It was our last game drive in Mashatu in south east Botswana in August 2021. At that time of the year, the mornings were chilly but the days warmed up beautifully. Every morning we met for coffee and a rusk at 6h00. It was still dark and the idea was to leave camp at first light around 6h30 to be in the reserve at sunrise. It took at least forty five minutes to make our way down to the Majale river where we knew the wildlife sightings would improve. In winter wildlife is forced to congregate around the remaining pools of water in the Majale river. The leopards tend to centre their activities in this area because of the abundance of game and wonderful enormous trees to hide and lie in during the heat of the day.

“If you do not expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail.” ~Heraclitus.

We were ambling along, wondering what we would see next when we were privileged to come upon a young male leopard. At around 22 months, the sub-adult leopard should be independent of his mother. Each young male is forced out of his natal territory, away from his mother and out of the sanctuary of his father’s territory. Beyond his familiar boundaries he is forced to fend for himself. His new reality is harsh, now alone he has to survive and thrive despite many arch enemies, such as lions and hyaenas and territorial male leopards.

It is estimated that a young male, independent of its mother can venture up to 24km from his home territory in search of new areas, scouting new hunting areas while trying to avoid other predators. Leopard cubs normally leave their mother when they are between 12 and 18 months’ old. The males leave earlier, while female cubs may stay near their natal range for longer. Leopards reach sexual maturity around 24 to 28 months but rarely breed before three to four years of age. After about four and a half years, these now mature male leopards, which have survived battles, injury, hunger, conflict, and tangles with lions and hyaenas, start to challenge for their own territory. With fortitude they will progressively dominate that area and take over female leopards and their territories.

“Imagine for only a moment what this world would be like if change did not occur. You may say life was simpler, yes in some cases that is right. But just as children grow, we grow with change. Imagine trying to stop a child from growing up, it is impossible to do. Accepting change as a way of life allows you to continue to develop and move forward.”~ Catherine Pulsifer

This young male looked to be around two to two-and-a-half years’ old. Alone, he was wandering along the river course. He stopped regularly to rest and lie on fallen tree trunks. There, he would just listen and observe what was going on around him.

The colours of winter, with its browns, oranges and yellows, enabled this male leopard to blend beautifully into his surroundings.

He walked into a croton grove which provided dappled light and great camouflage. In the grove he found a sign post and spent some time reading the scents left on the tree trunk. Satisfied that all was well he sharpened his claws on the tree trunk leaving his own scent. Leopards have interdigital glands on their paws and leave their scent by reaching up to scratch trees with their claws at just above eye level.

“Sensory perception is the silken web that binds our separate nervous systems into the encompassing ecosystem.” ~ David Abram

Tree-clawing or scratching have been interpreted as conveying a variety of signals, from territorial marking to simple sharpening of claws. Scratching leaves traces of interdigital glands which act as chemical signals and the visual claw marks give an indication of the size and strength of the leopard.

This male was very active. It was not enough to read the “sign post” as had to climb the tree. Perhaps there was the faint scent of an old kill in the tree which caught his attention.

Once up the tree he had a good lookout. Leopards are supremely adapted to the arboreal habitat. Finding a comfortable horizontal branch he stopped sat down and just watched all the goings on around him.

After spending some time observing from his high lookout he decided to come back to terra firma. He then decided to walk parallel to the Majale river bank around 20 metres in from the bank. He had plenty of cover and many big trees to escape into if he unexpectedly bumped into lions or hyaenas.

It is fascinating to watch a leopard wander along the top of a river bank. It is clear he is walking through a world of sensory impulses. Smells and sounds guide him along his path.

On his way down to the Majale river he crossed several small sand tributaries which when flowing fed into the Majale. The beauty of the sandy background is that it presented the leopard in an uncluttered background. The shape of his face suggests this will be a large male leopard when he is fully grown.

“We live in a world which in some respects is mysterious, things can be experienced which remain inexplicable, not everything which happens can be anticipated. The unexpected and the incredible belong in this world, only then is life whole. For me the world has from the beginning been infinite and ungraspable.”~ Carl Jung.

