We’ve moved

With the launch of the new ALERT web site we have decided to move this blog inside the new site.  As from today, all new blog posts will be at our web site on the Dambwa pride’s own page.  Don’t worry, you’ll still have access to this blog from our web site to be able to look back at past stories.  We’ve also transferred everyone subscribed to this blog into our subscription service on the new web site, so you will continue to get a message when a new blog entry is posted (although this will take a few more days to get fully functional – so bear with us).

Thank you for supporting the pride here in wordpress.  We hope you will continue your support at our new web site

The ALERT team

Sunshine and showers

After the much-awaited sighting on the 18^th the 19^th continued to compensate for the last few weeks. To start with the pride was relaxing in Chisamu when we first arrived. As they chilled out beneath one of Dambwa’s notorious thickets we managed to find a spot that gave us a reasonable view of them.

A rustling in the tall grass on the other side of the bushes woke everyone up. We couldn’t see what it was, but Kwandi almost certainly could as she got up and began stalking. The “hunt” (if you can call stalking for about 2m a hunt) didn’t last long though and whatever it was either wasn’t of sufficient interest or soon vanished from sight as she sat back down.

After several minutes to recover themselves, the pride then moved out from the thicket and onto the road where we trailed them into Sahara. Coming to yet another thicket they stopped for a drink at a natural water pan which has been created from the rains before settling down once more. Just as the late afternoon sun began to cast a golden glow on them, most of the pride began to tilt their heads skywards, sniffing the air. At first it looked like they may have caught scent of an animal – but shortly after when the skies opened, it seemed more likely they’d got a whiff of the incoming downpour.

Yesterday (20^th) was a much more sedate affair with the group resting up in Kariba. For most of the morning we were only able to see Kela, Loma and Zulu clearly, with the others slumped in the grass nearby. Rusha initiated a short move for the group just before breakfast and for a few glorious minutes we watched as all seven ambled along the road before settling down to a bit of a social… before vanishing back into the grass.

Hiya!

We’re very aware that this blog talks more about grass than it does the actual Dambwa pride these days. However, it has become the key element that dictates the success of our sessions with the pride. The last few weeks have been, for want of a better word, testing. Even when the lions have been found walking along the roads in the site, many of these are so overgrown now that it doesn’t afford much better viewing.

Happily today (18^th) they were on one of the roads which still allows a relatively clear view. The first visual of the morning came when we found Kwandi, Kela, Temi and Zulu slap bang in the middle of the road – our view completely unobstructed, a rare treat. Leya, Loma and Rusha were just off the road and the ferocious grinding of teeth against bone punctuated with the odd scraping of tongues to remove every last shred of their latest meal gave a hint as to what the trio were up to.

By 8am the temperature was already soaring, and with everyone having nice full bellies there wasn’t much to do except enjoy being able to see them for a while. One by one they rose and began milling along the road a short distance before stopping to drink from a puddle before settling down in the grass.

By mid-morning they were roughly in the same spot but had moved to the side of the road so we were just about able to make them out. It did however take some considerable time to pick out who was who in the heap of lions as the seven performed their usual trick of contorting and piling every single last one of themselves into one tiny patch of shade.

A pain in the grass…

Wednesay (29^th) we joined the pride on the border of Tsavo and Kulibe in what is probably the only clearing left in the site. It was a quiet day – apart from one rather inappropriate move Loma pulled on Leya.

Later in the week they were in Kariba. We spent an entertaining two hours with the only visible part of any of the lions being Kela’s bottom. After breakfast however, things livened up a bit. As we arrived we found them all sitting under a bush watching a guinea fowl in the tree above them that was screeching its head off. After several minutes, the lions had lost interest and the bird eventually seemed to calm down (no doubt its being up a tree had something to do with the seven lions) and flew to the ground about 30 metres past the lions.

The bird then proceeded to continue its calling whilst walking back in the direction of the lions. Rusha finally roused herself from the bush and peered around a tree to watch as it waddled closer. As it then turned off in a different direction still advertising its position louder than was wise, Rusha began to follow. She seemed to get to within 10 metres of it before losing it in the grass and returning to the pride.

Monday (5^th) and after stopping by one of the lions’ recent feeding sites, we tracked their signals down to a bush on the edges of Bwizu and Chobe. No matter which side we came from the lions couldn’t be seen, so we decided to check water levels at the three pans. Returning to the bush on the off-chance the lions had moved out of it we found that now their signals weren’t even emitting from the area. But we were able to follow some rather fresh prints to their new location at pan 2. But they were no more visible here either.

Luckily Kela saved the day by sitting just within sight, but the rest we could only listen to as they shuffled around in the grass. A brief glimpse of Temi and an even briefer one of Kwandi helped pass the afternoon, but we spent the session watching Kela as she enjoyed the afternoon breeze.

What’s going on in there?

Once again, the weather has done a pretty good job of keeping us out of the site over the last week or so. This morning when we went in, we got to see just what effect the downpours have been having on the Dambwa Release Area. The entire area, including the roads, is now dwarfed by six to eight foot grass; swamping our vehicle and of course the lions. Over the last few weeks, the viewing has been difficult – now it’s practically non-existent.

