Day 7 –Savuti Camp, Linyanti Concession, Botswana

We left camp and drove north to the woodland, along the Linyanti River, and there we tracked an adult male leopard, known as the Duma Tau male, and we spent quite a few hours with him. He was relaxed and let us spend time with him as he was lying down on a termite mound. He left after a while and then he spent the next hour actively marking spots with his scent, and he eventually took a viewing position up in a n African ebony tree (jackalberry tree). His position was difficult to photograph, as he was on the end of a small branch in the canopy.

After some repositioning, we found a nice spot where we could photograph him as he came down the tree. This big male must have had a large meal, as he had a huge belly and moved quite slowly. After he left us, he headed towards the mopane forest and we disengaged and didn’t follow him. 2 hours was plenty, we thought.

On our afternoon game drive we left camp and headed towards an area known as Mmantshwe, which means ostrich. Since the Savuti channel is flowing again, the area is better for elephants and buffalo. There we tracked and located a single adult female lion, and for the first time in a few days the sun came out from the clouds and we had the best light one could ask for. She was obviously searching for something, and Goodman told me that she has a few 4-month old cubs and she probably was searching for them.

After an hour of following her along the edge of the Savuti Channel, we realized that her cubs were on the other side of the channel. Cha-ching! This meant that it was likely that she was going to cross the channel to reunite with them. The only thing we needed to do was to figure out where she would cross, and then make sure we were in the most optimum shooting position to take advantage of the crossing.

The lioness let off some mild roars, and the 2 cubs appeared on the other side of the channel. We moved our vehicles to a spot where we could watch her from a 90 degree angle, and we got lucky and also had the light over our shoulders. The water was a crazy cobalt blue, and the light on her was so amazingly orange, and I could hear the cameras shooting away in the background as she swam across the channel.

After a few minutes of watching and photographing the happy reunion, we moved away and stopped for a sundowner drink just as the sun was setting in the distant sky. What an amazing day. Absolutely amazing. These kinds of sightings are what make Savuti one of my favorite locations in all of Africa. There are other camps that produce just as many good sightings, and I cannot wait to visit them on future trips.

Tonight was a braai (BBQ) night at camp, and we dined in the outside boma, set by a roaring fire in the middle. Today was a great day, capped off by a wonderful dinner with happy guests.

Note: All images in these daily blog postings are very very rough edits of the things we have seen, and I often omit the photographs that take too much time to process. I don’t take much time off during the day, as I am working with people with their photographic needs. All of my images in these posts will have to be re-processed when I get back home, and they are only included in these blog entries for illustration purposes.

Duma Tau male leopard

Duma Tau male leopard

Duma Tau male leopard

Our beautiful lioness for the afternoon

Lioness about to cross the Savuti channel

Goodman, one of our amazing guides

Lets and Kane take a break from finding the best wildlife around

James and Joe take time to do some chimping

Comments

[Scott Scherbroeck]

Hello Andy,

Its Saturday evening here. We have bween following your recent trip. Where's Silver Eye these days?

Tell Kane hello.

Scott & Paula Scherbroeck