Sightings from Kwando at Nxai Pan

Nxai Pan began the month of December with heavy rains, making the roads more impassable with a mokoro than a vehicle however the sun appeared, soon after to dry up the rain drenched lands. The start of the month also brought the birth of lots of little springboks which did not waste any time before trying to run and jump on their stick-thin legs. The pans at Baines Baobabs were rapidly filled with the rain water– a magnificent sight at any time, but made more magical with the water birds skimming the pans on the hunt for frogs and insects. Cats were in abundance in the first two weeks of the month and were spotted in their usual routine of sleeping. The Cheetahs and Lions all remained in this pattern with the exception of a Leopard sighting along West Road. In mid-December two young cheetah cubs started their learning early when their mother caught a young springbok. As a method of teaching the cubs how to hunt and kill she gave the springbok to her cubs to play with- still alive. Occasionally the springbok live when being handled by the cubs as they are still learning what to do, unfortunately on this occasion the baby springbok was unlucky and did not manage to escape the cheetah cubs. Towards the end of the month Lions and Cheetah could be seen relaxing near natural water holes as very little rain fell after the first few days and the grounds dried up. Many of the other animals including Elephants could be seen doing the same in their attempt to keep cool and hydrated in the heat of the late month. The rain appears to have affected the groupings of the Zebra migration this year as they were spotted moving through the park in two to three groups and spreading further out than usual.