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Selinda lions


Bush dog

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Last month, I was at Selinda for 5 nights, just after the late rainy season that began around February, 20st and stopped mid-March.   Everything was lush green, making herbivores happy with a fat and juicy grass at their disposal.  The two cheetahs that were there disappeared from the beginning of the rains, the grass becoming too high. 

 

Since my last visit in March 2017, the Selinda pride had recorded the birth of some cubs but also the loss of 4 sub-adult males, pushed to the exit by the 2 dominant males.  These two guys also dominate the other pride present on the concession, the Wapuka.

 

At the end of the season, Main Camp will be completely dismantled to make room for a brand new camp.

 

Let us start with the Wapuka pride.  Its territory extends mainly to the north and northeast of the concession and beyond that of Kwando.

 

One can see on some photos that follow that some lionesses seem worried and for good reason, they are on the territory of the Selinda pride which at the same time was far enough south.

 

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Some more pictures of the Wapuka pride.

 

Cats on trees.

 

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And on dead trees.

 

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It's always nice to see lions doing something interesting...great photos as always!

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Peter Connan

Lovely!

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Alexander33

Great start with the lions in the trees!  I’m looking forward to more of your trip. 

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Lush and green and lovely light ... lions are welcomed bonus on photos!

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At this time of the year where it’s more about landscapes and the beauty of nature than the abundance of animals, 3 pictures taken with my smartphone.

 

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Happy herbivores.

 

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Territorial hippos.

 

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@xelas

 

Thanks!  Lions are indeed bonus on photos, especially when, like @Markssaid, they are doing something interesting like climbing trees or posing on termit mounds.

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vikramghanekar

Lovely photographs. The photographs taken by mobile phone are fabulous too! 

Just a couple of questions

Did the rain affect your game drives? 

Are the rates much lower this time of the year than the dry season?

Thank you

Vikram

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Grasshopper_Club

@Bush dog Great start! And lovely pictures as always. These lions climbing on a tree are an absolute dream of mine to witness once! Thanks for sharing.

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@vikramghanekar

 

Thank you for your comments!

 

Indeed, during and a certain time after the rainy season, the rain can affect game drives.  First, in terms of sightings, animals are not abundant like in the dry season.  There is water everywhere, they are scattered.  The grass is extremely high, it's very difficult to spot them.  Then, some places are not reachable because of floodings and risks of getting stuck and it becomes a certainty in case of black cotton soil.

 

The rates are much lower this time of the year and with Great Plains it vary by twice as much.

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Back to lions.  This is one of the two dominant males, the other one was somewhere around, sleeping.

 

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The flehmen attitude.

 

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Zebras.

 

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Rolling in the dust.

 

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offshorebirder

Wonderful storytelling photos @Bush dog.   

 

The framing of the apprehensive lions in the 1st photo in post #1 is choice, and I love the tunnel effect in the 4th photo in post #1.

 

* Question for you Mike, what photo gear are you using on safari these days?

 

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Really nice dynamic zebra scenes.

Animals may be more difficult to spot, but it looks like you did well!

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during my march stay at Kwando Lebala, I regularly at least 14 lions of the Wapoka (that's how they spell it their newsletter) pride: six subadults males with three adult females, one adult female with three cubs (1m / 2 fm) and one single subadult male

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at Kwando Lagoon the guides told me that during the heavy rains in February they could not drive off road for weeks at a time, tough luck for guests who were staying there at a the time

Edited by ice
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@offshorebirder

 

Thanks, Nathan.  

 

I use Canon material :

-         EOS-1DX  

-         EOS-7D Mark II

-         Zoom EF 70-200 mm f/2,8 L IS II USM 

-         Lens EF 300 mm f/2,8 L IS II USM 

-         Extender EF 2x III 

 

and martphone S8+

 

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@Marks

 

Thanks a lot!  Indeed, we had to struggle to spot animals, especially to try to find a leopard that we eventually did not see.

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@ice

 

I asked the Selinda guides if Wapuka is with a "o" or a "u".  They confirm that it is with a "u".  That name was given to the pride by a Selinda guide.  Wapuka means "crazy".  I only saw 9 members of it.  The Wapuka pride is often seen on the Kwando concession because their favorite spot, at Selinda, is around Star Pan which is close to the cutline between the two concessions.

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