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Two things come to mind at Duba at the start of the floods. The thrill of seeing water in huge amounts as well as the logistical challenges that comes with the floods. At the end of the day the answer is just simple; these are not the first floods we’ve been through and not the highest we’ve seen, therefore pre-planning plays a big part. May is a month of many activities, Elephants migrating to areas where there’s water, floods rising and delta islands get smaller, roads coming underwater.

Boating and fishing has become a special activity of the day. A few guests have gone fishing and the aim was to catch the Tiger fish. We were about to declare that there were no tiger fishes in the waters of Duba until recently when John Pierre (guest) caught a tiger fish just close to camp.

Winter days are short and cool. The best way to maximize on the day is by using siesta time for a short boat cruise or a fishing excursion which is the best way to enjoy the sun as it starts warming up the day slowly. The water is just enjoyable watching it meandering through the channels of the Okavango giving that feel of; “Water is life’.

The start of winter is normally felt in the month of May. The camp has to pull in some additional touches like hot water bottles in the bed and on the morning game drives, This is the best time to visit Botswana for those that don’t like hot days of the summer.  Ponchos become very handy and the morning coffee is highly appreciated. Nothing beats breakfast around the fire and watching baboons wake up on the near-by trees.  There are also far fewer mosquitoes which is always welcome.

Sightings have been great. A lot of people have either read or heard about the pangolin. This is a true fact; “Pangolins have poor vision and hearing, but their sense of smell is quite strong. They do not have teeth and are unable to chew. Instead, they have long sticky tongues that they use to catch the insects they feed on.”  A lot have left Duba with their dreams fulfilled after seeing this illusive scaly anteater in the wild.

The beginning of the Month was dominated by leopard sightings. There has been days when the female leopard was seen with a kudu kill up the tree. Its announcement is usually by the baboons that sleep on the Duba Island on the jackal berry trees. The guides have great tracking skills as the leopard is hard to spot, and normally it is a combination of skill and bush experience that make it possible for these magnificent cats to be seen.

The dominant male lion is still sticking around with the 2 females and keeping the rest of the Tsaro pride on the outskirts of the concession. It is once again a great transition to watch in the animal behavior. Taking steps back into history, back to the time of the Duba Boys who used to rule the Duba territory; leading a big pride that needed to eat and always hunting for bigger meals to feed the whole pride. Buffalos were the main target and the lions cooperated to make a kill.

Male lions are known to lag behind when it comes to hunting. Duba males have played a significant role in the change of the structure of the Tsaro pride as well as playing a big part in the controversy of the changing relationship in the pride.

Male lions have been known through ages to kill cubs when taking over a pride just for them to introduce their genes. This has been visible in Duba with the change of males in the pride. When the Duba boys died of old age, the Skimmer male who’s been sticking around waiting for his chance to become the dominant male jumped in. When he came in most of the cubs were already aged and he groomed them as part of the pride. Starting at a tender age the lions in the Tsaro pride learn to hunt a buffalo, learning all the tactics of taking them down without being injured. It is through cooperation from all females and sometimes the help of the male that makes the hunts a success.

The Skimmer male together with the Tsaro pride have been very successful in their hunts, making buffalo meat their daily diet. With the disappearance of the Skimmer male late last year, the young male who is believed to be the son to the Skimmer male appeared. In the quest to lead the whole pride and occupy the whole territory he had to do what every male lion will do; kill the cubs and chase away the young males in the pride. Paradoxically there was no submission from the pride and that caused antagonism among the pride. The pride with cubs lost one of the fully grown females to the young male who’s always in the company of 2 females in a stand-off to protect the cubs. The cubs managed to get away safely in this instance but their safety cannot be guaranteed as long as this young male takes over the territory.

The other group would not let their young brother to be kicked out of the pride but they rather stood with him and ran away from the new male. He is now occupying most of the territory together with the females. We are therefore anticipating another twist to this whole story when the 2 boys (both around 3 years grow up to face the young male. He will not stand a chance against this coalition.

The buffalos are still roaming the islands of Duba, sometimes seen followed by the lions and most of the time becoming a failed hunt as some of the lions lack experience and leadership. Silver eye has also left a large gap in the hunting arena as she was known for her ambitious hunting techniques and leadership. There will always be unexpected changes in the social structure of the Duba lions and it is always a great pleasure to watch all this transition unfolding.

And finally a quick “Great Manes” cartoon, is this how the animals really talk to each other?