Ennedi, Ouadi-Rime and Zakouma - Chad 2023

April 25, 2023

Yes, the pool is all inter-connected and the crocs use two main areas - in the morning, they tend to use the shallow area behind the donkeys in one of the images, and later in the day they hang out in the deeper channel behind the crocodiles in the image you have shared. That second area is the area we visited in the afternoon, but to no avail. We did walk through the channel to check both areas in the evening, but they were likely ensconced in the overhanging grasses in the second area, which is just visible in your image. It's just bad luck, there's no doubt the crocodiles are there and doing as well as can be expected, but they obviously haven't survived this long by being easy to see! One of our clients had to stake out the guelta for five hours a few years ago to get a sighting, so it isn't unusual not to be able to find them in a visit of a few hours.

April 25, 2023

The rock art is stunning, as is the Pharoah eagle-owl. The massive bird die-off is quite disturbing. The immensity of the rocky landscape to the minute of the gerbil provides the whole spectrum. The pale fox in the light on the rocks is its own form of rock art! An epic journey!

April 25, 2023

Glad you are enjoying, @Atravelynn, it is of course a spectacular place and I do think our visit had a completeness that some visits don't have. Small mammals, large mammals, a spot of birding and all in spectacular surrounds. Provided the current stability in Chad holds, we will be back again and again and again.

Day 6 (March 25th):

Our morning again started before 5.30 for some who chose to head out on foot to collect traps. Whilst I wasn't involved in trapping, it was a delight to see the look of excitement on Moussa's face when he realised the traps had captured something. This was clearly a great opportunity for him to learn to trap and handle small mammals, and we reached a pleasing degree of symbiosis during our visit - he improved his skills in this regard, whilst also opening up more of the massif than we might otherwise have seen with his experience and local knowledge. This particular morning, several species were re-captured, and we had our first lesser Egyptian gerbil of the tour.

This was our last full day in Ennedi, and whilst any visit can only scratch the surface here, we had several sites we wanted to visit today. This morning, we would head to the Oyo Labyrinth, as well as the Mask Arch and the Mushrooms (several sites are so-named here). The Oyo Labyrinth is utterly extraordinary, and sits for me alongside Guelta di Bachikele and the Aloba Arch as a key highlight of the reserve. Accessed through a narrow roadway that winds through this maze of rock formations, this intricate expanse of sandstone would likely take a lifetime to explore, and we spent several hours here in the soft morning light today. There is not much one can do other than wander the sandy passages that cut through the rocks - for keen photographers, this is somewhere that presents the opportunity to find shafts of light illuminating the sandstone. I spent some time tracking, with wildlife funnelled through the pathways, and it was clear that striped hyena, foxes, jerboas and hedgehogs were all using this area regularly. There were also some surprises for birders, with a beautifully adorned pair of pygmy sunbirds putting on a good show, and one client located an owl - unfortunately we didn't get there in time to identify it, but it was apparently significantly smaller than the eagle-owls we had often been seeing. The description fit a pearl-spotted owlet, but we should be too far north for this species - we will never know!

Scenery en route to the Oyo Labyrinth

The entrance to the Labyrinth

Our next stop this morning was the Mask Arch, sometimes referred to as "Eyeglasses" in a direct translation from the French names 'Les lunettes'. Like so many formations here, it is undoubtedly an imposing and impressive feature. After plenty of time enjoying the Labyrinth, it was extremely hot by the time we got here, so we hopped out for a brief photo opportunity before continuing on. Our final destination for the morning was the Mushrooms, the name given to several sites where formations seem to defy gravity in an unusual balancing act, with one segment of rock suspended atop another. This feature may lack the scale of some others, but is no less dramatic, and is highly recommended. Several nearby boulders are great spots for shade to look across the desert, and a few scattered military-style ration packs nearby indicate we weren't the first ones to think so. Definitely not a spot to be missed, and we only departed once the temperatures were well beyond 40 degrees.

One of the bizarre 'Mushroom' formations

A 'Mushroom' with the 'Zipper' rock formation in the background

We headed directly back to camp after a full morning, with several hours set aside for rest and showers. The relucant process of packing had also begun, and the camps we use in transit and at Ouadi-Rime are more basic than Derde, there was a keen desire to make use of the limited mod-cons (mostly coldish beer) on offer here. The decision was made to use our final afternoon to visit some less commonly-frequented rock art sites, and perhaps to stop off at some of the tanks abandoned here during historic invasions from Gaddafi's forces in Libya. We were successful on the first count, finding ourselves at a site known locally as 'Eli' and referred to in literature as the Eli-1 shelter, part of the Amilianga Trail. This site is spectacular. Not only is the art notably more complex and varied than in Manda Gueli (scholars suggest this is the most Niola Doa-esque rock art site in this area), but the outlook from the ledge where most of the art is concentrated is stunning. It is a steep scramble of about 100 metres or so from the vehicles, which not all of our clients could manage on this occasion, but the rewards are well worth it.

The view from Eli-1

Rock art from Eli-1

We had quite a distance to cover to our next spot, a site I had never visited before and our local partner knew from several years' previous. Unfortunately, for the first time (and not for the last) his navigation over the next hour was poor, disregarding a lot of Moussa's gentle advice as to the best route. After a few attempts to find our way through some impenetrable rock formations, disturbing another group of patas monkeys as we went, we happened across a vast camel train, which offered superb photographic opportunities for all. We sat as the 200+ camels passed for quite some time, driving up plenty of dust and making an impressive amount of noise. A lovely experience, truly. It became apparent quite quickly that we would run out of time to get to this next rock art site before the drivers needed to be back to break fast, and so we agreed to return to camp before nightfall. At least we thought we had. An hour or so later we were still bouncing around a remote corner of the massif, and trying to understand what we were doing, and why, was futile. I'm very open about the pros and cons of everyone we partner with, and there is no denying that our local partners in Chad are very rough around the edges, as is to be expected to some extent in what is very much an emerging and challenging destination. However, it would be fair to say that the owner of this Chadian operation is a bit of a loose cannon, and can be reasonably described as a 'control freak', unwilling to take advice or feedback from anyone, but most especially local staff. He is a superb driver, one of the best I know on the continent, but he requires expert and careful management. On this occasion, it transpired he had followed his GPS to a location where abandoned tanks were once found, but was now hopelessly lost - after a brief chat with a local herdsman, who told us that African Parks had removed these tanks for some reason months previous (if you still wish to see/photograph tanks, there are plenty near Fada). By this point, it was extremely late but it took a further hour of negotiating before he agreed to follow Moussa back to camp, sulking the entire way. Not a seamless client experience, and a continuation of some clashes between this individual and our other tour leaders. Local operators are few and far between in Chad, and we view upskilling the local team in this regard as a key part of what we do.

Camel train

We arrived back in camp after nightfall, and it took a lengthy series of apologies on my part, and a fair bit of bribery, to get agreement for our night drive to go ahead tonight. Eventually, we were on the move again, traversing the same route towards Tokou and the Elephant Arch that we had travelled the previous nights. We were again richly rewarded with sightings of cape hare, pale foxes, distant fennec foxes, pharoah eagle-owls and gerbils. The highlight, though, was undoubtedly a very co-operative lesser Egyptian jerboa - I had seen several on most nights, but getting the group onto them had been a challenge. There was quite the photo shoot tonight as the group spent the best part of half an hour with this delightful rodent, dancing around scorpions to get the best possible shots. A truly lovely way to end our final night drive in Ennedi, and indeed our stay as a whole.

Lesser Egyptian Jerboa

April 26, 2023

libyan striped polecat, sand cat, pharoah eagle owl - and a cute gerbil to boot. very enticing indeed. what rich sightings you've and your other tours had.

a mass die-off of birds in that cave is quite troubling. has there been any update from AP on potential causes?

April 26, 2023

11 hours ago, Pictus Safaris said:

one client located an owl - unfortunately we didn't get there in time to identify it, but it was apparently significantly smaller than the eagle-owls we had often been seeing. The description fit a pearl-spotted owlet, but we should be too far north for this species - we will never know!

I also saw an owlet while in the Ennedi, not far from Guelta d'Archei. Not a birder, so can only Google it. It is probably a little owl (Athene noctua). My photos of the animal are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/32282344@N08/52469556749/in/album-72177720302944756/ and https://www.flickr.com/photos/32282344@N08/52468777577/in/album-72177720302944756/

Enjoying your trip report a lot! Chad is such a fascinating place.

April 26, 2023

What an absolutely fascinating report and all the images are stunning. Thanks to all concerned

April 26, 2023

8 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

libyan striped polecat, sand cat, pharoah eagle owl - and a cute gerbil to boot. very enticing indeed. what rich sightings you've and your other tours had.

a mass die-off of birds in that cave is quite troubling. has there been any update from AP on potential causes?

Hi @Kitsafari- it's been a good season for us, definitely. A big part of that is that we generally visit these areas late in the season. Western Sahara is a great example - several tours that ran during the usual peak season of Jan-Mar recorded poor results, whereas our late April tour has done very well. A weird year in terms of weather has no doubt contributed.