Having tracked their signals to the edges of the Acacia boundary it took the better part of the two hours to pick out seven forms in the grass and then wait for each one to stand up and resettle in a new position until we were able to identify each lump confidently. A morning well spent.

A game count after breakfast proved fairly fruitless, with the game proving just as difficult to spot as the lions. Even when we did happen to catch a flash of an animal in the grass counting them was more guess work than anything else.

Back to the lions and thankfully some of them had shifted into the shade of a tree and the grass they had flattened around them gave a few glimpses of activity and behaviour.

The now obligatory tree scratch of each session came today from Loma, who then and had good old groom with Rusha.

Temi and Zulu watched the skies while Leya slept on and the Ks remained stubbornly just out of sight until we were about to leave when Kwandi finally came into view.

By all accounts, a quiet and relaxing time in Dambwa… but who knows what’s going on in that grass?!

Nothing says I love you like a meal for seven

Over the last few weeks the grass height in Dambwa has become an increasing obstacle to research on the pride, and no more so than over the last few days. Some efforts have resulted in a massive fail with the grass reaching several feet above the vehicle in many places and the lions being to all purposes un-viewable. Tuesday 14^th looked as though it was going to be a similar sort of event – and to a certain extent was.

Following the signals from the collars as far as Tsavo, thanks to a recent rain shower some relatively fresh spoor along the road then led us North toward the Acacia boundary. A little further along the boundary we saw a form in the grass, which on closer inspection turned out to be Zulu drinking from a puddle in the road. After several minutes he stood and turned to walk in the opposite direction from us; his stomach bulging from side to side as he walked away. The girls’ signals were just registering but weren’t too close, but the further we followed Zulu the stronger they got. And then… he turned into the boundary and disappeared right where the rest of the pride’s signals were strongest. Two and two were starting to add up; a fat lion plus a quick drink probably equalled a hidden carcass with the rest of the pride somewhere in the boundary.

Later in the afternoon they had all come out from the boundary and looked mammoth.

Resting in shade (and of course tall grass) near water pan 2, the tell-tale blood streaks with accompanying flies were all over their coats and the chorus of panting finished off any doubt that the pride had shared a Valentine’s Day meal. Our best guess is that it was waterbuck on the menu.

This morning (15^th) and they’d moved all the way to the other side of the water pan. Luckily they were a little more visible initially than the previous day and spent the morning grooming one another with great gusto. First Kela and Zulu gave one another a good going over.

Then Kwandi and Temi sandwiched Rusha into an enforced bath.

While sisters Leya and Loma had a bit of a wrestle before cleaning all the mud off of each other.

Despite these lovely scenes, Rusha soon put a stop to them and led the pride into an area that just a few weeks ago we would have been able to continue watching them but now…

Dark skies over Dambwa

The 8^th and the pride were on the boundary of the Acacia treeline and Kariba. It was a quiet morning but all were very alert to something beyond our view. As usual Zulu was throwing his weight around when deciding to sit on top of Kela and Loma’s heads – something that’s becoming a bit of a habit for him.

Entering the site after breakfast a light shower was passing through the site. It only lasted 10 minutes or so and by the time we’d caught back up with the pride the last few drops were easing. Temi still seemed as restless as earlier initially sitting 20 metres or so away from the others scanning the area to the north of them, but eventually came and sat in the middle of the huddle. Just as she did a second shower came rolling in from the North – it was light enough though that we were able to stay with them. As the water started falling Zulu did something rather strange – he stood and walked a few metres before looking up to the sky. He then checked the clouds to the south, then to the north and then to the south again. Walking round to the other side of a bush he then did the same thing, tilting his gaze upwards and looking to the east and west, before checking the north again.

Deciding it was safe for now as this shower came to an end he settled back down amongst his ladies but as rumbles of thunder echoed, he’d bolt up each time and check the skies again. As the third wave of water swept in from the south west, the seven piled in under possibly the smallest tree possible. This one was a serious storm and after five minutes it was clear we weren’t going to be able to wait this one out. With a final glimpse of the pride under probably the worst choice of tree imaginable getting an absolute soaking, we wished them good luck and skidded all the way to the exit.

A bunch of tree huggers

Yesterday (6^th) was a day of rest for the pride. Everyone was in Kariba sleeping off the weekend’s large meal. Leya, Rusha and Zulu were still showing some amount of interest in the new resident at the breeding program, but this seems to be becoming less and less as time passes. In between bouts of vigilance, Leya showed off the pride’s new favourite activity – tree scratching. And to prove how good she is at it, every time she shifted into a new spot of shade away from the midday sun another tree came in for a comprehensive shredding.

This morning we found them milling about on the road bordering Chisamu. The day started off with the now obligatory tree scratch before resettling just off the main road. Zulu built hopes up for some activity when he marched off down the road to the north. As he disappeared out of sight, we decided to see where he was heading only to find him barely 10 metres further down the road, just around the next corner.

