Cheetah Battle

A very unique and interesting sighting occurred on the morning of 10th. Our dominant coalition of 2 male cheetahs was challenged by 2 rival males from a neighboring territory. In Luke Hunter and Dave Hamman’s book, Cheetah (Struik 2003), cheetah fights or serious territorial confrontations between males are described as “rarely witnessed” and “extremely stressful and energetically expensive”. Guests were hugely fortunate to witness 2 very serious physical confrontations between these 4 – quite incredible! There was an array of vocalizations including growls, hisses, churrs, yowls and yelps - all accompanied by ferocious spitting. The dominant pair (seen here as the victors – on top) managed to defend their area and did pick up a few minor injuries in battle. They have been spotted since - proudly patrolling (with a few limps) their territory. By contrast the intruders have only been seen once since, and showed signs of nervousness toward the vehicle.

The Triumphant Bulls

The numerous sightings this month of Elephant bulls, especially in the woodlands surrounding Sasakwa, have been very pleasing. These small groups of very confident and enormous pachyderms have allowed some close approaches, both on foot and in the vehicles. Obviously celebrating the good life with lots of mud pools, abundant water and plenty of food - they certainly have shown more character than the luckless South African Super 14 Rugby franchise of the same name. A special sighting on the morning of the 20th had a group joyously interacting - 2 or 3 of them intertwining trunks and tusks, having fun and communicating like only elephants can…

On the morning of the 7th we were fortunate to witness a Tawny Eagle, feasting on a snake in a tree. Even though Tawny eagles have been recorded catching and killing snakes they are also extremely efficient scavengers. The large snake would have more than likely been stolen from a Snake Eagle or Secretary Bird. The Tawny was then chased off the branch by his mate, also eager for a morsel, and the 2 were seen flying off, the first bird still with the snake firmly in its talons. With only a small section of the snake intact we could not accurately ID it, but it was presumed to be Brown House Snake.