Botswana delivers in spades in the Green season

[AKR1]

Onto the famous Tsum- Tsum plains in Kwara. It was a tough drive with Hobbs wrestling to get the vehicle through mud and water but we made it. After a short but brilliant job of tracking with both Baruti, the tracker and Hobbs checking prints and other signs, we found the three Cheetah brothers about to commence a hunt!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AKR1]

Plains Game:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AKR1]

Day three. Lion roars near camp all night and we took off at dawn, saw a Lion print in the ground and Hobbs said they are close. The first Lion was 10 minutes from camp. We saw five male lions that day, an extraordinary morning as we were so close to them, we could smell them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here we experience a full blown Lion roar- it goes right through you from 5 m away, the vehicle appeared to shake!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AKR1]

Sorry for some of the double images- still learning how to post images here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Alex The Lion]

Thanks for sharing these pics, great to catch up some usual suspects.

 

Tsum Tsum has changed dramatically in the last 3 years, and the reeds and now make photography and access pretty challenging.

[AKR1]

A Bull Elephant that had converted a small mud hole into a personal spa.

 

 

 

 

An African Fish Eagle

 

 

 

Cheetah mother and 3 sub-Adult cubs eyeing some Red Lechwes in the swamp far away (must have been a full km). As soon as they saw us they retreated to a bush. It was mid-day and the sun was blazing. I very much doubted they would hunt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The image below shows our location across the Plains- 5 Rivers area Kwara. Actually we had started lunch and then Hobbs observing through binoculars told us to abandon lunch.

 

 

 

The hunt was on. Hobbs was very careful to not influence in any way the Cheetahs or their prey the Red Lechwe. The amazing part was the Lechwe clearly saw the Cheetah mother coming as she was moving briskly in the open plain towards the Lechwe with Zebra in the middle. The Zebra were looking at both us and the Cheetah, but did not appear particularly alarmed.

 

 

 

Below is the Five Rivers area at Kwara, another absolute stunner, like Tsum-trum, but teaming with even more game. The Lechwe are just outside the frame in water now about 5 to 10 m from land.

 

 

[AKR1]

Before we knew the mother cheetah, in 90-95 degree F mid day heat under a blazing sun and being watched by about a 100 Lechwe, accelerates to top speed and dives right into the water grabbing a juvenile Red Lechwe. We were too far to get any good images and the vehicle was now also flying over potholes towards the action. 30 seconds later:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of the Red Lechwe live for another day and are now just about 75m from the feeding cheetahs, knowing they are safe for now,

 

 

 

 

[AKR1]

We finally have our long delayed Lunch. Hobbs (right) and Baruti, job well done.

 

 

That evening:

 

 

That afternoon:

 

 

 

 

 

A shot of us driving through the water that was everywhere, despite the floods being low at this time of the year.

 

 

 

A hunting Cerval Cat. I could not get a good image as it was moving around fast:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AKR1]

Next Day, a boat ride in the delta.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A rare Sitatunga deer seen from the boat at Kwara:

 

[AKR1]

That evening, we were tracking a lion pride but lost them despite day old prints, mostly washed out by the overnight showers. We had our sundowners at this spot

 

 

 

And just as we were finishing up heard a growl from not far away, just past those bushes in the foreground. It soon became dark and in the thickets looking for lions, we had a puncture that Hobbs changed in record time, with all of us flashing our flashlights into the now pitch black. Soon we saw this:

 

 

 

 

And the male polishing off the final part of a zebra

 

 

 

 

[AKR1]

 

 

 

 

 

[AKR1]

Duba Plains:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AKR1]

The following are images of three lion cubs of around 8 months age. We found them one glorious afternoon at Duba Plains, in the Lion Pan area and spent about 4 hours with them. Their mother is known as Ma di Tau and made famous by the Jouberts movie, the Last Lions. Duba Plains has had a terrible problem for over a decade with cub killing female lionesses and I was led to believe it still happens. Therefore it is just perfect that these three stunning cubs have reached this age and hopefully they will become magnificent adult lions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watched over by a trio of Kingfishers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is the direction they were looking at where their mother had presumably gone:

 

[Game Warden]

Some cracking atmospheric images: well worth the wait...

[madaboutcheetah]

Thanks a lot for the pictures ........ several cracking ones!!! Loved the one, with the eyes popping out through the foliage. Great to see Hobbs and Baruti in your pictures. Baruti is probably one of their senior most trackers (formerly from Lagoon).

 

Reading the Kwando game reports, I was under the assumption that the female with the cubs is the same as the one who raised 5 successfully in 2009/2010. Having seen your images, this cheetah appears to be a different mother.

[AKR1]

Thanks a lot for the pictures ........ several cracking ones!!! Loved the one, with the eyes popping out through the foliage. Great to see Hobbs and Baruti in your pictures. Baruti is probably one of their senior most trackers (formerly from Lagoon).

 

Reading the Kwando game reports, I was under the assumption that the female with the cubs is the same as the one who raised 5 successfully in 2009/2010. Having seen your images, this cheetah appears to be a different mother.

 

Hari,

 

Hobbs told us the Cheetah mother that made the kill with the three sub-adult cubs is also the mother of the three cheetah boys who hang out at Tsum-Tsum.

[AKR1]

Two more of the cubs:

 

 

 

 

Male Tessebe crossing the wet Duba Plains

 

 

 

 

 

Duba Plains at dusk

 

 

 

 

[AKR1]

Ma di Tau finally returns

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lion Foot:

 

 

and paw:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lions frolicking:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cubs next day:

 

 

 

 

 

Where the heck is mom:

 

Reunion:

 

 

[AKR1]

Start of the hunt as the light fades:

 

 

 

 

 

The Lions cross the watery plains to get to the Lechwe. Pitch dark now:

 

 

 

 

 

The speed with which Ma di Tau moved was just astonishing. Moses did a fantastic job of illuminating the area at just the right time. Success:

 

 

 

 

 

Got back to camp after almost getting stuck at 10 pm.

[madaboutcheetah]

Thanks a lot for the pictures ........ several cracking ones!!! Loved the one, with the eyes popping out through the foliage. Great to see Hobbs and Baruti in your pictures. Baruti is probably one of their senior most trackers (formerly from Lagoon).

 

Reading the Kwando game reports, I was under the assumption that the female with the cubs is the same as the one who raised 5 successfully in 2009/2010. Having seen your images, this cheetah appears to be a different mother.

 

Hari,

 

Hobbs told us the Cheetah mother that made the kill with the three sub-adult cubs is also the mother of the three cheetah boys who hang out at Tsum-Tsum.

 

 

WOW!!! Those 3 boys are about atleast 7 years old (in terms of territory holders)

Edited March 4, 2012 by madaboutcheetah

[twaffle]

Great to see the photos, it certainly looks lush. Fantastic to see so many big male lions together.

[Treepol]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful 'lion days' - the photos are magical, and those 5 lions in one shot are magnificent.

[stokeygirl]

Wow- great photos.

 

You were very lucky to see 5 of the 7 together. I only saw one or 2 at any one time.

 

Fantastic to see them wading through the water, too. It looks like there's a lot more water around now than there was in December.

[pault]

Truly amazing things to see. What a trip you had.

[AKR1]

Third day at Duba:

 

 

 

 

 

Baby elephant:

 

 

Hey Bird, come and play:

 

 

Slow down will you, mom:

 

 

Look at me:

 

 

Great white Egret: