Survival of the Fittest

Sunday, our first morning in the Khwai Concession, began with two rangers, Ouna and Lebo, who are expert trackers and extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife here. This differed from a typical game drive in that they are focused on tracking predators, recording exact coordinates of specific species when they are found, and notifying the other guides of these locations. These are the guys that provide the intel that help the game drive guides do their jobs well by providing guests with sightings and experiences!

We left camp at 6:00 am and almost immediately came upon three wild dogs in the road! Trying to get a photo of quickly moving animals at dawn while moving slowly in an ATV proved to be too much of a challenge. But we were so happy to see them again!

Ouna pointed out fresh lion and leopard tracks in the sandy road, so we began our pursuit. Tracking is a slow process that requires a great deal of patience. The rangers use both physical tracks when and where noticeable, and they watch the behaviors of other nearby animals. If you see a herd of impala or zebra, for example, and they are all huddled together, fully alert, and looking in one specific direction, there’s likely a predator nearby. Or if you see or hear specific birds, it can also be a sign of a predator. Sometimes the rangers are tracking a specific animal and actually end up finding a different animal altogether. Two things are true in safaris – there are no guarantees and there are always surprises!

Such was the case this morning, when we stumbled upon a dazzle of zebra and discovered a cheetah a good distance away, slowing making its way through the grass toward the herd. As it neared, it began to crouch down and looked as though it might be preparing to strike!

Much to our surprise, it stopped within 20 feet or so and dropped down into the grass. The rangers pulled the ATV closer and we discovered our cheetah had a friend. That’s right – two cheetahs! We also discovered they had already stalked and struck their prey, and were devouring a young zebra! The cheetah is one of Hannah’s favorite animals and she was nearly brought to tears as we photographed these beautiful creatures. The craziest thing of all was the fact that this was happening within 20 or so feet of about 20 zebra that never moved from their spot!

After a period of time and hundreds of photographs, we made way for guides and their guests who began showing up to see the action (that our rangers called in). We picked up our pursuit of the lion tracks, seemingly fresh ones. Thinking our luck was used completely on the cheetah sighting, we expected an uneventful rest of our drive. Instead, we were treated to yet another crazy surprise – the very quick sighting of a large male lion walking past us and into a nearby bush, carrying a full impala – his fresh kill – in his mouth! Hannah managed to get two great shots before he disappeared from view.

We also saw several new birds we hadn’t seen before, including a Kori bustard, wattled crane, coppery-tailed coucal, pink-backed pelican, fork-tailed drongo, and a black-winged kite! Even the kite had success this morning; a white mouse was dangling from its talons as it flew past us. It was indeed a morning marking the survival of the fittest! Sadly, no pics of these bird sightings since we were with working rangers and not on a typical drive.

As we headed back toward camp, we drove back by the earlier cheetah sighting and found one lazily under a tree with a full belly. Its partner was nearby and still eating away on what was left of their kill.

Back at camp, we witnessed first-hand the signals you can pick up from the behaviors of other animals. When we arrived and disembarked the ATV, we were told that three lions had been spotted in camp near the further away tents. Our tent was closest to the lodge, so the rangers escorted us back, but Hannah’s tent was off limits. As we waited for the all-clear to walk to the lodge for lunch, a monkey high in the tree above our tent began making the craziest racket. He was clearly agitated by something he saw and was sending out a warning signal. We decided it was best to stay put a little while longer.

After a restful few hours, we rejoined Kam, our guide, for our afternoon game drive. Ready for a relaxing drive under the setting sun, we honestly had low expectations after the incredible morning of sightings we had. Enter Kam! We drove about 45 minutes deep into the Khwai Concession to the general area of an earlier sighting of lions. As we made our way, we spotted a sable antelope. These regal-looking animals are rare, as they were almost extinct but thankfully have begun to repopulate. We actually saw both a female and a darker-coated, larger male. Beautiful!

After about 45 minutes of tracking and searching, we were rewarded once again. In a small, hidden spot in a bushy, treed area were two female lions with three young cubs estimated to be about two months old, and two six-month-old cubs! The mommas were completely sacked out, sound asleep, while the curious cubs tussled with each other and wandered around their little camp. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something so precious. We sat for an hour, mesmerized by them.

Another day for the memory books of this remarkable trip. Tomorrow is our last full day on safari before we head to Johannesburg and begin our journey home.