Feline Fantastic...
20 July. Kgalagadi, Nossob Valley.
What a phenomenal day, after the Lion and African Wild Cat caught on the night cam, we set off at dawn with a plan to travel up to Union's End, the northernmost tip of Kgalagadi, a remote outpost situated at the point where the borders of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa all converge. We never got there, far too many distraction on route!
Barely five kilometres into our journey, the first rays of the sun cutting through an orange haze of dawn, the Nossob Valley was looking most exquisite, and there striding across the grasses of the valley, a pair of felines of spotted nature. Most resplendent, these were two Cheetahs were out on a morning hunt, the animals stopping to watch distant Springbok, the cats first crouching to edge in closer, but eventually giving up and continuing their way. What a good way to begin the day.
Onward, oodles of Four-striped Grass Mice aside the track, also a few Brant's Whistling Rats and, on the open plains, both South African Ground Squirrels and a couple of Yellow Mongooses. The real treat however lay just a few kilometres further along - returning to the Bedinkt waterhole, I had hopes that the Lions of the day before might still be in the area. And indeed there were, not in the long grass, but stretched out in the dust aside the waterhole. One adult female and two well-grown cubs, all naturally enough in a state of semi-slumber. Cubs being cubs, it was too long before they got bored, the catalyst for action being the arrival of a mixed flock of Namaqua and Burchell's Sandgrouse. First one cub, then the other, most engaging were the sandgrouse, up got the Lions and plodded off in the direction of the birds, a whirl of wings and the entire flock was in the sky, the two Lions looking a little bewildered. With that, the cubs looked for further adventure, the next thing in their sight being us! Up they wandered, me still leaning out of the open window, they beginning to look with a slight tilt to their heads. Closer, closer, closer, there were now two metres distant and peering very intently at me through the window - I definitely thought it prudent to withdraw my arm from the window at this point!!! 'Ah boring', thought the Lions and ambled back to their mother for a little romp, pouncing on her tail tassel, much to her annoyance.
Several Black-backed Jackals in the area, a Lappet-faced Vulture in a tree just beyond, it seemed the remains of the day before's kill might still be present, so when the family finally retreated into the grassy depths, it was no surprise. What came next was a surprise. Unbeknown to us, lying less than 40 metres away but concealed in the grass, there was another Lion, a big dark-mained male. I presume he had arrived overnight and was not related to the female, for just as she entered the grass so he made his presence absolutely clear, first sending the female and cubs darting the other way, then rising and hauling the kill straight towards us. A powerful animal, he was dragging a fully-grown Wildebeest, legs flaying, guts open. Straight past the car he dragged the thing, dumping it about three metres away under a small acacia. And then a cacophony of sounds, cracking and crunching of bones, ripping of hide and chewing of flesh, this male cared not one jot that we were watching just a breath away.
Finally deciding we had seen enough, by now nearing mid-morning, we continued on our way, a herd of Red Hartebeest seen next, followed by assorted birds such as Acacia Pied Barbet, moderately common Fawn-coloured Larks, Booted Eagle and a good variety of other raptors. Absolutely incredible numbers of Kori Bustards too, a minimum of 70 noted this day, the birds occurring literally everywhere.
By midday, still less than half way to Union's End, we had a decision to make - either speed up considerably or change our plans. We opted for the latter, stopping to make coffee at Bedinkt, then beginning a slow return to Nossob Camp. Another pause at the Lions as we passed, the whole lot of them now resting under adjacent acacias, and then we continued to the Kwang waterhole, a mecca for flocks of passerines coming to drink, most particularly wheeling flocks of Red-billed Queleas. A pleasure to sit and watch, the reason for their apparent spookiness soon revealed itself, a Red-necked Falcon rounding a bush and piling into the masses of birds, they all plunging into the nearest acacia, the falcon then dancing along the top, trying to flush a bird out. A Gabar Goshawk tried a similar trick, but the Red-billed Queleas knew what was what, not a bird left the cover under the onslaught of attacks.
Maybe fifteen or twenty minutes into this watch and a car pulled aside, 'Do you know there is a Leopard in the tree?', they enquired. No I did not. Stone me, it was in the very tree I was virtually parked under! Almost impossible to see from most angles, a little manoeuvring finally got us a few reasonable views, it was a young female devouring a jackal it had caught, I presume by pouncing from this tree as the unfortunate animal had come into drink. Assuming my views were going to be limited to assorted patches of leopard spots in the acacia, an occasional head to peer around, I was rather staggered by what happened next!
With a belly full, the Leopard began a less than graceful descent of the tree, almost flopping from one branch to another, then clambered down the trunk and jumped to the ground right alongside us! A quick look round, then the cat walked a few paces to reach a shady spot in the long grass. Simply stunning views, the resplendent cat then proceeded to wash paws and face, an occasional look in our direction, but otherwise fully engrossed in her beautification. And a beauty she was, eventually lying down for a while, before then moving a few metres further, slipping intothe vegetation and immediately becoming totally invisible.
What a super finale to the day's cat action! Or at least I thought it would be, still one last surprise to come. Back at camp, after getting a little waylaid by a Pearl-spotted Owlet, it was time for the last event of the day - a return to the floodlit waterhole. All intially seemed most devoid of life this evening, a lone Black-backed Jackal lingering a while, the Barn Owl reappearing for a couple of fly-bys, but was just about that. And then, a pair of small bright eyes on a distant slope, eyes heading straight for us. A few minutes later, there it was, the tenth cat of the day, an African Wild Cat trotting across the grass.
A most fitting end to this very feline-centric day, two Cheetahs, five Lions, one Leopard, two African Wild Cats.