DAY 2 OF A TRIP TO TANZANIA - Feb-March 2010

Day 2 - Selous Impala Camp

In the morning after breakfast I went to photograph the Family Tent.
The owners of Impala camp are Gillie and Tessa Zanacchi, and Tessa was about to arrive with three friends. They were going to stay in this tent.

Family tent at Selous Impala - two tents on one platform, overlooking the river

Next season there will be two of these double tents on one platform. They must be really great for families or groups of friends as there are two tents, one with a double bed, the other with twins. Each has its own bathroom.

 

As I checked out the view over the river, an elephant slipped down into the water just below the veranda I was standing on, and slowly crossed to an island on the other side of the channel.

After this Barbara and I went out on a game drive, to see if we could spot some of the lions she has been following in the Impala monthly newsletters. There are many lions in the stretch of country between Impala and Manze camps, as there are four lakes. The closest lake, just east of Impala camp, is Mzizimiah. There used to be a pride of more than ten lions there, but in the season of 2007 some of them died of poison, probably from eating a dead hippo that was possibly poisoned by poachers.

The other main pride is near Lake Siwandu, just to the west of Impala camp. Recently three of the pride’s best lionesses have left it to have cubs. One small group are now at Nzelekela lake, not so far from Manze camp. This group are comprised of two strong lionesses and a male lion (who has mated with both females). This male is very powerful and quite old – he has killed or chased away most of the adult males who could have competed with him

 

One of the lionesses has already given birth to two beautiful cubs, a male and a female, around Christmas time. The other lioness may also be pregnant, as she was seen mating with the same lion.

There are also other cubs in the area – a third lioness recently left the Siwandu pride, and gave birth about 3 weeks ago to two more cubs. Guess who the Daddy is…. Yes, you got it! The same male lion!

Meanwhile the Siwandu pack was sadly depleted, as a good hunting lioness was killed last year, leaving cubs behind. The rest of the pride tried to support them but due to injuries, were not able to do so and the cubs died. The pride is not in good condition, but the balance could change if one or more of the lionesses return to it.

Barbara will continue the story for us in her next newsletter, but meanwhile I was very keen to see the two month old cubs near Lake Nzerekela. We drove for some time through beautiful green countryside – the rains have come early in Selous this year, but it does not seem to have reduced visibility as we saw lots of elephant, giraffe, Impala, warthogs and baboons as well as quite large herd of Gnu and some zebra.

 

Birds were everywhere, nesting in this fruitful time, and many acacias and combretum were flowering.

 

We found a wildebeeste kill, but the bones were bare – vultures decked a tree nearby. There was no sign of the lions but when we searched close to the lake, we found the adults. The two lionesses were lying in a korongo (dry river bed) on the cool sand, panting in the heat of late morning. After a further hunt we located the male, lolling under a Borassus palm, well hidden at the base of the tree. We could not see the cubs, who seemed to be very well hidden, if they were present.

Disappointed, we drove back to camp and joined Tessa and her friends for lunch. We would have to try again next day, hoping for more success! After lunch I went for a swim (checking for elephants and hippos first) and noticed clouds massing from the west.
That night we dined on the terrace and there was a beautiful African crescent moon (lying on its back) reflecting in the Rufiji. I slept well again that night, glad of my fan as it was quite hot and sticky, and I wondered if there might be some rain on the way.

Forward to Day 3....