The recent African photo safari to Botswana, provided several, very unique opportunities to observe and photograph some elusive species. I will call them ‘creatures of the night’ as they are primarily active after the sunset. Makgadikgadi is also a dream habitat for the bat-eared foxes, which aren’t necessarily nocturnal. More so, leopard featured in the main thumbnail, can also be seen during the day, but they are most active at night.
I still remember my excitement when I have seen the aardwolf for the first time. It was in 2014 in Okavango during a night drive – a tame, foraging individual allowed us to accompany him for 20 minutes. You may ask, what is the Aardwolf!? It is a very elusive specie of hyena (sometimes called civet hyena) that inhabits Eastern and Southern Africa. And, yes, it is primarily nocturnal and very difficult to see during the day. It took me 6 years (until the January 2020) to be able to see and photograph this beautiful animal without the use of artificial light. And it happened when a mother came to a den to fetch her two grown pups for a night hunt. It was quick, it was getting dark and it was magical!
Let’s continue with hyenas. I am not a big fun of a common, spotted hyenas, but I have a lot of time for their Kalahari cousins – the Brown Hyenas. It is the rarest of hyenas, adults are solitary and do not form clans as their spotted relatives. I have seen brown hyena in the past, but it was a first time that I (and the group of photographers I was guiding) was able to spend a quality evening with three cubs around a den. It was amazing to observe their evening rituals after leaving the den. The bathroom break in a particular spot away from the den or grooming between siblings. And realizing the size difference between smaller female and her larger brothers. True, memorable sundowner 😊
Bat-eared foxes (BEF) are relatively common in semi-arid environment of Kalahari. They are small canids with characteristic large ears. BEFs are very important in regulating termites, which together with dung beetles consist of 80% of bat-eared fox diet. Thanks to their incredible sense of hearing they aren’t easy to approach and are known as escape artists. We had one family a little less shy allowing us for some observations and couple photographs.
I left the best for the last – the Aardvark, which virtually means an ‘earth pig’. It is relatively common animal from Sudan, Mali in the north all the way to South Africa. However, it is very shy and VERY nocturnal. It has hairless, pinkish body, analogues to pigs, but this is where it ends. They are specie for themselves and closer connected to African elephants than pigs 😃. They are solitary and quite anti-social, thus somewhat difficult to see. Their abandoned burrows are everywhere, and provide dens for hyenas, warthogs, African painted dogs etc. They specialize in termites and can dig 1 m in a soft ground in 15 seconds! We have seen aardvark foraging in the late evening close to our camp. It was a tame individual which allowed us many minutes for observations and night photography.
Evening drives are special as they allow to experience nature completely differently to what we used to. Our bespoke safaris, always have night drives in the schedule when in Botswana. Sightings vary from trip to trip, but we always see something interesting, exciting and sometimes flat out – unbelievable.
