"Predator Battlegrounds" on National Geographic
 

Hello,

Not sure, there still is any interest for safari related topics on Fodors (seems mostly Egypt and Morocco)???

Anyways, for those of you interested - look out for "Predator Battlegrounds" on National Geographic. I only caught the second half of it the other day, but, seemed quite a good documentary regarding the now flowing Savute Channel.

Location could be the WS concession, NG 15 as the end credits mention them.

Oops, Jordon too ...... how could I miss out on Jordon??? ;)

I'm interested! And with the dwindling number of NHL playoff games, I've got the time too. Oh, and I'm leaving for Botswana in less than 2 weeks. :-) Thanks HariS!

I thought this was a terrific doco, have watched it about 3 times now and enjoyed it immensely each and every time.

Watched it today, good if you like a lot of bloody predator action chasing, catching, and tearing apart prey!!! And who doesn't!!! :) . Quite a lot of wild dog action, some jackal and hyena, not much lion.

New to me, I understood them saying that the Savuti channel has a 40 year cycle of drought and full. It has had 25 years of drought so now likely going into the full cycle. (Calling Al Gore, get over there and save it!!!)

regards - tom

I watched only the second half, and still saw quite a few Lion clips....... Lions killing buffalo etc etc.,

Not sure you saw the same program, Tom. This is about the channel now flowing ............

Yeah, about the channel flowing. For last many years were basically 4 water holes, but since 200? more rain has created a year(?) long river/channel. Must be water all year now because hippo and crocs are there now.

I'm trying to recall lion scenes and there were some but I remember much more about the wild dogs, and hyenas. Even in the second half. If I get a chance I'll try to watch it again.

regards - tom

Thanks for the alert.

hari - i saw your books when i was at kwando lagoon two weeks ago. skimmer also had books there but you had the most! you have some good photos. charles said to say hi.

my first botswana safari was in 1985 the year after the savute/savuti channel stopped flowing. i was at savuti camp and duma tau two weeks ago and it is amazing to see all the water. it will certainly change the seasonal migrations this coming green season. i must say that the linyanti is starting to look like a jungle! we also flew over the savute marsh and the water is starting to "fan out". from my rough assessment, i would say the old footprint of the marsh is now about 10% under water (all the water is in the NW corner).

to kill an age old question: the savuti hide is no longer in operation and has not been in use for several years. the old hide is accross the channel from the lodge and it would not be possible to walk to the old hide location. the channel is over 1.5 meters deep right below the deck!

other updates:
nxabega air strip is under water! we had to arrive by helicopter.
eagle island campe air strip has water on the fringes but i think it will be ok.
the jao air strip is being kept dry by sand bags and a pump.
the path from the "parking lot" to the bar/lounge at duba plains is underwater and there is now an elevated walkway.
zaraffa is fantastic!

craig beal

Craig,

Thanks for the hello from Charles. I hope to see him in a couple of months again (if he's not on leave).

Btw, I don't have any books at Kwando Lagoon. You must have seen the books of Ken(sniktawk)? He has albums at Lagoon - seperate albums for dogs and cheetah.

I do have albums/i photo books at Kwando Lebala, though..... if that's where you went?

Off topic - how was the game viewing at the camps?

Hari

Hari,

I think they shut down Lebala for a few weeks and probably moved your stuff over to Lagoon.

The day I went to Lagoon was a bit hectic but we had some good sightings. here is how it went:
woke up at duma tau. went on abbreviated morning game drive and saw 11 wild dog. first they were sleeping then they started hunting.
flew to zaraffa for lunch. on the way from the selinda air strip to zaraffa we saw two cheetah.
drove to selinda for a quick look around. it was still pretty quiet on that concession because there is so much water on the ground so the elephants have not arrived in any numbers. the selinda spillway is ALMOST connected.
flew to kwando lagoon. drove to camp for a quick inspection and look around then left. charles picked me up at the air strip and showed us around.
flew to vumbura plains. we saw a leaopard being chased by a huge baboon on the way to camp.
that was the day!

craig beal

Craig,

Do you think that the floods will have a big impact on the gameviewing in Northern Botswana during high season?

Johan

Lunch at Zarafa ....... what was the menu like?

When do you expect the Elephants to arrive in great numbers amidst all that water? Did you get on the cruise ship that they supposedly have nowadays?

I'm surprised Lebala was shut. Oh well.......

I think the animal viewing during this 2010 "high" season is a big unknown. In my opinion, here are some factors to consider give the immense flooding and late season rain:

- The vegetation is still very green and "leafy". This is going to obscure sight lines and make the viewing less good further into the dry season.
- There is still much more temporary water sources than during any previous trip I have made in the March-June time period. This is going to prevent the elephants from needing performing their seasonal migration to the permanent water sources until much later in the winter. Maybe as late as August?
- The "new" Savuti Channel and the Savute March will keep some animals in place instead of having them migrate to the Chobe/Selinda/Kwando/Linyanti permanent water systems.
- Since there will be much less stress on the vegetation along the permanent waterways, these areas will be better prepared for follow-on seasons.

What do I know, this is all speculation!

IMO - the greatest impact on tourist's animal viewing experience is going to be during the next drought. The current water situation is going to allow the ecosystem to support/carry much more antelope and other animals populations on the bottom of the food chain. This will support higher predator populations over the next two years. The next drought will cause exceptional animal viewing as these higher populations will be forced to compete for less resources.

It is going to be a wild ride (pardon the pun).

Craig Beal

Craig,

I totally agree with you that the gameviewing during the next drought will be spectacular.

The X-factor is when will that be... the problem is that if we have a couple more seasons like this, certain areas will maybe be flooded throughout the year and as a result more places will be inaccessible.

The current situation is definitely a big challenge for the safari industry in northern Botswana.

Johan

Well, again, according to that show there is a cycle to the drought and flooding. And was in drought last 25 years and now apparently going back to full of water part of cycle, and for years.

regards - tom

"Rhino Vlei Road is completely impassable and the waters in the marsh are now reaching over 5 kms from where the channel enters the marsh." this news fresh off the press from someone who just got home after a long safari in the Savute Marsh.

Tom, for more accurate information on the Savute channel and it's history I recommend the following documentaries of the Jouberts - "The stolen river" and "The forgotten river". Hopefully will put it more in perspective.

"The vegetation is still very green and "leafy". This is going to obscure sight lines and make the viewing less good further into the dry season." - this isn't going to be a problem for many of us. As we know, the key is to find spoor and then get on "tracking" (on foot preferable) in order to find the elusive predators. Key ingredients being, Time and Tracking!!!

no tracking on foot for me until my kids are grown!

craig beal

My reference was for "Trackers" to do the tracking, Craig. I wouldn't recommend you walk off tracking, either ;)

Thanks Hari. Can't find "The Forgotten River" but "The Stolen River" is still around on VHS. Might get it. Has been broadcast on TV, maybe 10 years ago. Wish they would re-broadcast in HD.

regards - tom