Page 20 - Discover Botswana 24th Edition 2024

20 www.discoverbotswanathebook.biz
On multiple occasions I have witnessed how
wild dogs spread the pack across both sides of
a waterway, a few of them staying close to the
water while others flush the game towards it on
both sides simultaneously. If the prey escapes
into the water and swims across, the rest of the
pack on the other side will complete the kill.
That is if a crocodile doesn’t move in first and
snatch it away for its own meal!
Cheetahs depend much more on speed in
their hunting, being the fastest land mammal
in the world, capable of reaching speeds up to
120km/h. They combine stalking and speed to
bring down their prey, attempting to get as close
to the target as possible before spurting forward
towards it. Their hunting techniques also vary
according to area and terrain. Having killed, the
cheetah tends to eat swiftly as it often looses its
kill to lion or hyena, who may have been alerted
by vultures circling the kill site. I have also
witnessed a cheetah being chased off its kill by a
female leopard. The cheetah is lucky if it escapes
unharmed, albeit still hungry.
Then there is the spotted hyena. Often
wrongly labelled as scavengers only, hyenas
are in fact successful hunters. Classed as apex
predators, hyenas are critical in controlling
prey populations, and aid in prevention of
spreading diseases. Hyenas use the strength
in numbers of the pack to hunt, ‘whooping’
into the night to alert one another to their
presence and whereabouts. Once numbers have
been established, they use their vocalisation
to intimidate and instil fear, carefully moving
in to take down their prey or chase other apex
predators off their kill. The giggling and cackling
normally follows into the night after a kill or
takeover…
Below: Spotted hyena clans are a
powerful force in the Okavango often
dominating by sheer numbers. Their
biggest competition are lions especially
around large natural death carcasses
like hippopotamus and elephant.