In an interesting article from the Pondoro website at Pondoro.co.za. , the reasons for scent marking might be anyone of the following:

• territorial advertising to inform other leopards of their presence.
• a female might mark more regularly than normal to advertise her going into oestrus.

The function would be to either avoid (it acts a warning to stay away from the territory) or to find each other more easily (mating).

Scent marking can be done in a variety of ways:

• the spraying of urine upwards and horizontally onto trees and bushes.
• marking with interdigital glands by clawing the bark of trees just above eye level, but still easily visible.
• marking by raking the ground with their hind claws leaving their scent with interdigital glands.
• reaching up to prominent branches situated just above eye level and rubbing against it with scent glands on their cheeks and heads. Cats have sebaceous glands that coat their hair and skin with an oily secretion. Grooming the fur by their roughly barbed tongue stimulate these glands that are attached to the roots to release secretions. These secretions waterproof the fur, and by rubbing against something, a chemical signature would also be left behind.

These scent markings can persist for weeks. Leopards are also creatures of habit and will mark the same trees and bushes while patrolling well worn trails. A leopard scent marking with glands on the head and cheeks would be done as high as possible to try and amplify their height or size.

Leopards of both sexes patrol their ranges and scent-mark trees, bushes and rocks with urine mixed with anal gland secretions. Scraping, urine-spraying and tree-clawing are most commonly used by leopards

Eventually he walked down into one of the larger tributaries feeding into the Majale river. The landscape view shows the wonderful camouflage that his rossetted coat offers him.

After walking for quite a while he decided to lie down and rest. His resting place gave him a good view along the tributary.

He lay on the edge of the tributary for quite a while. Although his head and eyes were stationary his ears were constantly moving backwards, forwards and sideways accessing the direction and nature of the sounds around him.

In his wanderings he did not cross paths with any potential prey. Eventually as the winter morning started to heat up he climbed into a Mashatu tree where it looked as though he was going to rest for the day.

Once a leopard has settled down to sleep on an elevated tree bough it looks supremely comfortable. No lions or hyaenas can get at it. It will be a peaceful rest provided a troop of baboons do not see him.

It was a privilege to spend an hour or so following this wandering leopard. The leopards in Mashatu are, for the most part, habituated to game vehicles and take little notice of them. The game vehicles are allowed to drive off-road which allows guests to follow a leopard in its wanderings. This provides exceptional photographic opportunities.

“The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” ~ Bertrand Russell.

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

This post shows a small selection for birds you can see in winter in Mashatu. These are all resident as the migrants have flown north to warmer climes.

“There is something exciting about waiting quietly for winged visitors. You know they are coming but you never know who will be next. Most visitors arrive quietly and some arrive like winged wild jewels.” ~ Mike Haworth

A pair of Jameson’s firefinches. The adult male has entirely scarlet plumage apart from brownish wings. The female has a scarlet tinge but is “browner”. Their beaks are steel blue. The beak shape indicates that they are seed-eaters.

A female Jameson’s firefinch taking a bath around midday at Rock Camp. This image was taken from the patio which offers a good view of the bird bath. Usually, at the lodge, once we have had brunch, friends go back to their room for a siesta. The human activity around the patio at the main lodge quietens and the bird activity picks up. As with all things birding a good dose of patience is required – but the rewards are great.

For the first time in a decade I saw a pair of Black-faced waxbills come down to drink at Rock Camp’s bird bath. When photographing birds around the bird bath near the main lodge patio one has to pay attention all the time. Many of the birds do not make a sound and fly in quickly and quietly to have a drink. The birds fly onto a branch close to the bird bath. They will have a good look around to check and see if the area around the bird bath is safe to drink.

A bevy of blue waxbills. These are frequent visitors to the camp’s bird bath. Waxbills, Bulbuls and Sparrows return every hour or so to drink at the bird bath.

A juvenile Black-headed oriole. This one of the more colourful species frequenting the camp’s bird bath. These orioles are usually heard well before they are seen, but when they come close the bird bath they are quick and quiet.