With regard to the dead birds in that cave, I've not heard anything since AP took those samples a couple of weeks ago. Their big concern was avian flu, so hopefully it is something less sinister.

5 hours ago, ElsWHS said:

I also saw an owlet while in the Ennedi, not far from Guelta d'Archei. Not a birder, so can only Google it. It is probably a little owl (Athene noctua). My photos of the animal are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/32282344@N08/52469556749/in/album-72177720302944756/ and https://www.flickr.com/photos/32282344@N08/52468777577/in/album-72177720302944756/

Enjoying your trip report a lot! Chad is such a fascinating place.

Thanks @ElsWHS! That's very interesting, and likely the same species seen. There is a known population in NE Chad, but a fair way east of where we had our sighting, but it's a very neat fit.

5 hours ago, wilddog said:

What an absolutely fascinating report and all the images are stunning. Thanks to all concerned

Glad you are enjoying, @wilddog!

May 2, 2023

Day 7 (March 26th):

Our first big day of overlanding lay ahead! We were on the road by 7.00, aiming to make good progress before it got too hot, and camp was efficiently packed up for us this morning. It was sad to say goodbye to Moussa, who had been a real asset to us in Ennedi, but he was flying down to Zakouma that afternoon and was understandably excited. His final assignment with us was to check the rodent traps, which had been laid in the grasses adjacent to camp the previous night, and we had yet another result - I believe the species captured today was a pouched gerbil.

The drive south from Ennedi is, initially, a spectacular one. The monoliths become more dispersed, but no less impressive, and as a consequence of some pretty hopeless navigation we spent longer than expected with close views of them. Eventually, after much trial and error, we found the main track south towards Kalait. The iconic sandstone formations of Ennedi stop surprisingly and suddenly (as the crow flies, only a few dozen kilometres from Derde Camp), replaced by a vast expanse of, well, nothingness. Beautiful in its starkness, this empty depression characterises much of the long drive south to Kalait, punctuated only very occasionally by narrow, dry riverbeds where feeble attempts have been made to build bridges. Over the years, these have buckled, and present the largest obstacle to progress on this route - otherwise, the roads on this section are dirt tracks but in fairly good condition. We made good progress this morning, stopping for lunch in a rare patch of woodland lining a drive riverbed, and the birding here, even in the heat of the day, was rewarding. Within half an hour we had good views of African grey hornbill, black scrub-robin, rufous-tailed scrub-robin, Clapperton's francolin, fulvous babbler and several other species - several of these species are out-of-range (pretty minimally) if you look at the literature, but range maps are best taken with a pinch of salt when in Chad.

Another excellent lunch, given the remoteness of our location, was pulled together by our cook, Armaye, and we enjoyed a restful lunch break whilst our drivers slept. A full day's driving in that heat without being permitted to eat or drink is quite the ask. We continued our journey south-west after lunch, with progress surprisingly good - the dirt road conditions were excellent, and we were only slowed by the tentativeness of one of the drivers. Within a couple of hours, we had caught up with our supply vehicle that had left Derde at first light, and we found ourselves in the town of Kalait. As we would in most towns we came across during this tour, we spent several hours in Kalait, fixing mechanical issues in the vehicles, picking up supplies and stopping for prayers. One of the key missions undertaken was to find a spot to stock up on beer - by this stage, the national beer, Gala, was quite popular amongst the group. In this region, most (but not all) larger towns are overwhelmingly Muslim, but even in the most devout communities, you can usually find a house or two with wine bottles cast into the iron gates, signifying that alcohol can be purchased here. It took us ten minutes to find said house, and much longer to negotiate the purchase of a large percentage of their remaining beers. After this stop, supplemented by the purchase of an outlandishly large block of ice, we eventually meandered our way out of the town a few hours before sunset.

As before, the roads continued to be in good shape, until we encountered bridges and slowed to a snail's pace - it was only really at this speed that we could pick up wildlife, although views were restricted to striped ground squirrels today. One of the bridges was such a pain to drive around that the drivers briefly split up and we lost sight of each other for just a moment - that was all it took for us to lose track of the other two vehicles in our convoy altogether, and so much of this evening was spent trying to get a hold of the other vehicles via walkie-talkie. After over two hours of driving up and down the dirt tracks, unanswered radio calls and failed phone calls, we eventually located the rest of the group at camp just after darkness - needless to say a cold beer was welcomed after a stressful end to the day.

A late dinner tonight was followed by a fairly brief walk from our basic campsite (an improvement on previous years, with camp beds, bedding and small dome TentCo tents). The walk was surprisingly productive, with quick views for some of our first common genet of the trip, as well as bronze mannikin and chestnut-bellied starling close to camp, but before long the fatigue of a long day in the saddle drove the group to bed. The good news was that our fair progress today meant we should arrive at our next stop, Ouadi-Rime, by midday tomorrow.

Day 8 (March 27th):

It's often the case when camping in rural Chad that one is awoken by the sound of goats and cows moving through camp - I suspect this is a deliberate ploy by the young boys herding the livestock to have an excuse to investigate the odd sight of foreigners in tents in their backyard. This morning was no exception, with a large herd of cows overseeing the breaking of camp whilst guests tucked into breakfast and enjoyed a fly-by from a grasshopper buzzard. The team were wonderfully efficient in getting us on the road this morning, which was just as well, as it was already noticeably hotter at this slightly lower elevation when compared with Ennedi. By mid-morning, we had arrived in Arada, where we went through the typical rigamarole of re-fuelling, re-supplying and putting cars back together. As luck would have it, it was market day today, and so opportunities for photgraphs were a welcome distraction for clients as they waited.

From Arada, it is a 65km drive out west into the desert to get to Sahara Conservation Fund's base, Oryx Base Camp. The drive out is on good dirt roads (although they didn't stop us getting lost en route for twenty minutes or so), and the relative hustle and bustle of Arada is quickly left behind. Not long after leaving town, it becomes noticeable that the grasslands of Central Chad are fast approaching, free from the overgrazing that characterises the corridor between Kalait and Abeche. Within half an hour of Arada, a sun-baked sign indicates you are entering the reserve, and the grasses get significantly taller and more expansive. Grazing is indeed allowed within the reserve, and pastoralists live within the reserve at all times, but you do sense you are entering an ecosystem that is very much intact.

Perhaps halfway to Oryx Base Camp, we encounter our first dorcas gazelle of the trip, a skittish male that bounced away from our vehicles quite promptly. Dorcas are a beautiful gazelle, with a noticeably faded lateral stripe that has a brown or tan appearance - this is the easiest way to distinguish dorcas from red-fronted gazelle in the few parts of Chad where their ranges overlap. It is easy to forget when visiting Ouadi-Rime that these gazelles are deeply threatened in most of their range, as about half of the global population of 40,000 resides in the reserve. As we approached Oryx Base Camp, there was a gazelle to every bush or tree, desperately seeking shade.

Dorcas gazelle

At midday almost exactly, our convoy made it to Oryx Base Camp (OBC). OBC is perched atop a small hill deep within the reserve, overlooking miles and miles of pristine grassland. The camp itself is rudimentary, befitting the remote location, but by our standards is simply luxurious. Consisting of shipping containers, the camp consists of an office, a few bedrooms, a kitchen and two toilet/shower blocks. There are even flush toilets and fully plumbed-in showers, as well as air-conditioning and wi-fi. Power is provided by wind and solar panels. We would be camping just outside the camp, but the team at SCF could not have been more welcoming and happy to have us. Without hesitation, Tim Wacher and his team offered to take us out for game drives, as well as allowing access to air-conditioning, power, wi-fi, toilets etc. It is worth pointing out that OBC is a research station, and a research station alone - whilst SCF do see ecotourism as a part of their long-term plan, they are not set up to offer a fully-fledged tourism experience today. Visitors should come fully prepared to be independent, and anything that SCF are kind enough to offer should be seen as a bonus - this is how we sell this tour today, so beware of anyone offering a 'bells and whistles' tour to OBC for now!

Tim offered the clients a warm welcome and introduction to the work of SCF. Unfortunately, the planned arrival of a new group of scimitar-horned oryx and addax a few weeks before our arrival (in fact, scheduled for when our previous group visited) had been cancelled late in the day, owing to logistical complexities associated with the fact that the Ukrainian aircraft bringing the animals to Chad from the UAE was meant to have a Russian crew. For us, this was actually a lucky break, as it meant by the SCF's own admission, things were quiet for them, especially as Ramadan meant many of the team were not in the field. As such, Tim agreed to take us out for an afternoon and then night drive tonight - three clients in each vehicle, with me riding the flatbed in the lead vehicle.

As we had a few hours to settle into camp, this was an opportunity for most to catch up on rest. For birders, the constant backdrop of tree sparrows, Sudan golden sparrows and, most numerously, African silverbills, was a lovely bonus. For others, the views across the grassland in each direction, broken only by a nearby guard post to the south and the bomas to the east, was more than enough to keep one entertained.

