The water level at Eagle Island went down rather early this year and continues to drop at about 20mm per day. The Boro and the Khwai rivers are also going down rather quickly which is good for Khwai as game, especially elephants, congregate at the main river.
With the grass trampled down by the wild animals and almost all the trees leafless, the plains look very bare, except for the acacias and the Kalahari apple leaf tree which seem to be enjoying this hot weather. The acacia trees are green and blooming regardless of the blazing heat which brings a wonderful smell into the dry air. These trees also attract an abundance of birds, impalas and baboons which feed on the flowers.
With the rivers narrowing in both Khwai and Eagle Island, animals are restricted to the main channels making sightings easier. Buffalo are back in Eagle Island after being pushed to higher ground by the rising water while rhino were spotted twice from the helicopter this month. Big herds of elephant are a regular sighting in the afternoons and hippos have returned to their permanent pools in good numbers. Herds of zebra, giraffe and tsessebe antelope are a regular sighting at this time of the year in both Khwai and Eagle Island. Lion and leopard sightings have been very good in Khwai where a lion kill was spotted very close to camp recently.
In Savute, the water holes are the only source of water at this time of the year with elephants, impalas, wildebeest, giraffes and warthogs congregating at the water holes. Most water dependent animals have migrated to the permanent rivers leaving these tough individuals behind. The water holes have now become the hunting grounds of the lions but with the easier prey like zebras and buffalos gone, lion are left with very few options, the fast and small antelope, the impala and the large elephants. The Savute lions continue to hunt elephants, having taken down two elephants this month already. Leopard sightings are normally good at this time of the year with sightings happening on almost every game drive.
Birdlife was amazing in Eagle Island this month. With the flood plains drying up, this has attracted lots of waders; plovers, sand piper and black winged stilt have been very common. Goliath heron, black egrets and slating egrets sightings were very common with the elusive Pel’s fishing owl been sported on a few occasions.
With the warm season upon us, reptiles have been very active. Crocodiles are seen basking on the banks of the Khwai River from morning and afternoon. Sightings have also been very good in Eagle Island where they have been spotted from both boats and the helicopter. The only other reptile spotted was the harmless green spotted snakes which are very common at all the three camps.
Our weevil breading project at Khwai, to control the black Kariba weed (Salvania Moesta) is showing tremendous success. Khwai River Lodge will be introducing its first weevils into the Khwai River in the next few weeks!
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