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” ~Aaron Siskind

An adult Black-headed oriole. This oriole has vivid colours with a bright yellow body and a black head with a red eye and pinkish red beak. Once you have heard this oriole in the vicinity of the camp it is a case of watching out for flashes of vivid yellow in the surrounding trees. The shape of the oriole’s beak indicates that it is an insect and fruit eater.

A single Double-banded sandgrouse chick hiding in the sand and short dead grass. The size of this chick was about the length of my thumb. The camouflage was superb. The parents quickly moved away from the chick to divert attention from it. The chick instinctively knows to lie still in the dead grass to maximise the effectiveness of its camouflage.

The male Double-banded sandgrouse moved away from his chick as soon as he saw us to divert our attention away from the chick. The female did the same thing.

An adult Black stork. This is a widespread but uncommon stork species. It has mainly black plumage with a white belly. The black plumage has an iridescent green and mauve tinge. It has vivid red legs and a red beak and eye ring. The Black stork prefers more wooded areas than the White stork which favours open grasslands.

An adult female Cape weaver. The female has a less complete yellow plumage with white underparts. Its head and back are yellow like the male’s colouring. The eye is a pale colour unlike the red eye of the Southern masked weaver. The beak is a dark brown upper mandible and light pinkish mandible. The beak is longer and more pointed than the masked weavers.

An adult female Red-billed firefinch. Females have uniformly brown upperparts and buff underparts. There is a small red patch in front of both eyes, and the beak is pink. The adult male has entirely scarlet plumage apart apart from his wings which are a light brown. Firefinches are frequent visitors drink at the bird bath during the day. They normally come to drink in small groups.

“Photography helps people to see.” ~ Berenice Abbott

An adult Natal spurfowl. We only see Crested and Natal spurfowl come into the camp to drink. For some unknown reason we never see Swainson’s spurfowl in camp. The Natal spurfowl has a mottled brown back plumage. The underpart plumage has a brown and white marbled scaled appearance. This spurfowl has distinctive yellow nostrils with a bright orange-red bill and legs. Each spurfowl has a different loud and raucous call.

An adult Kori bustard walking away – as they always do. A Kori will tend to stride away from you as fast as it can but being a heavy bird will fly if pushed. It is the heaviest flying bird in in Africa and can weigh as much as 19 kilograms.

A Tawny eagle on the lookout from the top of a tall tree for any potential prey. This is one of the few resident eagles in Mashatu. Others include Martial, Verreaux, African Hawk-eagle, and Snake eagles. I have not seen Bateleur eagles flying over Mashatu.

The beautifully coloured Lilac-breasted roller. There are many in Mashatu and they can usually be seen on prominent lookouts watching carefully for insect and small reptile prey. I have also infrequently seen Purple rollers and once seen a Broad-billed roller.

A White-fronted bee-eater, one of the only two species of bee-eater resident in this part of the world. The other is the Little bee-eater. During winter the Carmine and European bee-eaters fly north in search of greater insect activity in warmer climes.

“Snaps are images of what you were looking at. Photographs are images of what you anticipated, experienced and wanted to reveal.” ~ Mike Haworth

A juvenile Verreaux eagle-owl very interested in its surroundings There is a family of Verreaux eagle-owls resident in the grove of Apple leaf trees next to the rock outcrop near Rock Camp close to the Pont Drift border area. We saw these eagle-owls first thing each morning on our way out of camp into the reserve.

A Crimson-breasted shrike. Its distinctive scarlet red underparts and black upperparts are diagnostic. The wings are black with a white streak in its primary feathers. It prefers the dry thorn veld areas. There is no sexual dimorphism. I was told by our guide that a yellow morph has been seen in the reserve but I have only ever seen one at White river near Kruger Park.

“You just have to live and life will give you pictures.” ~ Henri Cartier Bresson

An adult Sabota lark with its distinctive white streak above the eye and strongly streaked on the breast.

An adult female White-browed Sparrow-weaver with her distinctive white eyebrow and light spots and her breast and a light horn coloured beak. The male has a black beak.