Striped ground squirrel in OBC

Despite the sweltering heat, the team was eager to go at 15.30, and we first headed the short distance to the large fenced bomas near camp. Tim and his team offered a fascinating overview of the work being done here - at the time of our visit, one boma held several ostrich, and another held dama gazelle. Both species have an interesting history and future in the reserve. The ostriches (of course, of the North African variety) had been brought here from Zakouma and were doing well, with a large number of surviving chicks. However, African Parks have pulled the plug on any further transfers for now, although as already discussed the ostriches introduced to Ennedi are doing well. We only saw one ostrich outside the bomas during our stay in Ouadi-Rime, which was a male who walked between the boma and camp every day - quite what the future holds for ostriches here is unclear, and I suspect (if the rhetoric of some within SCF is anything to go by) that focus is shifting to other species, notably cheetah.

Ostrich chicks

The story of the dama gazelle in Ouadi-Rime is a little complex, and has changed over time, so I will try to eludicate it here as clearly as possible. There are no, nor have there ever been, any 're-introduced' dama gazelle living wild in the reserve. The small herd held in the bomas consists of females captured several years ago on the border between Niger and Chad, and males captured from the wild in Ouadi-Rime. The story of those relocations is a long one, but essentially the decision was made to capture as many dama gazelles living in the Niger/Chad border region as possible, owing to a) the risk of extirpation in that area and b) the overwhelming genetic diversity in that population identified when samples were taken. The few females captured from that population have more genetic diversity, tenfold, than the entire captive population of dama gazelle in the US. In the wild today, there are probably 200-300 wild dama gazelles remaining, divided between the remote deserts of central Niger, the aforementioned border area between Niger and Chad, Ouadi-Rime and, potentially, a hitherto unknown population in south-Central Chad known only from local reports and a skin. Ouadi-Rime represents, by far, the most secure population in Africa today. An unintended and unforeseen side-effect of holding these dama in bomas is that the wild population has moved significantly closer to camp, and it is apparently common to see interactions between the wild herds and captive herd - in fact, the males have been fighting through the fence, causing significant damage to some of the captive population. It is, therefore, easier than it might otherwise be to see wild dama gazelle - quite remarkable, really, given how critically endangered this species is.

Unsurprisingly, our main focus after visiting the bomas was to seek out the re-introduced populations of scimitar-horned oryx and addax in the reserve. These incredible ungulates have been introduced in various tranches over the years, but there are plenty of wild-born specimens of both species now to be seen here. The oryx are doing particularly well now, thriving in what was the heart of their range before they were declared extinct in the wild at the turn of the century. In fact, they are doing so well that Abu Dhabi are putting considerable pressure on the IUCN to re-classify them as 'vulnerable' rather than 'extinct in the wild' - we'll see what happens there. By all accounts, the addax are doing less well, with higher rates of mortality, poorer body condition and slower population growth. The suspicion is that this is partly driven by poor habitat for them - they are a desert species, rather than a grassland, species after all. Technically speaking, OBC is out-of-range for addax, as it sits about 50km south of the southernmost known limit for the species even in the wettest of wet seasons. They are surviving here, but not thriving in the way the oryx are.

It take us only a few scans of the horizon to locate our first herd of oryx. These antelope are strikingly beautiful, especially when juxtaposed with the golden grasses of Ouadi-Rime, and this sighting was the highlight of the tour for many clients. Perhaps a dozen oryx or so, all in superb condition, offered excellent views as they marauded across the grassland. The high winds meant they were very skittish for a time but, eventually, we were able to position the vehicles so that all clients could get the photos they wanted. A superb sighting, and reason enough to visit Ouadi-Rime. Over the course of the next hour, we encountered over 50 different oryx, including brand-new youngsters, across perhaps half a dozen herds.

A first view of scimitar-horned oryx

Oryx in the shade

A closer view of the oryx

It is fair to say that most visitors to Ouadi-Rime, for now at least, come here to view the oryx, addax and dama gazelle. But all visitors are surprised and delighted by the quality of the game-viewing more generally, and as we drove we encountered some real highlights. In particular, it was wonderful to spot Arabian bustard strutting across the landscape. Pausing at one hillock to scan for addax, we noticed that a nearby kettle of vultures was descending at pace, and a short drive away we encountered a disparate group of lappet-faced, Egyptian and Rueppell's vultures. In itself, it is lovely to see a group of threatened species such as these and it speaks to the health of the overall ecosystem, but there was some concern from the SCF team that there may have been a mortality amongst the addax and oryx. As such, we temporarily abandoned our plan to locate addax to investigate whether anything had indeed bitten the dust nearby. Sure enough, tucked under a bush was a freshly deceased camel calf, likely having succumbed to the heat. Relieved that the carcass was not of an addax or oryx, we continued the search for addax.It took us much longer than usual, but we did eventually locate a wonderful mixed herd of addax and oryx as the sun was beginning to set. There is no doubt that the addax are in much poorer condition than the oryx, covered in ticks and much skinnier. But a sighting of such an extraordinary species is hard to temper, and the return to camp was a very happy one indeed. We paused briefly for a sunset sighting of another Arabian bustard, and our evening was completed with a brief daylight view of a pale fox.

Addax

Following our return to camp, and another excellent dinner, the plan for tonight was to drive south, to the airstrip and the nearby firebreaks. Here, the grass would be much shorter, making it easier to spy our key targets, including golden nightjar and Libyan striped weasel. Ouadi-Rime is a rich ecosystem, and hopes were also high for caracal, aardvark, honey badger, striped hyena and more. Before we had even pulled out of camp, we had seen three African wolves hanging around looking for scraps, so the omens seemed good.

We raced through the longer grasses en route to the airstrip, pausing only for the eyeshine of another pale fox in the distance - pale foxes are abundant beyond belief here, and this would be the first of 60+ sightings in the reserve. Arriving at the firebreaks around the airstrip, we immediately recorded lesser Egyptian jerboa and savanna hare - again, the taxonomy here is impenetrable, but these hares do look different from those in Ennedi. The next three hours or so were spent trawling the firebreaks for eyeshine and, in truth, it was probably the quietest night drive Ouadi-Rime has ever recorded. We nabbed just a handful of pale foxes, a probable pair of wild cats and, most frustratingly, the vibrant eyeshine of a nightjar. It was in the same location that a golden nightjar had been seen by our previous group but, despite desperately seeking to relocate it after losing sight, we just couldn't get a visual. Devastating!

Lesser Egyptian jerboa

Pale fox

The best sighting of the night, though, was reserved for very late on. Just a few metres from camp, we happened across a wild cat being shadowed by wolves, and this beautiful feline paused to allow us excellent views before disappearing into the grassland - superb. After a wonderful first half-day, we retired to our tents, full of hope for a sighting of a wild dama gazelle tomorrow.

Wild cat near OBC

Edited May 2, 2023 by Pictus Safaris

May 3, 2023

Really enjoying this - what a high class report, thanks!

May 4, 2023

Quality sightings for sure.

Thanks for this TR @Pictus Safaris

May 4, 2023

Thanks @michael-ibkand @offshorebirder- glad that the TR is adding value!

Day 9 (March 28th):

After a somewhat eventful night (thanks to a snoring-related confrontation amongst clients), this morning started once again with a quick check of traps - Tim had reported that zebra mice had been regularly seen in camp and that he'd be curious to know which species they were. As we were leaving camp early this morning, the odds of trapping one of these diurnal rodents was slim, and the chances were further dented by one of the traps disappearing (more on that later). Nonetheless, there were three gerbils trapped - pygmy gerbil, pouched gerbil and our first Nigerian gerbil. Our client who had authorisation to trap and handle the rodents is extremely experienced, although there was much hilarity as two of these three were inadvertently released into camp as they squirmed free of his grasp. Unsurprisingly, quite a few holes appeared in the coming days within the fenceline. I was apologetic, but Tim laughed it off - much less trouble, he assured us, than when the occasional ostrich or oryx get into the compound.

Our main target this morning was to track down some of the few remaining wild dama gazelle, which are regularly seen a short distance north of base camp. We set off on the track that bisects the two main bomas, with the clients in the vehicle cabs and me perched on the spare tyre in the back. My vantage point would come in handy, although I did a bit of a double-take as I made the radio call 'is that dama gazelle outside the fence?'. As it transpires, it was. A beautiful, wild male dama gazelle was nose to nose with one of the captive females through the fence. Whilst a little skittish, some circuitous and careful positioning of the vehicles secured great views of this stunning animal, the largest of all gazelles and, for my money, the most visually striking. To see a wild specimen of such a critically endangered animal is always an immense privilege, and the group was thrilled.

Wild dama gazelle

Dama gazelle near Oryx Base Camp

Mammal-watchers are never satisfied, though, and we agreed that we would stick to our original plan of seeking out dama gazelle further afield, in an attempt to see the species in a slightly more natural setting. Our modus operandi for much of the morning, then, was to seek out the slightly-elevated portions of grassland every few hundred metres and scan from there for dama. As we traversed this area, dorcas gazelle were again abundant - we likely saw several hundred individuals each day - and we encountered several herds of both scimitar-horned oryx and addax. It is a strange feeling to drive away from such special animals, but by the end of the morning we were barely pausing for them unless they needed to be identified for SCF's ongoing monitoring programme. A real highlight for clients with an interest in birding was a group of three Nubian bustards, a specialty of Ouadi-Rime, as well as dozens of Arabian bustards. We also came across an active lappet-faced vulture nest, further indication that this species of vulture is thriving here.