As the morning passed, the girls were playing some sort of relay shuffle race. First it looked like Loma and Leya were going to initiate a move, and Kela and Kwandi quickly responded by jumping to their feet and following – before all settled down 10 metres later in a row again. After a few minutes of rest, Kwandi then decided it was her turn and moved off a risky 15 or 20 metres with all six girls this time responding, before once again sitting down.

By this point Zulu, while no more than 30 metres away, was out of view. We listened to his pitiful cries as he realised he’d been abandoned. But it was only a short time before he stumbled through a bush and practically tripped over the others.

Returning to them at mid-morning we found they’d walked the length of the site and were once more in Kariba. This time not even the lure of a new tree to shred could rouse any of them.

Who the &*#! is that?

Since the appearance of a certain rather large wild male lion at the Dambwa enclosures (see statement released 31^st January) the pride’s time has been consumed guarding the closest boundary of their territory to worry about anything else.  After seven days of vigilance the pride has decided that their borders are secure and went about their normal business.

Friday (3^rd) found everyone up and around on Tsavo milling around a carcass. We first came across Rusha, Leya, Loma and Zulu. The others weren’t far according to their signals’ strengths but certainly weren’t within sight. As we pulled up we could see Rusha and Leya were feeding from the now rather rotten remains, while Zulu was chasing Loma around. As we were to learn as the afternoon went on, Zulu had stashed a large amount of the meat in a nearby bush which he was jealously guarding.

Loma had strayed a little too close – but it wouldn’t be the last time she gave it a try.

Within a few minutes Kwandi came plodding through the grass to join the group. With an already full belly she didn’t seem too interested in eating but had a nose through the stinking scraps before sitting down.

Rusha then headed off in the direction from which Kwandi arrived and we followed her suspecting she may be able to lead us to Kela and Temi, which she did as they rested under a tree a couple of hundred metres away from the scavenge site.

The rest of the afternoon was categorised by Kwandi’s group trying to eat and Zulu policing the entire affair. At one point he sensed an attack was mounting on his stockpile and lunged out at a sleeping and completely innocent Kwandi, only to miss Loma running off with some of his stash. Having made such a nuisance of himself, Loma led her sister and Kwandi away from the tyrant and slumped down for some rest.

Having chased off all competition for the remaining food, Zulu suddenly realised he was alone and we could hear his pitiful cries as he tried to locate the girls shortly before he came into view with his nose to the ground sniffing them out. Sitting on Loma’s head once he found them, Leya then sensed her opportunity and made a dash back to the food . Kwandi and then Loma followed, but of course they were soon back under the watchful eye of Zulu.

This morning (4^th), Kela was alone resting in the road between Kariba and Sibaka. A short search found everyone else except Temi resting in some bushes near water pan 2.

As the group shifted around and had a morning stretch they eventually settled in yet another bush. A rustle in the tall grass soon woke everyone back up though – all eyes flew open, perhaps still nervous about their new neighbour.  But it was just Temi, who zeroed straight in on Zulu for a head rub before settling in amongst the group.

On the move

The morning of the 18^th was a peaceful one for the lions with hardly an eyelid batted all morning. The only activity came when, as the morning began to heat up, one by one they moved into the shade.

Mid-morning was an entirely different matter however. We found them crossing the dry river bed in Puku Dambo and heading south. Pausing to scan the area for several minutes Temi and Kela chose to remain in place at the edge of the river bed while Rusha led the others on to the main road and into Chobe. They seemed alert in their approach as they neared the Sanga boundary but we never quite were able to work out if they were hunting or just hoping to bump into something. Mid-way across Chobe Kela and Temi showed up some quarter of an hour after we had left them and Rusha led everyone into the boundary.

We soon lost sight of most of them, except for Zulu who had sat down about 15 meters inside the treeline and began gnawing on what we can only presume was an old kill (unless he’d managed to make a kill in the 30 seconds or so it had taken for us to move the vehicle closer). We sat and listened for best part of 20 minutes as he crunched on bones and watched the top of his mane wobble around in the grass. The girls’ signals gradually grew weaker and weaker.

At just past midday he discarded whatever rotting bit of animal he’d snacked on and set off west through the boundary to track the girls. We hoped we’d be able to pick him out until he hooked up with them, but after 50 or so metres we lost sight of him too, and watched as his signal joined the girls in that place referred to as “somewhere in there”.

By the 21^st they had re-emerged and were resting by waterpan 1. Their resting was punctuated by sudden bursts of mass grooming, or social interactions but they remained relatively sedate until the end of the day when Kela suddenly bolted upright  and immediately marched off with everyone following suit to the other side of Kariba.

Yesterday morning (24^th) we came across them walking along the road between Kulibe and Chisamu. An abrupt turn across Chisamu led them West into Chobe. We were able to pick them out from time to time, but didn’t get a proper sighting again until we came across Kela, Leya and Temi in western Chobe as Zulu continued to lead the other four girls into Sibaka. Remaining with the trio we waited to see if they’d join the others, but they seemed quite happy where they were thank you very much.

Kwandi, Rusha, Loma and Zulu were sprawled across the road in Sibaka. With the two groups not too far away from one another, it wasn’t much of a surprise to find that later on in the morning they had all met up and were back in one of their favourite spots in Kariba.