We watched this melanistic Gabar goshawk hunting Queleas in a thick thorn bush. It was a real game of “cat and mouse”. We never saw it catch a Quelea. The traditional plumage of a Gabar goshawk consists a light grey head, neck and back feathers. The tail has white and dark brown barring and the belly and covert underparts and legs to its knee have white feathers with grey streaks. The legs from the knee to the feet are an orange pink as is the cere and top of the beak. The Gabar goshawk seems to prefer to hunt queleas, sparrow and weavers.

Just a few of the hundred of thousands of Red-billed queleas which had flown up to the Shepherds bush for safety after having been foraging on the ground for seeds.

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” ~Elliott Erwitt

An adult Burchell’s Coucal judging from the fine barring on the lower belly feathers. You can see it was quite cool that morning as it was all puffed up trying to keep warm. Smaller birds do not like this coucal as it is a voracious hunter and will feed on their eggs and young if it can find them. This is one member of the coucal family that remains resident in Mashatu all year round.

A male Saddle-billed stork was fishing in the waterhole in front of our camp, Rock Camp. He managed to catch frogs and this small terrapin which he eventually subdued and swallowed whole. There is sexual dimorphism in this species. Both male and females have the bright yellow saddle on the upper part of the upper mandible. The male has a yellow throat wattle and black eye. The female has a yellow eye ring but no yellow throat wattle.

These were just a few of the wide variety of avian species you can see in Mashatu Nature Reserve in winter. There is a marked seasonality in the variety of birds you will see in Mashatu with the numbers swelling significantly once the migrants return in the warmer summer months. Enthusiastic birders regularly see 120 to 145 birds species in the few days they are in Mashatu.

“My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.” ~ Steve McCurry

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Mashatu Nature Reserve is located in the Tuli Bloc in south east Botswana in southern Africa. This reserve hosts several different ecosystems. It has huge seasonal variation being very dry during winter which makes it dusty at times and it looks like a moonscape. In mid-summer, the rains make it look like the garden of Eden. With the rains everything turns green and the devil thorn flowers carpet the landscape in yellow.

“Jobs fill your pocket but adventures fill your soul.” ~ Jamie Lyn

Last winter was unusual. There had been good rains right up till April. This helped build up the water resources in the vlei, which is a marshy area with shallow ponds of water. There have been winters in Mashatu when the vlei area was bone dry offering no greenery and no nourishment for the wildlife.

There are many predators in Mashatu ranging from lion and leopard to hyaena and jackals to insect eaters like Aardwolf and Bat-eared foxes. I am told there are Honey badgers but I have never seen one. There are many Black-backed jackal. When they are not following a larger predator hoping for an easy meal, they are opportunistic omnivores. They cooperatively hunt small antelopes and also eat reptiles, insects, ground-dwelling birds, fruits, berries, and even grass. The large male warthog partially obscured in the background was not potential prey as he was strong, fast and had large tusks which could inflict serious damage on a lion or leopard.

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” ~ Henry Miller

The Majale is the main river coursing its way through the Mashatu Nature Reserve. Although the surface water in the river dries up during winter, the water table is high. Pools of stagnant water remain usually at bends in the river which tend to be the deepest sections. Over the decades the river has steadily gouged its way through the soft soil creating deep banks.

The Majale river, although dry in winter, has many Apple leaf, Leadwood and Mashatu trees which send their roots deep into the ground to access water even in the driest of winters. These trees remain green and provide home to many species of birds, baboons and many leopards.

Just when you think that there is nothing moving along the dry river banks you may be in for a surprise. On one occasion while driving along the river bed came we rounded a bend in the Majale river only to find this beautiful young female leopard sitting on the top of the river bank looking out along the river. She was relaxed and just taking in all the signs and signals, attentive alert and ready for anything.

Close to our camp, Rock Camp, is a large rock outcrop which attracts Klipspringer, Dassies and leopards, and the occasional pairs of African hawk-eagles and Verreaux eagles looking for easy Dassie prey.