Male scimitar-horned oryx separating a calf from its mother

Lappet-faced vulture

Dorcas gazelle

By late morning, it had become absolutely roasting, and we were soon to give up on bouncing around the reserve to return to camp on the main track. Pressing on for the last few hundred metres, it was a delight to spot a group of six dama gazelle feeding in some relatively thick cover off to our left. Like all the dama gazelle here, this group was skittish, moving away through the open and offering excellent views of three females and three calves - success! Our drive back to camp was certainly a happy one.

Over lunch, access to an air-conditioned room was most appreciated by the clients, who took this opportunity to rest. Outside, there was not much to do other than plan our approach to the rest of the day with Tim, although it was easy to be entertained by the Sudan golden sparrows and striped ground squirrels seeking out water around the compound. It was agreed that we would head further west this afternoon, with a particular focus on caracal, which are seen regularly here (and were indeed seen by our previous group).

Before heading to the shrubby areas favoured by the caracal this afternoon, our first port of call was to check in on two vulture nests close to camp. The first, belonging to a pair of lappet-faced vultures, was particularly active, with a pair of scissor-tailed kites nesting just beneath it and a short-toed snake-eagle in close attendance. The second, belonging to a pair of Rueppell's vultures, was quieter. It is great to see that SCF continue to monitor these nests closely despite their more-publicised focus on ungulates.

Continuing on, it had become a habit by now to scan the shade of every bush and tree, where there was usually at least one dorcas gazelle. On one occasion, though, a dama gazelle was staring back at us from besides some vegetation - it became apparent very quickly that this was the same male that was at the boma in the morning. The clients decided a name was in order and, so, Derek the Dama became a fixture of the landscape in Ouadi-Rime.

Derek the Dama

Much of the rest of the afternoon was spent trawling through the knee-high vegetation that characterises the undulating ground in this part of the reserve, in the hopes of encountering something with tufted ears. We made a point of stopping off at any large trees, and at several we were rewarded with excellent views of northern white-faced owls. These superb birds are abundant here, and we generally had multiple sightings each day. Our caracal pursuit, today at least, was to be frustrated, although we did have a different feline encounter. Briefly, but in broad daylight, a wild cat streaked away from us in one of the many minor dry ouadis, up an incline and beyond not to be seen again. It is worth noting that the wild cats here are colossal. Truly huge. On more than one occasion, several hugely experienced wildlife-watchers (including myself and Tim) called caracal on night drives, only for a wild cat to eventually reveal itself. Their shoulder height is, generally, akin to most pure wild cats in Eastern and Southern Africa, but they are at least 50% longer (and therefore taller when sitting) - I've no idea what drives this, although the abundance of food can't hurt.

Northern white-faced owl

Sundowners were enjoyed with oryx and addax in the far distance, before a slow return to camp that yielded only a pair of African wolves and an ostrich outside camp.

Scanning the horizon at sunset

Tonight, we agreed to focus on aardvark and caracal, which our previous group had seen fairly well here. This meant a return to the area we had visited this afternoon, allowing us to carefully comb through the aforementioned vegetation and drive the old, dry riverbeds that were pock-marked with fresh aardvark digs. We began with a view of a wild cat close to the road - on closer inspection, this was a young kitten and, as we always do, we left this lone youngster well alone and continued on. It didn't take too long to locate an adult although, like most cats in the reserve, it didn't fancy posing for photos. Pale fox were seen early on too, before a pause was enforced to dig out our second vehicle that had fallen victim to the soft earth at the edges of one of the firebreaks.

Once we reached the core area we were planning to drive, the sightings came thick and fast. In total, we had views of 12 wild cats, 20+ pale foxes and several African wolves. At a certain point, the density of cats and foxes became a nuisance, as it was impossible to drive more than a few hundred metres without catching eyeshine - whilst it is easy enough to differentiate caracal or aardvark eyeshine from wild cat or pale fox, for the sake of thoroughness we did check all the eyeshine we got as far as possible. I dread to think how circuitous our route would have looked on the GPS! Of course, 'too many' sightings is a quite wonderful issue to have, and the density of mesopredators in Ouadi-Rime has to be seen to be believed.

Our night-drive set up in Ouadi-Rime

The highlight of the night was undoubtedly a large animal lumbering around at the base of a tree. It looked a very likely spot for aardvark but, instead, a stunning crested porcupine emerged from the darkness, offering excellent views and even pausing for photos.

Crested porcupine

Our drive back to camp was, again, interrupted by near countless pale fox and wild cat sightings in what was a much more typical night drive in the reserve compared to the quite drive the night before. Most clients headed straight to bed on our return to camp, although I stayed up chatting with Tim and was rewarded with the sight of a young barn owl flying directly into the top of the perimeter fence, somersaulting forwards, and flying off. A slightly surreal end to another wonderful day.

May 5, 2023

Wonderful report! 'Plentiful cheetah in Zakouma'? Did they re-appear recently, or do they now know where to find them? I remember years ago they collared one, but never saw it again. More recently a student active in Benin moved to Zakouma as Benin got to dangerous, and he managed to collar at least one cheetah.

May 11, 2023

Gosh I'm loving this! Thanks for the report---reliving some moments from our visit last year! Look forward to more more more!

May 11, 2023

On 5/5/2023 at 9:29 PM, ForWildlife said:

Wonderful report! 'Plentiful cheetah in Zakouma'? Did they re-appear recently, or do they now know where to find them? I remember years ago they collared one, but never saw it again. More recently a student active in Benin moved to Zakouma as Benin got to dangerous, and he managed to collar at least one cheetah.

Hi @ForWildlife- plentiful by Zakouma's standards. There are usually around a dozen or so cheetah spread throughout the park, but this year there was a block of time (perhaps 5 or 6 weeks) where there were 7 individuals all in the relatively small area between Tinga and Nomade. There were cheetah sightings daily - only one of our groups got lucky with a sighting, but it was certainly a great year for cheetah sightings in the park. One cheetah has been collared this year, but headed west away from the road network almost immediately afterwards. There were several traps set up whilst we were there.

3 hours ago, gatoratlarge said:

Gosh I'm loving this! Thanks for the report---reliving some moments from our visit last year! Look forward to more more more!

Thanks @gatoratlarge, pleased you are enjoying!

Day 10 (March 29th):

Today, from start to finish, was a real delight and a privilege - with as long a stay as most groups ever have in Ouadi-Rime, our loose plan today was to investigate a slightly different part of the park, further west, and shift focus to a more typical monitoring day in the reserve. With this in mind, we set out at first light. Our moods were already buoyed by some good news that a worrying mortality alert, received the previous day from collars on a pair of male scimitar-horned oryx, were issued in error, with both animals found alive and well. The game-viewing got off to a good start too, with a distant addax spotted just a few metres from camp (by this stage, we were so used to addax that we drove on - which speaks to how incredible the reserve is!) and some good birding. Short-toed snake eagle and pallid harrier were seen in good numbers, and our attention was soon drawn to a bit of a feeding frenzy in one of the few trees dotting the horizon. As we neared, it became apparent that a swarm of tree locusts were in residence, offering a great feeding opportunity for several bird species. The biomass here, in a reserve that some write-off as desert, is remarkable.

Swarm of tree locusts

Underneath the next tree over, perhaps a hundred metres away, also sat a stunning scimitar-horned oryx. This individual, Tim explained, had been badly wounded in a fight with another male some months prior. His bulging eye certainly looked very uncomfortable but, apparently, had improved a little since he was last seen. His body condition was flawless, which only goes to show how ideal the habitat in OROA is for these oryx - even an injured individual seems to be thriving here.

As we continued on, we recorded several large herds of oryx and addax. We paused at each sighting for some time, photographing each individual and their ear tags, with all of this information logged by the Sahara Conservation Fund team. It was particularly noticeable that many of the addax were in poor condition this morning, perhaps because of the regular juxtaposition with the healthier scimitar-horned oryx. It was a thrill, nonetheless, to spend time with several calves today, most of which seemed well. There were, again noticeably, a number of 'runts', often several months older than the calves around them but much smaller. SCF's work to monitor this situation is, no question, invaluable.

Herd of addax, mixed with dama gazelle

A closer view of addax

A lone scimitar-horned oryx

Gradually, as the heat of the day built, we stuck mostly to checking the shade of trees for any wildlife. As always, dorcas gazelle were abundant, and we saw dozens more addax and oryx before the day was over. A particular highlight was a diurnal view of a pair of African wolves darting away from us across the dunes. Then, as we headed back to camp, we stumbled across a wonderful surprise - another stunning dama gazelle, this time out in the open. Apparently, a calf had been born in this location recently, so we kept a good distance and left this wonderful animal be after a few minutes.

