Xakanaxa (n) pronounced "cha - KA - na- cha"
A short while later one female returned and called down the hole, and suddenly the pups started appearing, 12 in all. We watched them playing with the adult until she lay down close by, after which they played amongst themselves.
Sometime before sunset the pups went into a frenzy of squeals and other strange sounds until the adults began to appear. There was much greeting and sniffing and more squealing, which reached a crescendo when meat from the kill was regurgitated for them.
The lion kill was close to the road and the pride of ten was feeding on the buffalo. We watched and listened to them feeding for a while before circling the island and crossing the bridge where a flicker of movement caught my eye .... it was a leopard that had jumped out a sausage tree and was now standing about 30 meters from the car. He looked at us for what seemed like an eternity before heading into the bush.
We had not gone more than 100 meters down the road when one of the guests shouted 'there's the leopard again'. As we got closer I saw that it was two cheetah lying up in the grass feeding on an impala ....'.
The Xakanaxa area of the Moremi Game Reserve is where the sands of the Kalahari meet the waters of the Okavango, forming a wildlife paradise of exceptional beauty and diversity.
Leigh Kemp