Page 50 - Discover Botswana 20th edition

northern Chohc. But there is plenty ullilc on land too. In the dry season

elephants and buffalo are joined bya myriad oroiner herbivores. Impala.

kudu. wildebeesl, warlhogs and zebra - to mention only a rew - wind

a path through the leak woodland and maze of woolly caper bushes in

order to quench their thirst at the water's edge.

The smorgasbord of species attracts a host of predators ~ lion.

leopard, spotted hyena and wild dog are all quick to take advantage of

the readily accessible [ml on otfer. The impact of thousands of animals

eongregatlng around the river Is dramatic. The green carpet of grass that

materlalises after the rains at the beginning of the year soon becomes

threadbare. By October. it has been snipped completely. exposing a '

barren. ochre floor ufarid sand.

As November approaches. and the mercury creeps above 40 ' ‘I-

degrecs Celsius. an air of expectancy develops every aficrnnon when I ' I _. _ ll
faint cumultu streaks gradually mnrph into a ceiling of dirty»whlic i _'- -

cumulonimbus that covers the whole sky. All too often, however, the __ ,o- . _ n
build-up dissipates into another sultry sunset. Eventually. mer dozens of r,. y -u-— "- -

false promlses.lhc rain finally arrives. dissolving the lethargic clouds or s _ 4 " _ .. - .1 _. I
dust and spreading an cncrgfislng. fresh aura across the land. ‘ -'-u 3 ‘ 3 - I _

Every shallow dip and depression becomes 2 waterhalc. enabling _ -I!‘ _ ' ‘

thousands of borbiyores that were previously shackled to the river to - __’ ‘M II; A

molt late the Chobe forest. Their departure makes life much harder ‘ _ __ ‘ V V .

for the resident predators. Amazingly. If you come In the riverfront in __ i ; . '

January. you may not see aslngle elephant. -r ‘l _. '

Most animals disperse through the wnodlands to the south. but the a.. : .‘ --_ ‘ H —
zebra are travellers on a much grander scale. Each year after the mlm, '_ ‘__, ‘ g1 ,| .e i
largo herds mlgrate over ltlflkm lo the grasslands or Savute and the V V V ..
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aunt: Sawta‘slion prides andspaclficallylhelthunllng prowesshu - ‘ " 1- — r ; k ,' '
attracted multiple wildliln film maker: aver several deadas. They remain _‘. . ‘ ' '
one at rne lr:I's slur arumions. ’
were African wild dogs ean be luvless adversaries. in ibis exchange, I
wauzhod a pack of six Iomlaming an unsuspecfing, Ion. hyarla lor iavoral
I minute: simply (B reuin sole bragging rights to a wnelhnle.
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