African wolf

Lone dama gazelle

The heat of the day was again mostly spent ensconced in air-conditioned rooms kindly vacated by the SCF team. A shorter-than-usual afternoon drive was a relaxed affair, trawling the grasslands closer to camp for photographic opportunities. For birders, we located Arabian and Nubian bustards in good numbers, and vultures and short-toed snake eagles were a constant presence. For mammal-watchers, there was a near-constant parade of dorcas gazelles, addax, oryx and, again, distant dama gazelles. But, by this point of the tour, fingernails were being bitten about us missing out on Libyan striped weasel. Without any sign of them at all so far, hopes were high tonight, as we were returning to the open areas near the airstrip.

Dorcas gazelle near camp

Nubian bustard in flight

What followed was what, by most standards, was an excellent night drive, albeit one that didn't quite deliver the weasel we were looking for. We saw 14 wild cats all in, as well as dozens of pale fox, several African wolves, savanna hare and more. These huge wild cats once again caused rampant confusion, sitting and striding out just like caracals, and we spent plenty of time ruling out potential caracal sightings tonight. The most entertaining interaction, though, was close to camp, when a glinting object was spotted at the feet of an African wolf. Initially we thought that, perhaps, the shine was eyeshine from a prey animal that had met an untimely end at the paws of the wolf. But something didn't look quite right, so I slipped out of the vehicle to take a closer look and... voila! There was one of the clients' traps that had disappeared a few nights previous - fortunately it was in one piece, although it had acquired a few tooth marks. Reunited with the trap, we headed back after another great day, and looking forward to our final day in the reserve tomorrow.

Lesser Egyptian jerboa

African wolf by night

Pale fox above its den in the middle of a firebreak

May 21, 2023

Outstanding stuff! Wow. This is a magical place.

Derek is such a handsome lad. Pin-up material.

I forgot about the renaming of African wolves until I got to the first picture of one. The mentions of wolves had me mightily confused - but totally my own fault, as usual.

May 21, 2023

Thanks @pault, glad you are enjoying. Yes, the whole 'wolf' thing takes a bit of getting used to - and will only get more confusing as more and more wolf species are being split out too. My philosophy is to call them whatever you like - in Chad, at least, there is very little overlap between the wolf and the jackal so confusion is generally kept to a minimum.

Day 11 (March 30th):

Our final full day in Ouadi-Rime had arrived all too quickly and, whilst there is always excitement when Zakouma is just a few days away, there was of course a sadness that the end of our stay in this stunning reserve was on the horizon. The plan for today was for a bit of a rare mammal bonanza, spending our morning trying for caracal and then limiting our afternoon activities to allow for an all-out focus on locating striped weasel during the night.

Today's morning drive was, as usual, a real delight. Again, we headed west, pausing occasionally to check in at vulture nests, and to scan the grasses for addax and oryx. Unsurprisingly, both species were well-seen again today, and we stopped only for excellent views or for large herds. The area we were heading too today was the furthest west of any we had visited so far, where the long grasses are punctuated by patches of knee-high bushes that easily conceal wild cat and caracal. Before we got there, though, we were distracted by a pair of African wolves lolloping away from the road - it was cool enough that they should still have been fairly active, so the fact that they were stationary under a tree when we flushed them piqued our interest. Sure enough, as we approached it became clear that a camel carcass was being fed on, so we popped out of the vehicle to investigate. We were met with the fascinating, and slightly grizzly, sight of an old and half-consumed vulture carcass hanging out of the camel. Now, whenever one comes across a dead vulture (as we did several times in Zakouma) one gets slightly concerned, such is the rampant nature of poisonings across much of the world, but most deaths at this time of year in Chad can be attributed to the heat. This chap, however, had rather entertainingly managed to get its head stuck between the ribs of the camel, leaving it a sitting duck (or vulture) when the wolves had come along. A quirky sighting to begin our day!

The camel carcass that was the end for one Rueppell's vulture

The next half an hour or so of our bumping across the grasslands were largely uneventful, until we spied a small group of dama gazelles in a long-dry ouadi over the lip of a hill. As had become standard practice, I dipped down behind the spare tyre on the flatbed to avoid spooking these particularly skittish animals, and we were afforded good views of a small herd trotting away from us. Rather than pursue them and scatter the countless dorcas in the ouadi in all directions, we continued on over the next dune and dropped down again, making a beeline for a particularly dense patch of scrub. Still hunkered down behind the tyre, I suddenly heard the cry go up of 'caracal!'.

A client had spied this most elusive of cats from quite a distance at first, unsure of what it was, and had waited until we approached to call it. As they tend to, the caracal had bolted at warp-speed into a nearby bush. There were a few grumbles that only one client had seen it, and so we circled the large patch of scrub into which it had disappeared, eventually jumping out on foot to see if we could find any sign of where it had disappeared to. A few more moments later and another cry went up, as the caracal scarpered through the long grass on the far side of the scrub and over the lip of the next dune - a client's impressive speed with his camera confirmed this was not just another of the gargantuan wild cats of Ouadi-Rime.

The first of three caracal on this trip

We spent much of the next half an hour attempting to relocate the caracal to see if we could get a more relaxed and candid view. There were a number of false alarms, mostly down to African wolves barrelling out from the shade under trees, but eventually one vehicle was able to get good views of another caracal, quite some distance away, that was similarly unimpressed with our presence. We made the decision to leave these cats in piece - apparently better views can be had when the wind is not as high as it was during our visit, but any glimpse of a caracal is of course very special indeed.

Flushed with success, we made our way back to camp. Again, the heat was oppressive, and most of the group spent the bulk of the day asleep on mattresses on the floor of the air-conditioned rooms. Only one vehicle headed out for a short afternoon drive, with most clients catching up on rest instead. We used this drive as a chance to recce the area around the airstrip in daylight, as we had only really been in this area after dark. It was a brief but enjoyable drive, focussed on several dry watering points that should provide an unobstructed view through the grassland when spotlighting. Circumnavigating these patches of dried mud offered excellent diurnal sightings of pharoah eagle-owl, cape hare and short-toed snake-eagle, and a plan for our return in a few hours time.

As always, the night drive was excellent. Pale fox and wild cat, it will not surprise you to learn, were present in abundance, and we trawled the area around the airstrip diligently for weasels. Alas, it was not to be. However, we were rewarded for our patience with superb views of African wolf, but also a great sighting of our first honey badger. It was a very dusty specimen, battered by the desert winds, but all clients got a view as he snarled and steamed his way away from us across the dry mud. A lovely way to end our stay in the reserve - we will have to return for the weasel, you can't win them all!

African wild cat

African wolf

Our final wild cat at Ouadi-Rime

June 2, 2023

Day 12 (March 31st):

It was a sad and reluctant goodbye to Ouadi-Rime this morning, as we took advantage of our last few hours to soak in the luxury of air-conditioning, as well as to top up camera batteries and enjoy a flush toilet for the final time, for the next few days at least. This was the first time we had been in camp during the early morning, so the rodent traps were left out a little longer than usual. The clients were rewarded with a stunning zebra mouse, which was a real highlight for the rodent aficionados on the trip. The taxonomy of this particular species probably needs to be looked at much more closely when it comes to this part of their range, so I doubt we will know exactly which species this belongs to for quite some time to come.

After an impressively prompt disassembly of camp, we were on the road immediately after lunch, heading south-east away from Oryx Base Camp. The drive today was to be relatively short, by Chadian standards, taking us just three or four hours to the edge of the reserve, where the previous group had camped and seen aardvark very well. After a couple of misnavigations, we arrived at the unassuming site at the periphery of some open woodland, and took to exploring as camp was set up. A gabar goshawk welcomed us in as we skirted along the dry riverbed by camp, and there was certainly plenty of sign of aardvark, including a fresh dig precariously close to where my tent was set up. The birding was markedly different from Ouadi-Rime, despite the short distance travelled, and this kept the group busy until nightfall.

After dinner, a lengthy walk through the woodland, and then across the open plain where the aardvarks had been seen but, alas, the orycteropes avoided us. We did get the consolation prize of some more pouched gerbils under a small bush, and a common genet scurrying up a tree. The only other thing to note was that fresh striped hyena tracks were visible on the far side of the riverbank from camp, so clearly some larger predators do persist in this area. Sadly, they didn't bump into us today.

Day 13 (April 1st):

Today began cruelly. One of the clients mentioned he had received an email from a member of the AP team he had previously been corresponding with, and apparently wild dogs had been seen in the park. I was besides myself - seeing dogs in Chad ranks perhaps only below seeing them in Senegal when it comes to sightings I would most like to have. But, then came the cry, 'April Fools!'. I have only just recovered.

Today would see us spending a full day on the road, first east to Biltine and then south to Abeche, before heading back west towards Mongo. It was a marathon day, punctuated by brief stops for beer acquisition in Abeche and lunch a bit further east. Spirits were high, and our first sighting of tantalus monkey on the road leading out of Abeche did nothing to dampen them - we also nabbed yet more patas monkeys and striped ground squirrels en route too. We made superb progress, which was a great surprise after the warnings from the previous group about road conditions. We made it all the way to Mangalme (route below) by nightfall, where our comfortable but basic fly camp was set up for us as the clients enjoyed a cold beer.