In winter, when the vlei is still green, it attracts an abundance of wildlife. The elephants seem particularly partial to the vlei where there is ample food for them. Sunset during winter can produce some vivid colours as the setting sun turns into a reddish ball as it sinks through the dust laden atmosphere. As the sun sets and the landscape darkens a peace descends. It is an in-between time and it brings a stillness to the bush.

“Fill your life with adventures, not things. Have stories to tell not stuff to know.” ~ Anonymous

In winter the elephants don’t usually drink the stagnant water but will dig into the sand with their tusks or feet to make a same shallow well to access water. The water table along the river is close to the surface of the river bed and by digging a hole the water filters through the sand into the hole. The filtered water seems to be much more palatable to the elephants.

Winter is a time for dust devils and also huge flocks of Red-billed queleas. They flock like a swarm of locusts and make quite a noise when they are on the move. They are seedeaters so fly down from the trees on mass to feed on the seeds in the dusty soil and when disturbed, on mass, fly off to the nearest trees.

While many animals and birds congregate during winter for protection at the waterholes others remain shy and solitary. This male Steenbok presented himself for a few seconds then disappeared back into the underground possibly to rejoin his female.

Along the Majale river you will find massive Mashatu trees, also called Nyala Berry trees. The deep shade provided by the Mashatu tree provides a wonderful resting and hiding place for leopards. They do not always get their own way because the baboons also like the Mashatu trees and a troop of baboons with several large males can be a serious threat to a leopard. This particular leopardess had come down from the tree to lure the approaching troop of baboons away from her cub which was still up in the Mashatu tree.

Mashatu is home to many elephants. They travel to the higher ground at night and return down to the river surrounds during the day. Thankfully over the years the elephants have learned that they have nothing to fear from humans in the reserve and are relaxed around the game vehicles.

The waterhole in front of Rock Camp is close to the Limpopo river and is a magnet for thirsty wildlife in winter. The elephant herd drink first, then cool themselves by throwing water sucked up in their trunk then blowing it over their head, sides and back.

The behaviour of the big things is interesting but so too are the little things. Winter mornings bring back the warmth after a cold night. These banded mongooses huddled together in the cold morning air trying to warm up in the sun.

New males have deposed the resident male lion in the last six months and the resident lionesses seem to have accepted them with the large handsome erstwhile male pushed out into the adjacent Charter reserve.

The Majale river is a place where elephant families congregate. There is never any fighting – each family respects the space of the next family. Oh, if only we humans could learn a few lessons in tolerance and respect for others from these elephants.

There are many Eland in the reserve but they are skittish, as most Eland are. There females usually bolt away first with the large darker males following them.

During winter, the vlei attracts not only family herds of elephants but many herbivores. This is the last area in the reserve which is still green.

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste it, to experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

The vlei has many moods which change according to the time of day and the direction of the sunlight. In the distance is a series of sandstone ridges which stretch from Mapungubwe in South Africa to Mmagwa next to the Motloutse river in Mashatu.

One evening we were having sundowners on a small spit which protruded into the vlei. After happily chatting and enjoying the sundowners for about three quarters of an hour we got back into the game vehicle. Having spent a wonderful cocktail hour watching the sun setting were finished feeling relaxed and at peace with the world. One hundred metres away from where we had been having sundowners were a coalition of the three young male lions lying in the grass just watching us. When in the bush you must always remain alert and aware of your surroundings. You need to show infinite respect for that in between time when the large predators come into their own having exceptional night vision and having rested the whole day.

We return to Mashatu often, Covid restrictions allowing. It is the same place but the experience is never the same. The seasonal changes, the mood changes, and the wildlife dynamics change. Some wildlife moves in from Zimbabwe and while others move back into Zimbabwe. Migrants have moved north during the southern African winter. The different complexion of the bush is fascinating.

Mashatu allows a unique off-road experience in the bush. There are several quite different ecosystems which attract their own system of wildlife. You will never see the same thing in the same place twice.

“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” ~ T S Eliot

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike