position up a skinny tree as a herd of elephants browsed casually around it. The leopard had rushed up the nearest tree to avoid the elephants - unfortunately it wasn't the sturdiest tree, and as the giant pachyderms obliviously browsed away, the cat struggled to maintain a dignified position above them! Ebs found a shy male leopard with a kill in the Maun Road area - and we believe he is a newcomer to the territory. Phinley found a leopard female on an impala kill, and we have the feeling that she might be hiding a cub somewhere in the Maun road area.

Cheetah sightings have been scarce this month, considering the extreme dryness and lack of vegetation, but Phinley found a family group of four one morning, hunting near the Gomoti. Closer in from there, Ebs found two in the Balance Plant area. At the beginning of the month, Relax and his guests were fortunate enough to observe an entire hunt, from stalk to kill, as a female cheetah brought down an Impala in a cloud of dust … the only actual kill sequence seen over the course of the month.

The weather has been typical for October, which is extremely hot and dry, although the maximum temperatures recorded were not as high as in previous years. The average highs stayed around 35°C, while the lows hovered around the 21° mark. On some days we had cloud cover bringing welcome relief from the heat, and some clouds even appeared to be bearing rain, although this must have been deposited elsewhere.

Game however has been unbelievable with sightings of all the predators being regularly recorded and elephant numbers still as abundant as usual. The waterhole has provided some spectacular sundowner opportunities in the hide, when gin and tonics are shared with hundreds of elephants drinking, bathing and splashing within a stone’s throw.

Well over 1000 elephants are drinking at the waterhole during the course of the day at the moment. We have been lucky enough to have had an elephant birth near Tent # 6, and the young calf was seen stumbling around following its mother near the waterhole. We have also had a number of visits from our blind elephant bull “Ray Charles”, who keeps us all busy by utilising any plumbing pipe that he can find for his watering needs!

The elephants have also been watched by other animals in the Savuti area and we have been witness to three elephant calves that have been killed by spotted hyaena in the last month. The first sighting was on the first of the month when the Camp Clan pulled down a small elephant calf in the early hours of the morning, at the camp waterhole.

One of the most dramatic sightings this month was the rescue of an elephant calf by a herd after it was attacked by a hyaena clan numbering around 20. The guides found a lone elephant cow trying to protect her calf which was being held down by the hyaenas. The elephant cow could not make any headway, because as she would chase one away there would be another to come in and take hold of the calf. During this incident the noise levels were astounding with the elephant cow screaming and trumpeting in anger and the little calf squealing with fear. As the guides watched, a herd, attracted by the commotion, approached; then as a unit they ran in chasing off the hyaenas. The cow and calf were then kept protected in the middle of the group as they all moved into the woodland away from the scene. The guests and guides sat there amazed at the how the herd had come in and saved the calf from certain death and had done so, so quickly.

The leopard sightings this month have been amazing. The most common sightings have been of the Manchwe Female and her 7-month-old cub, who have their territory centred around Savuti Camp. During the month the only large trees that have had a good leaf covering have been the Sausage Trees (Kigelia africana). This has also been the tree around which we have the majority of our sightings: the female leopard utilises the tree as hunting platform. With the dark red flowers falling to the ground and attracting impala she patiently waits while the prey come to her, before dropping out of the tree onto the selected victim. The hunting method seems to be one that is employed all over the Delta, with reports from other camps of leopards doing the same thing. We have also been seeing the Rock Pan Female to the east of camp and the Chobe 1 Female and cub up near the river.

The Savuti lion pride has been concentrating its activities along the Linyanti River with the best sighting being of the pride feeding on a giraffe that they chased into the water. The three cubs are all still healthy and the females taking good care of them. We also had a sighting of two new males who killed a buffalo calf just north of the airstrip, one of them being very nervous and moving off almost immediately.

