Mashatu Game Reserve is located in the south-eastern corner of Botswana. There is a great variety of wildlife, both mammals and birds, in the several different ecosystems. In this post, I show a few images of the main mammal predators which I have seen prowling around Mashatu.

“It is in the wild places, where the edge of the earth meets the corners of the sky, the human spirit is fed.” ~ Art Wolfe

The main seasonal river coursing through Mashatu is the Majale river which flows into the Limpopo river. Along the Majale river the vegetation is verdant throughout the year with massive Mashatu (also known as Nyala berry) trees, Leadwoods, Apple leaf trees and groves of crotons. This is an ideal environment for leopards. When it is dry the game must come down to the Majale to drink for the remaining pools of water. There is also plenty of shade and large trees where the leopards are unlikely to be disturbed, unless a troop of baboons find them.

A young Spotted hyaena managed to steal the leg bone of an eland which it was taking back to its den. Hyaenas are able to crunch through these large bones to get at the marrow.

In a previous post, I showed images of a cheetah mother and her five sub-adult cubs and their interaction with a leopard. All the cubs were almost old enough to leave the family group. The cheetah mother and the sub-adult cubs were hunting effectively as a six member cheetah team. The next image shows one of the sub-adult cheetahs in the dried out vlei area where the six cheetah were stalking their way towards a herd of eland.

” Being privy to a hunt is like being let into one of nature’s secrets.” ~ Mike Haworth

With minimal cover, I was surprised to see how close the six cheetahs were able to approach the eland herd. The eland may have been more confident because there was a family herd of elephants foraging close by in the vlei. After watching the cheetahs stalking the eland for about half an hour they eventually gave up as there were no young eland small enough to take on.

On another occasion we were driving along the south side of the Majale river when we came across this female leopard lying in the shade under a Shepherd tree. It was around 9h00 so the sun was high enough and hot enough for the wildlife to be already seeking shade.

This leopardess was in a good position to look out for Impala and Steenbok which feed along the fringes of the verdant vegetation lining the banks of the Majale river. She looked like she had a busy previous night and was comfortably lying under the Shepherd tree. She looked unlikely to move unless baboons chased her or she saw prey wandering past. After watching her for a few minutes we left her in peace.

On the same day but in the late afternoon we found another leopard lying in the shade of a steep embankment along the Majale river. In Mashatu, we often found leopards lying on the ground in the early morning or late afternoon. At midday when the sun was at its highest and hottest, the leopard would invariably climb up into the one the large trees lining the Majale river to rest in peace in the shade.

“Predators have a restful peace about them when they are not hunting. In their restful state they are fully alert to all the sounds and smells around them. A form of meditation, restful but present.” ~ Mike Haworth

You can see that this female leopard was very comfortable in her lying position but she was awake and alert to all around her. She needed to be alert because lions and hyaenas would start their nightly patrol after the sun had set and she would need to be more careful when on the ground.

“The mind I love must have wild places.” ~ Katherine Mansfield

The cheetah family of six were lying under a Shepherd tree which was on an elevated ridge so they could see any potential prey if it wandered into their line of sight.

A portrait of the adult female cheetah lying in the shade of the Shepherd tree. The ridge they were lying on enabled us to photograph her at eye level.

On our last afternoon of our six night stay in Mashatu, we found one of the two prides of lion lying in the shade of several large Apple Leaf tees. The pride comprised two females and four cubs of around five months old. The females had killed a female eland so these lions had fed well. With bellies full they were very sleepy in the shade.

“True solitude is found in the wild places, where one is without human obligation. One’s inner voices become audible… In consequence, one responds more clearly to other lives.” ~ Wendell Berry

One of the four cubs lying in the shade after a good meal.

Another leopard lying in the shade on the horizontal bough of a large Apple leaf tree. She had a good vantage point and was able to scan a long section of the Majale river.

A lone male cheetah had brought down a male impala in the late afternoon. The shadows were lengthening so he was lying in the open next to the Shepherd tree with the carcass he had dragged under the tree. He had partially fed on the hind quarters of the impala and was likely to keep feeding for as long as he could, before the vultures spotted the carcass.

A close up of this male cheetah with his prey in the background. We watched him for about fifteen minutes then left him in peace. Hopefully he got the opportunity to eat most of his meal without interruption from hyaenas, jackals or vultures.

On a separate occasion, we found the two lionesses and their four cubs. It was family time with the cubs and females very relaxed in the late morning shade. One cub was very affectionate towards its mother and received a good grooming in response.

The young are always inquisitive. This lion cub was no exception, it walked toward our game vehicle for a closer look and lay down and just watched us. It was a very peaceful scene where the cubs did not pester their mothers for milk. Lion cubs only drink milk for around the first 10 weeks, then the weaning process is usually complete when the lion cubs are 10 months old.

Leopards are found all along the Majale river whereas the lionesses tend to operate in the southern section of Mashatu where there is plenty of game and thick reed beds to hide their cubs when the lionesses go hunting. The male lions patrol their territory so can be found anywhere in Mashatu. The hyaenas den all over Mashatu with their most recent den being in the rock outcrop next to Rock Camp, close to the Limpopo river. The cheetahs are the most nomadic of all the cats.

‘We need wild places. They give us perspective. We realise that there is much going on around us other than ourselves. There is something refreshing about the deep whispers and quiet communication with nature.” ~ Mike Haworth

There is a wonderful variety of wildlife in Mashatu. The leopards are particularly plentiful along the Majale river. I once saw six different leopards in one day along the Majale river.

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

Have fun, Mike