Cheetahs feast on Coke's Hartbeest on night game drive

November, Ziwani Animal Sightings

November was a good game viewing time in Ziwani. Kazungu and Juma, our resident cheetahs were spotted on the plains.

A few days later, Patrick was also spotted on the plains alone scanning the horizon not far from a group of impalas. He definitely managed to kill because in the morning we saw vultures on the plains scavenging on an impala carcass.

Ziwani has been dry, and towards mid-month most of the animals migrated to the areas that either had rain or water. There were movements into the interior of Tsavo West National Park, while some animals like elephants, zebras and elands migrated towards Lake Jipe.

There was a good opportunity for game spotting on a night game-drive when we found Kazungu and Juma feasting on a Coke’s Hartebeest (Kongoni) baby while the mother and father watching helplessly.

Due to the heat of the day, cheetahs prefer hunting at night, and that’s why Ziwani offers night game drives. The Kongoni is native to Kenya and Tanzania, inhabiting grassy savannah. It is thought to have been one of the most abundant plains antelope, but numbers dwindled due to poaching and human encroachment of their habitats.

Stephen Lekatoo,
Resident Naturalist, Voyager Ziwani Tsavo