The wild dog packs have also been a regular sighting this month with the Savuti trio being seen around the camp and waterhole quite regularly, often entertaining guests in the hide when they come to drink in the late afternoon. The larger pack has been seen patrolling the riverine area and they seem to be doing very well, being seen on a number of kills ranging from warthog to impala and red lechwe. They have managed to keep all the pups for the month and the pack now numbers 23, with twelve adult dogs and eleven pups.

General game has been fantastic with large herds of zebra visiting the waterhole in the morning along with kudu, wildebeest, impala, warthog and baboon. We have also been lucky enough to have had regular sightings of the herd of roan antelope which frequent the road from the airstrip. Early one morning the guests were treated to a small herd of eland, which are the largest antelope species in Botswana, come down to drink at the waterhole. These antelope are not often seen in the Savuti area but the dry season has forced them to come in search of water.

Birding is always good and a large number of raptors are being seen in the Channel. We have also had some new arrivals with the Ostrich pairs all running around with clutches of new chicks. There has also been the return of some of the migratory species with sightings of Broad-billed Roller, European Bee-eater, Wahlberg’s Eagle and the stunning Carmine Bee-eaters.

Well, we have seen the first traces of the rainy season approaching, with huge cloud banks building up on the eastern horizon and all of us at Savuti waiting expectantly for the first big drops of rain to signal the end of a long hot dry season and the beginning of summer.

Seeing a mature elephant lying down is fairly unusual in most parts of their range but up here in the Linyanti, at this time of the year, it is a daily event. When returning from the morning game drives you will see these huge animals clustered together in the shade of trees, with some in the horizontal position!

There also seems to be an increase in the amount of elephant births taking place, with one being witnessed by a very fortunate group of guests. Unfortunately with the added burden of feeding their young, some of the female elephants are not coping and as quickly as some of the babies are entering the world they are departing. However sad this may seem, it is providing the predators and scavengers with easy meals.

Whether there is a link or not, I am not sure, but we are also seeing an increase in young from the predators and for example, on one game drive, the Kings Pool guests were treated to lions with cubs, a cheetah and cub, as well as a leopard with her cub. While on the subject of elephants and predators there have been some unusual sightings, such as when a mature bull elephant died in the river and we witnessed as many as 20 crocodiles, some in excess of 16 feet, make short work of the carcass. There was also a young elephant that died near the sunken hide and, instead of the guests watching elephants coming down to drink, they watched eight hyaena clean up the carcass to the point where all that was left was a dark stain on the ground. Another indicator of the heat is seeing up to 12 hyaena wallowing in the pan at the sunken hide, during the middle of the day.

We have been very fortunate this month as far as sightings of the high profile animals are concerned with totals of 45 lion sightings, 42 sightings of leopard (sometime 3 different leopards seen on a single game drive) and 14 sightings of wild dogs, all occurring between the 25th of September and the 25th of October. One of the special leopard sightings was on the 24th of this month when a female leopard, known as the Boscia Female, introduced her new cub to us and our guests.

Of course the dry conditions have resulted in some awesome game viewing, with wildlife concentrated around the permanent waters of the Linyanti river/lagoon system situated in front of our camp. The species diversity of our wildlife sightings remain spectacular and for the month have included the following: lion, leopard, cheetah, caracal, African wildcat, wild dogs, spotted hyaena, elephant, buffalo, zebra, giraffe, blue wildebeest, roan antelope, sable, black-backed jackal, bat-eared fox, aardwolf, porcupine, greater kudu, red lechwe, impala, crocodile, warthog, eland, ostrich, baboon, tsessebe, Wattled Crane, Martial Eagle, Giant Eagle Owl, Kori Bustard, vervet monkey, lesser bushbaby, southern African python, snouted cobra, black mamba, and variegated bush snake.

The sheer number of elephant in our area remain awesome and their stress levels are clearly visible as a result of their depleted food resources, however the rains are expected any day now, upon which the breeding herds would head out into the Mopane forests, no longer dependant upon the permanent Linyanti waters as the rains will bring long awaited relief in the form of surface water to the many pans in the area.