Our route took us from near Biltine (A), through Abeche to near Mangalme (B) today - a distance of around 350km. Tomorrow would see us drive through Mongo (C) to Aboudeia (D), where we overnighted. The following day we continued to Tinga Camp (E)

Day 14 (April 2nd):

April Fools Day was over - what a relief! We began today's journey with the relatively short hop west to Mongo, where we re-supplied with beer and ice. The famed Total petrol station in Mongo is a place of much legend and rumour for overlanders in Chad, with claims of champagne, chocolate and even ice cream occasionally being on offer. We must have caught it on an off-day, as the best I could find was some gum and some very suspect looking sparkling wine - it turned out to be perhaps the most awful tasting wine France has ever produced.

After a bit more faffing, we were on our way from Mongo at about 11am, with warnings that the road between here and Aboudeia was in a poor state. This turned out to be true, with bone-shaking corrugation and massive potholes characterising most of the journey south from here - this ended up taking us about six hours all in to cover 170km or so. Happily, there is plenty one can distract oneself with on this route, with superb landscapes dotted with distant inselbergs, bustling villages and even the odd bit of wildlife. Olive baboons and tantalus monkeys scuttling across the road became commonplace as we approached Aboudeia, and a real highlight was a majestic secretary bird at close quarters. We also ticked off our first common warthog of the trip.

Secretary bird near Aboudeia

A welcome reminder we are on the right track, near Aboudeia

The best sighting was reserved for our campsite immediately after Aboudeia, where I spied a flick of an ear in dense grasses nearby. There, a small group of red-fronted gazelles eventually emerged before dashing away, which was a real plus after a long day on the road. For reasons unknown, these gazelles do far better outside of Zakouma than in the park, so I had been hoping we would tick this key target off on the way in.

Red-fronted gazelle, near Aboudeia

An enjoyable and excited evening was spent speculating what we might see on our first day in Zakouma tomorrow, albeit over the foulest of wines.

Day 15 (April 3rd):

The final leg on our epic journey to Tinga began in earnest today, meandering south-east on the dirt road that connects Zakouma to Aboudeia. Our first cause for pause was an uncontrolled burn after a few miles of driving, that was flushing insects out at quite a rate. Needless to say, a significant number of Abyssinian rollers were in attendance, as were Eurasian hoopoes and even a couple of golden-tailed woodpeckers. Indeed, the birding along this arid route was productive throughout, with several new species added to the trip list. Eventually, as you approach the park boundary, the dirt road gives way to a hugely impressive wetland, which is permanently home to hundreds of goats, horses and donkeys. Beyond the livestock, though, is an abundance of waterfowl, and the group was only too happy to tick off spur-winged goose, knob-billed duck, Egyptian goose, four egret species, black-winged stilt, black-crowned crane and plenty more off the trip list.

A short distance further on, a key birding target was realised - northern carmine bee-eaters swooping from atop a nearby tree to grab at the insects below. The birders were out of the vehicle like a shot, much to the bemusement of some local women nearby. It was a bumper season for these stunning birds in the park, and plenty of excellent sightings of them were to come.

From there, we were in the park - hurrah! It takes about 45 minutes to get to Tinga from the unassuming sign at the park boundary, and slightly longer if you encounter some wildlife along the way. The first half of that drive is over dry terrain and through very tall grass, so sightings are limited unless you spy giraffe or elephant nearby - we didn't on this occasion, although we usually do. The first wildlife made an appearance as the grasses gave way to the mares (watering points/wetland areas) closer to Tinga. Buffon's kob, bushbuck, roan antelope, waterbuck and common warthog were all well seen, and the highlight was our first view of Kordofan giraffe. Giraffe are always a crowd pleaser, but to know the story of and adversity faced by this particular sub-species makes one's first glimpse all the more rewarding.

A male Buffon's kob on the way to camp

We ended up arriving at Tinga in good time, just in time for lunch, and it was a delight to be back here once more. It is a pleasure to immediately come across the resident tantalus monkeys and olive baboons as we moved bags to the relevant rooms, and the birders were pleased that the red-throated bee-eaters were on show in double-quick time too. Managers Ollie and Lisa (since moved on) offered us a warm welcome and it was a pleasure to see Togui, our guide for the week, again. Plans were promptly being made to spend the afternoon at Machtour, before a longer night drive later on.

This tantalus monkey seemed surprised to see us

Two of perhaps 100 or so West African crocodiles in the waterhole near Tinga

Red-throated bee-eater photographed from Tinga

The early afternoon, though, was spent mooching around camp, and we were quickly reminder that Tinga is itself in one of the finest areas in terms of game density in the park. Three male bush elephant and several buffalo could be spied from the hide downstream from camp, and the waterhole just upstream was filled, as it always is, with West African crocodiles. A nice bonus was the presence of hundreds of catfish, thrashing at the surface as the crocs lazily pursued them, spooking dozens of carmine bee-eaters as they did so - frankly, we could have stayed in camp all day and been handsomely rewarded.

Bush elephant, Defassa waterbuck, olive baboon, hamerkop, marabou stork, yellow-billed stork and yellow-billed kite from the Tinga hide

Abyssinian roller near camp

As it was, we followed through on our plan to visit Machtour this evening. En route, the usual cast of kob, bushbuck and waterbuck made appearances before we arrived at this iconic narrow channel. The surrounding grasses were hosting our first herd of hartebeest of the tour, which distracted us only for a moment from perhaps the most famous view of Machtour - dozens of Kordofan giraffe drinking along the length of the channel, surrounded by spur-winged goose and white-faced whistling ducks. We were graced also with the presence of a lovely bull elephant sharing the water with the giraffes. All in all this was a lovely and welcome introduction to Machtour, and the park as a whole.

The iconic view of Machtour

The elephant bull at Machtour

Herd of Lelwel hartebeest

Small colony of banded mongoose

A few hundred metres further along, beyond yet more hartebeest, as well as warthog, olive baboon and banded mongoose, I caught a distant glimpse of some very flat cats, and a short bumpy ride away did indeed sit a small pride of lions, composed of two lionesses and four abolescents. Togui explained that these youngsters had just turned a year old and were in fact born in the bush they were now taking shade under. Clearly they liked the area.

One of the two lionesses in this pride

Lions near Machtour

We spent fifteen minutes with these snoozing lions before continuing on to the end of Machtour, where we spied more buffalo, before coming to a stop for sundowners at a well-known bee-eater nesting site. Sure enough, the carmines were on superb form as the sun dropped on a great first afternoon in the park. Our drive back to camp for dinner produced common genet, African civet, rusty-spotted genet and Senegal galago.

Northern carmine bee-eaters in flight

Savanna buffalo against a backdrop of black-crowned cranes

Our evening drive would eventually see us return to Machtour, but Togui knew of a kill a very short distance away near Tinga's campsite. It was just a few hundred metres away (actually immediately next to where our drivers were camping), but we had already seen more rusty-spotted genets, civets and galagos before we found the old buffalo carcass. The culprits weren't in attendance, and Togui confided that he was actually hoping for spotted hyena, but sure enough we soon stumbled across another pride of lion lazing in the middle of the road. They were a little skittish, probably not aided by the noise from the nearby campsite, but seemed to be enjoying the soft sand and were reluctant to move. After a few snaps, we took a politely circuitous route around them and continued on our way.

Pride of lion near Tinga's campsite

Calling it at Machtour ended up being a great call, with plenty of 'typical' sightings of civet and genet all the way along the main road to the waterway. A highlight was a stunning pair of spotted hyena reflected in the water from the far bank, but they were soon superseded by a particularly attractive and photogenic serval that posed beautifully close to the vehicle. This trip would see my 50th night in Zakouma, which would also be the 50th night in a row I have seen serval in the park - quite ridiculous really.

Spotted hyena reflected at Machtour

A very confiding serval

We looped back through the dry-country as we left Machtour behind, which offered truly excellent views of yet more African civet (one of about a dozen we saw tonight), a pair of red-fronted gazelle and another small pride of lion. We arrived back at around 11pm after a great first day, raring to go for tomorrow.

Red-fronted gazelle

One of many, many views of African civet

June 6, 2023

Day 16 (April 4th):

After a thoroughly enjoyable first day in Zakouma, the group was excited to get going again this morning. Our plan was to take a slightly circuitous route to Rigueik, giving the Nomade guests a chance to vacate the area as they headed off elephant collaring.

The open woodland around Tinga was quiet this morning, save for a few olive baboons scattered around and a long daggha boy. We paused to investigate one of the cheetah traps a little - it was explained that the boma-like structure was baited with scent, with a camera-trap rigged up to alert researchers when a cheetah had wandered in. About a week prior to our arrival a cheetah had been collared and had pretty much immediately scarpered off west to an area inaccessible by road.

Our route through the dry-country was productive from a birding perspective, and the usual suspects from a mammal-watching perspective also showed well - waterbuck, bushbuck and kob were well seen. The highlight of this stretch was probably a particularly handsome male roan, although sadly the one member of our group desperate for a good roan photo had headed off in a private vehicle today - she would eventually get her photos though.

