Grasslands are less common in the most widely-used areas of the park, so we sometimes find the more unusual creatures there. Earlier this season, I found a young caracal in the scrub near the river, a first for me and probably the only sighting this season in the park so far. I did’t have my camera with me that day – doh! – but I did manage to take a photo on my phone – it was very close to us!
A few weeks later, we heard some half-hearted alarm calls from impala and went to have a look. We found a few agitated impalas but most were feeding and not paying attention. It was hard to explain, so we drove off and let the situation settle and then returned 10 minutes later to see what had developed. As we arrived back, we saw the unmistakable short spotty tail of a Serval disappearing into the grass ahead. Following carefully, we tracked it down to where it was sitting in the long grass……grooming a cub! I had seen Serval before on several occasions but never with a cub. We watched as the two interacted, and I managed to take a few very poor photos – it was quite far away for the camera (not so for binoculars!) and we were using the red filter so the quantity of light reaching the subject was even less than on a normal spotlit safari! Even so, it was a record for me and a great sighting.
I hope that the Luwi River area will continue to give us great sightings during the season as the water dries up.