During October, we enjoyed spectacular and numerous wild dog sightings of the now awesome pack of 23 dogs (12 adults and 11 pups). The pups are now old enough to actively participate in the hunt and with such a large pack, they often kill twice a day, providing for a feast of sightings for our overwhelmed guests. Probably the wildlife sighting for the month was seeing the dogs in camp during early morning breakfast chasing an impala, which ran underneath the boardwalk of our dinning room with the dogs in hot pursuit. The impala was then chased into the lagoon in front of our camp and whilst the dogs were pondering their next move on the bank, two crocodiles suddenly appeared out of nowhere to grab and drown the rather unfortunate antelope before devouring it. The dogs were not at all impressed but our guests were totally amazed - what an incredible sighting. Our guests have also witnessed some very interesting interactions between wild dogs and hyaena as well as wild dogs and leopard - all competing for the same tasty food resource of usually impala or kudu.

The three remaining lion cubs are doing well and are regularly seen together with the two lionesses taking care of them (two of the cubs perished with one being taken by a leopard). The four dominant male lions in our area might soon face a tough challenge with the news that a coalition of 6 young males has just entered our area. A major showdown is therefore imminent. The fantastic and well known brotherhood of two cheetah (the 3rd perished some months ago of suspected snake bite) are looking awesome and are also regularly seen in our area. Our leopard sightings for the month have also been phenomenal with good sightings virtually every day.

As we now anxiously await the coming rains, the familiar and most beautiful sound of the Woodland Kingfisher has again suddenly arrived - a sure sign of the changing seasons at DumaTau. Regardless of season, this truly remains an amazing place to be.

Linyanti Greetings
IAN & THE DUMATAU TEAM

Mid?month and the seriously nocturnal witnessed an exciting battle between a lioness and a porcupine in our kitchen! While we can only speculate as to what actually happened, the scattered quills tell a tale of a wounded lion. We suspect the tracks belong to the lioness regularly seen at the Jack's waterhole during the latter part of September and early October. During the month on more than one occasion guides met up with cattle post owners looking for lion. Armed and accompanied by tracker dogs, the cattle post owners are understandably irate at the loss of their cows, and intent on shooting the culprit. While fences in Botswana remain an emotive topic, we hope that the thoughtful positioning of the fence around the Makgadikgadi will prevent this sort of thing happening, and satisfy both the cattle owners and those of us interested in the preservation of wildlife and the environment. For unexplained reasons the case against the person accused of gin-trapping and killing two lionesses with cubs in July was dropped and his gin traps returned to him. Not only two reproductive females, but the cubs, too young to survive on their own, are now no longer part of the already small Makgadikgadi lion population.

Glyn Maude, busy with a brown hyaena project in the Makgadikgadi, estimates that at least 5 browns are caught for every lion - a serious impact on two carnivore populations already challenged by the harsh environment. This month saw an exciting first for Glyn ? Randall Moore of Elephant Back Safaris very generously allowed Hal Bowker to fly his light aircraft to the Makgadikgadi and Hal and Glyn did the first moonlight flights tracking browns! The reflection at full moon being so luminous off the pans, the two took off at around 11pm and flew till the early hours of the morning, both of them just blown away by the experience!

No rain yet, although the cloud build-up is promising.

Raptor sightings in September were very good ? Martial Eagles, Pale and Dark Chanting Goshawks and Black-shouldered Kites were regularly sighted, and the birding guests at Jack?s at the time shared our excitement at the first Yellow-billed Kites of the season. The spectacular flight of the Bateleur Eagle is a sight that has thrilled many, and this September, it was as though the species had arranged an air show in front of our mess tent. Graham had an excellent sighting of a Black-chested Snake Eagle ? the still-bare trees enabling really good photographs. It is always gratifying when guests return from a game drive with good shots, and particularly now that digital enables them to share with those of us in camp.