Male roan, with oxpecker, near Tinga

A fantastic specimen of a male Defassa waterbuck

Arriving at Rigueik for the first time is always very special and today was no exception. Dozens of giraffe dotted the landscape, as did astonishing numbers of Bohor reedbuck, tiang, hartebeest, waterbuck and warthog. This area truly has to be seen to be believed and deserves its place in safari folklore. The centrepiece, at least today, were the thousands of black-crowned cranes on the main plain directly in front of Camp Nomade - photos probably don't do the scale of this gathering justice, but was in many respects almost as impressive as the red-billed quelea spectacle this area is famed for.

Kordofan giraffe and tiang

A lone tiang

Pair of fly-ridden Bohor reedbuck

Black-crowned cranes by Camp Nomade

After plenty of time to enjoy the vista, we bumped along a little further, passing many more reedbuck, tiang and giraffe as went. By now, the heat was beginning to build, and in the shade of a sparse tree not far in front of us, we spied a strange dark shape. It took us all, including Togui, a while to realise what we were looking at, as it was quite unusual - in broad daylight, a pair of marsh mongooses made their way across the plain in front of us, shuffle-bouncing like otters, until they disappeared into some thick detritus not to be seen again. Marsh mongoose are not commonly seen here - banded, slender, white-tailed and even Egyptian are more common - so this was an excellent spot indeed.

Marsh mongoose on the run

Looping away from the floodplains and following one of the many channels leading into the dry-country, Togui picked up a lioness and her two cubs ensconced in the branches of a fallen tree. One of the cubs was a little skittish, but they soon relaxed, even if they were clearly bothered by the intense heat. A hundred yards away or so was a fresh-ish buffalo kill, and we wondered whether this lioness had managed to pick this off alone. If she had, she'd done very well for herself.

Lion cubs near Rigueik

As we approached Tinga, Togui floated the idea of popping in to the park HQ to water the elephants. Now, it's important to say this isn't something we generally like to do - it's hardly encouraging natural behaviour, and there's a chance that someone will get squashed doing this one day - but Togui was very keen to do it and there was plenty of curiosity amongst the group as to exactly what this would entail. The spectacle is, no question, a remarkable one. Born out of many years of AP staff providing cool, fresh water to the bull elephants that used to hang out around park HQ for safety, there are now up to a dozen elephants at the nearby small waterhole at any given time. The oldest two or three are the ones who muscle their way forwards to drink from the hose when it is presented, and one is generally about a metre or so away as they drink. This experience isn't for everyone, far from it, but it went down well on this occasion.

An elephant bull being watered at park HQ

We headed back to camp for some R&R, and departed at around 4pm for our afternoon drive. Our mission this evening was fairly straightforward. A few weeks previous, Togui had found a roost being actively used by a very large gathering of red-billed quelea, and their arrival here each evening was proving spectacular. We knew in advance that this might not be quite as visually stunning as the flocks that gather in the open in Rigueik at certain times of year, but we were very keen to give it a try. Our drive took us along the Salamat, where there was a huge amount of water still, and we stopped several times to marvel at the extremely impressive gatherings of marabou storks and fish-eagles. At one watering point alone, there were well over 100 fish eagles in attendance, a bizarre sight.

We arrived at the lake adjacent to the roosting site about an hour before sunset, and Togui and I were getting a little jumpy after about 40 minutes when there was no real sign of quelea activity. We needn't have worried. Gradually, minute by minute, streams of quelea began to appear from our left, building and building until the noise was truly cacophonous. The display was utterly dazzling, with about half an hour of a constant wall of sound and shimmering murmurations, as if in a bait ball, as they drank from the water and began to roost. Every now and then, a kite would startle them, launching them back into the air with a sounds akin to a wave crashing on a beach - at points, the wall of quelea in front of us was impenetrable. Of the sights I've witnessed in Zakouma, this could only be rivalled by the flocks at Rigueik.

Very pleased with our evening's work, heading out on a night drive might have felt a little greedy to some. But not to us. Our night drive route took us again to Machtour and through to Antiga. The first half an hour through dry-country was fairly productive, with genet, civet and galago seen well. As we arrived at Machtour, alarm calls from baboons took us briefly away from the water but, as sometimes happens, the barks then recommenced in the area we had just left. Zipping back to the main channel at Machtour, we were presented with stunning views of a pair of striped hyena. This is probably as good a view as one can get of these handsome animals. One individual certainly had decidedly amorous intentions, sniffing constantly and display its remarkable dorsal crest on several occasions. The other had found a dead pelican and was picking at it instead. We had about twenty minutes with them before they went their own way, and this was truly one of the sightings of the tour.

African civet

A great sighting - striped hyena with dorsal crest erect

Another view of the striped hyena pair

Further along, at Antiga, we had brief views of common duiker and two serval, as well as the omnipresent civet and genet. A nice bonus was, in quick succession, both the white-tailed and black-tailed varieties of the white-tailed mongoose. As we made our way back to camp after a thoroughly enjoyable drive, we stumbled across two different prides of lion and another serval, before pulling into camp at about 11pm.

White-tailed mongoose at Antiga

June 6, 2023

Someone said Wild Dogs at Zakouma!!!!!????

So was this sighting confirmed? It would be the first sighting since several years... The large carnivore project failed to see any wild dog in the park, and the last known sightings are from Labushagne (outside the park) and from a APN park ranger in 2015 new Ibir (inside the park, to the South West where lion densities are lower). This second sighting was the last confirmed sighting (with evidence) of any painted dogs from the region. Local villagers were reporting a second pack at the same time.

I was reported that there are some rumors that wild dogs are still present in Aouk nowadays. But I can't collect any information about the Aouk Project where APN was active in the last year, under a funding from ECOFAC.

https://web.facebook.com/ZakoumaNationalPark/posts/african-wild-dogs-spotted-to-the-south-west-of-zakouma-this-is-the-first-time-we/1005665132809119/?_rdc=1&_rdr

June 7, 2023

@jeremieThe wild dogs was a joke unfortunately - not by the writer, but a joke played on the writer.

Mightily impressive murmurations @Pictus Safaris And striped hyenas and marsh mongooses, among others. That’s a great start to your stay.

June 12, 2023

Tom,

The last Zakouma segment was incredible. Thanks for sharing this.

June 24, 2023

STRIPED HYENAS!! CARACALS!!

apologies for shouting and screaming, but darrrn, your group was so lucky. your images of Zakuma reminded me of what a fantastic trip I had to there six years ago. I was just telling @Galagothat there were so many places to go on my list, and zakouma wasn't one on my urgent list, but having caught up with your TR, perhaps I have been a tad too hasty to say that....

June 24, 2023

Scimitar-horned oryx--what a beautiful prize! I loved everything about your report except that awful April Fools joke played on you. The run of night-time servals is unbelievable. The red-billed quelea came out in force and flock! So many unique and special sightings.

June 24, 2023

Yes, @jeremie, sadly a slightly cruel April Fool's joke. There's no doubt that a pack will move through the park eventually, I just hope to be there when it happens.

Thanks @pault, we were certainly very lucky indeed.

You're most welcome @AKR1, glad you are enjoying.

@Kitsafari- isn't it always the problem that one's 'list' never seems to get any shorter? It's certainly a privilege to be able to go back to Zakouma season after season. I hope I'll be back many more times to come.

@Atravelynn- we were certainly blessed with some amazing sightings. To be able to see those oryx in their natural habitat was really about as moving as sightings get!

Day 17 (April 5th):

The plan today could be boiled down into one word - elephants. As is the case with so many clients, the chance to see the vast herd of elephants for which Zakouma is famous was a big draw to Chad for many people on this tour. It's important to know that, nowadays, the herd has begun to splinter into much smaller herds. Of course, this is fantastic news as it means that the fear of poaching that initially drove the herd together is beginning to dissipate. What it does mean, though, is that visitors will not witness the vast herd of 550+ elephants which are a part of safari folklore. During our visit, the largest herd numbered about 180 individuals, with another of a 100, another of 50, and the rest in much smaller herds. 180 elephants in one place is certainly not to be sniffed at, though, and we hoped to get lucky today.

Our drive down towards Salamat was enjoyable, balancing the feeling of urgency of getting towards the south of the park with a few stops to enjoy the impressive densities of birdlife again. One stop in particular, by a deep pool, was quite remarkable. Hundreds of little egrets, as well as yellow-billed storks, great white egrets, saddle-billed storks, marabou storks (and many other species) were enjoying a smorgasbord of flailing fish. Periodically, the water would explode with activity as West African crocodiles battered a particularly large fish into submission. The amount of food available was so high that many of the egrets were simply diving into the water like ospreys and collecting fish in their talons (a word that feels quite inappropriate for an egret) rather than striking with their beak. We could, quite simply, have stayed there all day.

