WILDLIFE BLOG

September is a stunning time in the Luangwa. The lagoons are all dry, the river is the only source of water and the game is abundant along the remaining waterways. Dusty conditions filter the light leaving soft golden sunshine in the morning and evening, and the nights are still cool enough to sleep. Next month, the temperatures really build up and become uncomfortable sometimes, but September is a good compromise between great sightings and tolerable temperatures. [...]

As a result, I have been on safari lots but not had much time at my computer to upload the photos! Here is a small selection from the last couple of weeks, including a wonderful lion sighting from around a week ago. We were lucky to find a large number of giraffes milling around near a waterhole. Most were in the shade but a couple were enjoying a drink, performing their characteristic head-shake as they raise [...]

Grasslands are less common in the most widely-used areas of the park, so we sometimes find the more unusual creatures there. Earlier this season, I found a young caracal in the scrub near the river, a first for me and probably the only sighting this season in the park so far. I did't have my camera with me that day - doh! - but I did manage to take a photo on my phone - it [...]

We have a huge area for our own use, inhabited by the full range of game that Luangwa offers, including a number of the less-well-known species such as Caracal, Serval, Hartebeest, Reedbuck, Common Duiker and Sharpe's Grysbok. We have had encounters with lion and hyaena on walking safaris, I have found a leopard sniffing around my tent when I headed to bed recently, and elephants are to be found more and more in the sandy river-bed [...]

I was out yesterday morning, and enjoyed some great sightings with a group of bull elephants as they crossed the river. Unfortunately, the memory card that I had installed became corrupted so I don't have any of those photos!! (I have since re-formatted it and it's behaving normally, but it's a reminder of the confidence that we place in that small chip. I always suggest using large numbers of smaller-capacity cards - this reduces losses in [...]