Quad biking remained a very popular activity and it always gains a special position in our guiding as we realise the first clouds signify the season drawing to a close. As Jack?s has become busier, we have had to become even more conscious of the need to preserve the incredibly fragile environment to which we are lucky enough to have access. With the onset of the rains, as we have to stop quadding, the pans can have a well-earned rest. However, as with so many things, new possibilities appear on the horizon and our thoughts turn to zebras and the Makgadikgadi National Park - 4 900 square kilometres of pristine pan and grassland we are fortunate enough to have on our doorstep.

Another first of the season – a leatherback nest! While we were diving at Aerial, Darryl saw the tracks on the shore from the boat and when we got back to the beach we went to have a closer look. These turtles can grow up to 2 metres in length and can weigh up to 1 ton. This female was definitely a good size judging by the width of her tracks on the beach. We saw her nest site on the morning of the 15th October, which is the ‘official’ start of the nesting season. The following day was also very exciting as we saw a leatherback turtle swimming on the surface; this does not happen often as they are very secretive and normally live at depths of up to 1000 metres, only coming back to the same beach to lay their eggs. Could it be the same female whose nest we had seen the day before?

The female loggerhead turtles also lay their eggs on these beaches. As predicted, the male turtles start to become more interested in females at this time of year – they don’t even seem to mind if the females are not of the turtle variety! Leza had a very close encounter midmonth. She had surfaced with a diver and still had a lot of time left to dive, so decided to descend and join the rest of the dive group. As she was making her way down the reef she got that feeling that something was behind her, she turned and sure enough there was a very large loggerhead turtle. She stopped and watched it come closer and closer, quite intrigued she started to stroke its shell, and then advanced to tickling its neck as it snuggled in closer seeming to love the attention. Leza then noticed that it was a male and upon seeing the glint in his eyes, was suddenly not so sure of his intentions! The turtle then did its best to get behind her, as she did her best to keep him at bay! An awkward situation was avoided as the rest of the divers interrupted their romantic interlude! Leza … no more stroking the male turtles!

The potato bass also try to get as much attention as possible - especially the gang at Pineapple Reef. The Naeser family were all doing their PADI Advanced Course and had split up into teams to do their navigation, where part of the training is to ensure that one can follow a compass bearing. Wendy had her eyes down on the compass and Glynn was looking ahead for any obstacles. Little did he realise that a potato bass could become an obstacle - they certainly can! Not wanting to be left out of the fun and games, one of the middle-sized potato bass had decided to join in! We kept swimming forward as he back-pedalled, trying to see what Wendy was watching so intently on her wrist! Very well done to Glynn, Wendy, Alice, Devon and Claude for completing your Advanced course, despite the obstacles! Congratulations also go out to Wayee and Ethan, who completed their PADI Open Water course here at Rocktail, with the same crazy potato bass!

The 22nd October was a day not to be forgotten. The first dive site was Yellowfin Drop. We saw a big school of blue banded snappers, huge painted crayfish, anemones, potato bass and a big green turtle sleeping under a ledge. Kate and Steven ascended first and got a special treat. Darryl had seen a whale shark and told them to get fins and masks on. Steven had never seen a whale shark before and after hearing that they are harmless, plankton feeders, he bravely got in to snorkel with this 8-metre giant. As more of the divers ascended and heard the news, the excitement grew. The last divers up were Andrew and Clive, who had just seen a blacktip shark at the end of the dive. On hearing that there was a whale shark around, they quickly clambered on the boat, getting ready for the chance to snorkel with it. We drove a short distance when Darryl signalled for everyone to get ready. In we went and everyone got the chance to see the whale shark! Back on the boat we realised that it was not the same one Steven had seen as this one had a big bite out of the top of its caudal (tail) fin.

The second dive was at Elusive where we got to watch a green turtle munching away on seaweed, without even taking notice of us; we hovered for ages watching it. There were also honeycomb eels, devil firefish, scorpion fish, clown triggerfish, paperfish and Homer, the potato bass to keep everyone enthused. Upon surfacing Clive told us that he had seen yet another whale shark – that’s 3 in one day! But he had also been watching humpback whales and we had the chance to see them as well. As we were heading back towards Island Rock