MammalsOur resident family of warthogs became quite a few babies richer this month. Warthogs live in small matriarchal family groups called sounders. They have a gestation period of about 5½ moths following their mating season at the beginning of the dry season and farrowing normally occur in late October. A female may have up to 6 piglets and related females in a sounder may suckle their young communally. Most of the warthogs around the Lodge grounds were born here since they tend to stay in their natal home ranges. They are all thus very used to human activity around them and are quite approachable for photography.
The impalas are also getting very close to fawning and the first lambs will probably be around at the beginning of November already. The next two months will thus be a time of plenty for most predators as the numerous young impala and warthogs will be prey for most predators from black backed jackals and larger eagles like the martial and crowned eagle to lions, wild dogs, hyenas, leopards and even baboons. Of the young warthogs we have at the Lodge, only an estimated 50% will survive through the first year. Predator sightings were exceptional in October with virtually daily sightings of lions, some good sightings of a pack of 4 wild dogs that often move in and out of the Chobe area, and very frequent leopard sightings.
Elephant concentrations were awesome to say the least along the river and no picture could ever do justice to the scenes of hundreds of elephants concentrating at the river to swim and drink. The elephant population of Chobe is growing annually at a rate of approximately 6%, and this rapid growth rate is evident in the number of very young calves seen with these breeding herds of females. In most herds one would be able to spot at least one or two calves of less than a year in age. The large population and rapid growth of this population of elephants in northern Botswana raised a lot of concern in environmental circles as many scientists believe that the area is grossly overpopulated by elephants and that the population will need to be controlled.
Of concern especially is the destructive feeding behaviour of elephants that causes them to alter habitat that may lead to the demise of other mammal species. Elephants may consume up to 150-200kg of vegetative food daily and have rather inefficient digestive systems. This means that they are constantly feeding and especially during the dry season they target the inner bark and roots of trees as these are the parts where the plant will store its nutrients in the dry season. But getting to these plant parts often means destruction of the entire tree. Elephants also play an important role in the propagation of new plants as they spread a lot of seeds through their dung. However in areas where there are too many elephants they often destroy more plants than they plant and it may be that the Chobe elephant population has reached this point. If and how the population of elephants in northern Botswana will be controlled is still hotly debated. |
