January Sightings from Kwando at Tau Pan

The elephants that were seen last month did not make an appearance again, but their spoor and droppings were seen in the Passage Pan area. January seems to have been the month of races, with cheetah, leopard and lions all seen running in the Tau Pan area, often being followed – or following – jackals and bat-eared foxes. Two lions made an attempt to chase down a cheetah with her two cubs – a rather foolish thing when you know the cheetahs are built for speed. However, cheetahs cannot hold the speed for extended periods, so perhaps there was a plan to the lions chase. Luckily for the cheetahs, they managed to get away. Throughout the month, cheetah was seen almost every day around Tau Pan, usually the mother with the two cubs, but sometimes an adult on his own. The adult managed to kill a baby springbok, and a young collared male has visited the water hole to drink during brunch time – probably a good time to do so as the resident lions have moved off by then. The Tau Pan Lion pride was seen regularly as well, with the whole pride playing around the pan, and the adults roaring – territorial calling – in the early morning and evening. Later in the month, three of the adult lions decided to pop by the managers house for part of the afternoon game drive, but luckily left when Thuso needed to get ready for dinner! For general game, lots of Oryx, springbok, kudu and steenbok were sighted in the area, and a herd of 15 wildebeest with 8 young also frequented the area. Several black-backed jackal couples are seen on every drive, each with puppies of their own.