Waterfowl en route to Salamat

Yellow-billed stork with its catch

Feeding frenzy

Waterbuck near Salamat

But we continued on south, reaching the 'palm forest' on the banks of the Salamat by mid-morning. We promptly came across a herd of about a dozen elephants in a large clearing which afforded us good but distant views as they skirted the denser woodland on the far bank. They were, understandably, extremely skittish and soon disappeared off at pace. We made a plan, as usually happens on Zakouma's elephant days, to head to the nearest watering point along the river in their direction of travel and wait them out. It ended up being a wait of several hours before they eventually emerged for a quick drink. Other than that, only a bushbuck had ventured down to the river. If nothing else, this morning had given the clients a chance to catch up on sleep, but had generally been very hot and quite underwhelming.

Once it became clear that there was to be no further elephant activity in this spot, we continued west, very quickly encountering an extremely tolerant elephant bull taking advantage of a spot of shade. He provided a few opportunities for photographs but Togui was keen to keep moving and so we left him in peace. Following the course of the Salamat, we weaved in and out of the riverine forest, scanning the riverbanks each time we emerged next to the river - we were rewarded with a pair of Egyptian plovers, with a small chick, on the far bank just before our lunch spot.

Bull elephant - our best view on 'elephant day'

Packed lunch was taken in a shady spot near the river, with a large troop of olive baboons for company. As they fed, we noted that they were disturbing a large number of bats that were making for an opening across the water from us. A brief expedition allowed for excellent views of the bats roosting therein, and these were identified as large-eared slit-faced bats.

Large-eared slit-faced bats

We returned to camp in the heat of the day with a long-drive north through largely dry-country. It was pleasing to encounter a small herd of greater kudu - this population is of the western subspecies, much more threatened and localised than other subspecies across the continent. We had been hoping also to locate oribi, but none appeared, and the remainder of our journey was largely quiet. Eventually, we began to see signs of water again, and kob, waterbuck and roan sightings picked up once more. Emerging onto the open plains once more, we were greeeted with yet more sensational densities of birdlife - this time, thousands of marabou storks wading in shallow water, accompanied by a myriad of other species, with plenty of vultures also in attendance. As we skirted around the plains on the last leg back to camp, tiang, hartebeest and plenty of Kordofan giraffe welcomed us back to the north of the park.

Western greater kudu

Marabou storks in the south of the park

Kordofan giraffe

There was plenty of disappointment about the relative paucity of elephants today, so my hope was that a long night drive after dinner would lift spirits - our plan was to hit the three epicentres of nocturnal activity in the park - Machtour, Antiga and Rigueik.

Very rarely do night drives here fail to deliver, and even on the main access road to Machtour past the park headquarters we picked up galago, genet, civet and serval. The tracks around Machtour produced spectacular views of one particularly confiding serval, plus white-tailed mongoose of both the white-tailed and black-tailed morphs. There were also multiple sightings of lion, as they were most nights in the park, including the same small pride we had seen on our first evening in the park.

Very confiding serval

Continuing on the short distance to Antiga, we quickly picked up eyeshine across the water from us, and the simultaneous cry of 'caracal' went up - indeed, a brief view through the binos revealed the tufted ears of the cat as it scarpered into the grass. We ventured closer slowly, disturbing two more serval as we did, but we were thwarted by a very quick flat tyre. As the group waited for the flat to be remedied, eyeshine was picked up where we were just a moment prior on the other side of the water and, again, a caracal could be seen peering back at us. Quite how it got there so quickly will forever be a mystery to me, and an investigation once the tyre replaced didn't yield another sighting.

Continuing on, we spotted common duiker, another serval and several civet just a short distance from where we had spied the caracal, and this was also an area with a particularly high density of galago. Just a few minutes later, we had excellent eyes on the treeline ahead of us, belonging to a beautiful female leopard. A few 'proof' shots were fired off - even in a season like this when leopard sightings were common, you never know when your next leopard sighting is coming in Zakouma. It took us a while to position ourselves slightly more closely and, unfortunately, she was quickly peppered by flash photography and decided to take leave of us. Togui was determined to locate her again, but it was clear she wanted nothing more to do with us, so we decided to leave her to it and move on.

Heading on towards Rigueik, we had to skirt around a pride of lions sleeping mid-road, before emerging onto the plains again. Plenty of serval were seen again, as well as buffalo, giraffe and a whole host of other diurnal creatures that we did our best to avoid. The highlight came as some very strange eyeshine was picked up high in a tree just off the main plain, and a brief investigation revealed the remains of a kob stashed there. We checked immediately around the tree for the culprit with no joy, so we headed to the nearest water, which was just across from Camp Nomade. And, sure enough, there sat yet another leopard looking out across the plain. This individual was slightly more comfortable than the first cat we had seen, although was still slightly skittish, and posed nicely before retreating to the shelter of a bush. At this point, we called it a night, meandering back to camp after a superb drive, with lion, leopard, caracal, half a dozen serval and more all having made an appearance.

Leopard near Camp Nomade

June 27, 2023

Day 18 (April 6th):

Following a lengthy night drive the prior evening, there were a few bleary eyes around the breakfast table this morning, but no shortage of enthusiasm to get going again this morning. The 'tick list' had largely been satisfied, but there was still a real desire to locate our first aardvark and cheetah of the trip, and a key target - the red-flanked duiker.

We began today with a brief exploration of the dry-country en route to Rigueik, which rewarded us with excellent views of side-striped jackal, banded mongoose, a grass-adorned waterbuck, buffalo, a large troop of olive baboon and plenty of excellent birding. As always, Rigueik was on superb form, with dozens of Buffon's kob, Kordofan giraffe, waterbuck, Lelwel hartebeest and tiang across the main plains. We took a diversion to check out the leopard kill we had located the previous night, but the kill had disappeared and vehicle tracks indicated that we had been beaten to the punch by the Camp Nomade vehicle anyway.

Olive baboon

Is there something in my hair?

Side-striped jackal

Banded mongoose on the run

Tiang and Lelwel hartebeest at Rigueik

However, we were once again richly rewarded with an incredible density of waterfowl in the channels around Rigueik - on this occasion, great white and a few pink-backed pelicans made for an impressive spectacle. In the background, a pair of male lions were seeking shelter from the heat of mid-morning under some dense scrub, so photographic opportunities were limited. Instead, camera lenses shifted focus to a nearby Abyssinian roller, which are always real crowd-pleasers - we lucked out, as this individual was on the hunt, and caught a scorpion just in front of the vehicle - our first kill (of sorts!) of the trip. From here, we slowly meandered back to camp, picking up yet more birdlife and ample ungulate diversity on the way home.

Great white pelicans and spur-winged geese, amongst others

Abyssinian roller with a scorpion

Today was a real scorcher, and our respective naps at camp were only interrupted by the sloshing of water from the riverbed where a gang of half a dozen elephant bulls were hanging out. Our afternoon drive was to focus on cheetah, and an open area about halfway between Tinga and Rigueik that had been the site of daily sightings of different cheetah in advance of our visit. First, though, we took the opportunity to drive up to the main waterhole near Tinga, where the elephants, in the company of a hugely entertaining warthog, were enjoying a thorough bathe and wallow. These chances to spend time with elephants in an area where there has been such persecution are always a huge privilege.

Bull elephants at Tinga

Kob gives itself a fright at camp

Our comb through the 'cheetah' area was slow and methodical, pausing only to take a look at the boma-style traps that had been set up for the cheetah in a few locations. Sightings were limited to buffalo, waterbuck and a stunning male roan, until we paused for a bush break. The second the clients jumped off the vehicle, 'cheetah!' went the cry, as a beautiful spotted cat slunk out of the grass in front of us, accompanied by a cacophony of guineafowl alarms. Sadly, it was not to be, as the cat melted away into the grass once more only to emerge further away, unmistakeably, as a large tom serval. It took a while for heart rates to settle after that one!

Lone roan

Regrettably, there were no cheetah to be found this evening and, after some enjoyable sundowners in the company of Kordofan giraffe and olive baboons, we returned to camp to make a plan for aardvark tonight. Our chosen route would see us focus on the main drag between Tinga and the park headquarters, criss-crossing the area in transects (indeed, not unlike an aardvark itself might!), and we hoped we would intercept an orycterope as it meandered between open areas. The drive began with clear views of a serval at the waterhole by park headquarters - this individual seemed to be here every time we stopped in - as well as a side-striped jackal, a savanna hare and yet more lions. This pride were extremely reluctant to move out of the soft sand in the middle of the road, and it took some careful driving on the part of Togui to weasel our way past. With no luck near park headquarters, we continued on to Antiga, where we greeted with another serval, as well as good views of both civet and genet. Our quest for red-flanked duiker seemed, for a brief second, to have born fruit in the acacia woodland near Antiga, but eventually we gained good enough views of another common duiker. Tonight, Antiga was devoid of caracal and leopard.

Common duiker at Antiga

Looping back towards camp through Machtour, we picked up two more small prides of lion, as well as white-tailed mongoose, civet and, best of all, lovely views of spotted hyena on the far side of the channel. Their ghostly whoops were a superb way to end another productive day in the park, and we looked forward to focussing in on aardvark and red-flanked duiker again tomorrow.

African civet near camp

Spotted hyena on the move

Ennedi, Ouadi-Rime and Zakouma - Chad 2023

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