General:Northern Botswana normally has a very short winter that ends towards the end of July or the beginning of August. In 2006 however the winter weather seemed to want to linger a bit longer and even though we had some afternoons going up to 31° C, we still had cold spells of weather well into August. Spring is in the air though and the changes can be seen all through the bush as the vegetation is changing and the bush is coming back to life again in preparation for summer. Vegetation:The knobbly creeper (Combretum mossambicense) is very abundant throughout the Chobe National Park and in many areas including parts of the Chobe riverfront they are the dominant woody plant species. The pincushion-like flowers are white and often have a tinge of pink in them. The sweet fragrances of these flowers hang heavily in the air especially around dusk and dawn when the air is cold. Among the larger trees the knobthorn (Acacia nigrescens) is the dominant species which also started to flower making them a very conspicuous part of the dry bush landscape. They bear huge amounts of yellow flowers and, since they normally are rather large trees towering out above all the surrounding vegetation, they are visible from quite a distance away. The timing of the arrival of the flowering season for the above two species was perfectly timed by Mother Nature as there is very little else for the herbivores to eat. Many herbivore species relish the flowers including impala, kudu and giraffe. The wooly caper bush (Capparis tomentosa) is normally seen as a creeper, covering other trees but in some instances it may grow into dense thickets, as is the case in the Chobe area. This plant is very abundant along the floodplains next to Kabulabula and in the Warthog Land region and since it is deciduous it is the only source of greenery around. The dense shrubs of caper bush are being browsed very extensively by not only the browsing animal species, but even buffalo as well – an animal that is normally regarded a bulk grazer. This behavior was often observed in the Kabulabula area, where entire herds were observed moving through the wooly caper bush thickets and browsing from them as they moved along. The extensive utilization of these bushes gave them a very distinctive shape especially in the dry months when they are not actively growing. It has a rounded shape from the top due to giraffe feeding on it and a definite “browse line” from about 1 ½ to 2 meters from the ground where the smaller animals like impala and kudu have defoliated it. Birdlife:The lower levels of the Chobe River exposed a lot of sand banks – ideal habitat for one of the most sought after bird species of Chobe. The African skimmer with its peculiar feeding strategy favors open sandbanks along rivers as a resting and breeding grounds. These strange birds are quite often encountered on the river cruises and the Hippo Pools along the Water Cart loop is another favorite spot for them where they can often be seen, especially around sunset. The African skimmer has an elongated lower mandible that protrudes out much further than the upper mandible. Their feeding strategy is to fly low over the river surface and literally skim the water with the lower mandible. Any small fish or aquatic animals caught below the surface of the water are simply snapped up in the bill.
Grey headed gulls, a bird species one would normally associate with coastal areas, can often be seen along the Chobe River in August. These gulls normally move to inland water bodies to breed during the winter months before returning to their coastal habitat. August and September will also see the return of the first migrants for the summer months. The Wahlbergs' eagles are normally the first to return and some Wahlbergs’ eagles have already been spotted. They are very easy to distinguish on the wing because of the typical narrow square tail. These large eagles are summer residents and spend the hot summer months in southern Africa to breed.
The guides noted quite a remarkable increase in the amount of yellow billed hornbills seen along the riverfront itself. This probably has to do with the lack of water and food in areas away from the Chobe River. Mammals:The Chobe National Park again proved itself as a top game viewing destination during August. Not only did we encounter a wide variety of mammal species but in some cases the sheer numbers of these animals were spectacular. The open floodplains along the water cart loop were often covered with large numbers of game that included elephants, buffalo, red lechwe, puku and kudu. The following is a list of the most notable sightings of August:
Lions were encountered on most days during the month. Some of these sightings included a lioness with three cubs on the Kabulabula cut line; the same lioness and cubs were spotted later on a few occasions on the Lechwe flats. From the 11th to the 14th a mating pair of lions was seen around the western end of the old airstrip. During the female’s estrus which may last between 4 and 7 days, she will be closely attended by one of the prides’ dominant males and the pair may mate as frequently as once every 15 minutes. Most of these “honeymoon periods” though are unsuccessful as lions have a very low conception rate. Leopards were also frequently seen, mainly due to the fact that they are more visible because of the lack of cover in the dry bush. A mating pair was seen in the Hippo Pools area on the Water Cart loop around the 10th. A pair of young cubs in the Sedudu Valley was also quite an attraction and seems to be so used to attention from game drive vehicles that they hardly seem to notice the commotion they cause among visitors at all.
Spotted hyenas are still often seen near the Sedudu gate where they were denning over the last few months. The hyenas were also seen sporadically moving up and down the Sedudu valley and quite often around the Lodge where they no doubt will come to scavenge after being drawn to the area by all the wonderful smells of food coming from the Lodge. Wild dogs were as always a rare sight, and perhaps even more so along the waterfront because of all the activity from the larger predators. A pack of dogs were however seen along the Moselesele Drive as they were hunting impala. The hunts normally happen at rather fast pace and over long distances and the guides were not able to see any actual kill happening.
An astonishing number of kudu are present in the Chobe area. They are probably the most numerous antelope species along with impala alongside the river. Sable antelope herds are a common sight during the heat of the day next to the water. Roan have not yet been seen in the same amount of numbers as in previous seasons, but as usual they were quite active in the west around the Moselesele drive area and between Puku flats and Serondella. It is quite encouraging to see the large numbers of young animals in the herds that have been seen so far. On August the 12th we had another addition to the Chobe Game Lodge bushbuck population. “Bushy” the oldest of the resident bushbuck females at the Lodge, was seen giving birth near the management cottages early in the morning. Immediately after giving birth, Bushy started eating the afterbirth, a strategy employed by many animals to avoid attracting predators. Bushbuck hide their young until they are strong enough to move around with their mothers freely.
Large groups of giraffe concentrated along the River in the late afternoons. Groups of up to 30 individuals were often encountered. They were not only drawn to the riverside by water, but also to licking patches, areas with a high concentration of minerals in the soils which wild animals often utilize to supplement their diet. In Conclusion:September will take us deeper into spring bringing around even more changes to the bush as more species of tree will start flowering and start getting their new leaves. We are still about 2 months away from the rainy season, and are entering the hottest two months of the year. To avoid the heat we will be changing the morning drive times and make it 30 minutes earlier than the current departure time. On hot days the mid morning and mid afternoon river cruises will be particularly rewarding as the heat will drive large amounts of game to the water. Our skimmers provide the perfect observation platform to watch the elephant herds coming down to the river to drink and to swim. September and October are normally the most rewarding game viewing months of the year in Chobe. We will keep you posted with all the exciting sightings in the September Newsletter.
Regards,
The Chobe Game Lodge Guides team. | 
