Albino sighting of a different breed… a Lechwe!

Written By: admin on July 12, 2009 No Comment

After a long silence, due to extended travels and field excursions, EWB is back online to keep everyone up to date on the project and exciting news from the field! We have many stories and news which we have had to postpone sharing with all our friends. (www.elephantswithoutborders.org/news.php) Mike and I have been traveling, spending a month in the USA and then upon return, immediately took to the field to access the environmental changes that have happened in our absence. Catching our breathes, we now have a few days to fill everyone in. (Subscribe to our newsletters here)

Endangered Wattled Crane are on the move amongst other wildlife

The weather has taken a dramatic turn. Rains stopped months ago. The vegetation is changing color, dropping their leaves. The dry season is at our doorstep and the cold, brash winter has definitely set in! However, one particular day in mid-June, we experienced a very unusual heavy rainstorm, which supplemented the water that had already been quickly evaporating. So once again, many of the seasonal pans are holding water. But the muddy roads are drying to open access to distant areas. With all these environmental changes, the wildlife have begun their journeys to food and water sources, in preparation for the anticipated harsh, dry season. As the wildlife and elephants are making their moves, the EWB team has been out following them.

We just returned from a jaunt into the Khwai concession area and Moremi Game Reserve, just on the south eastern fringe of the Okavango Delta. Khwai has always held a soft spot in our hearts, because a few years back, we based our field camp in the Khwai concession, for a full year. It was a wonderful experience and gave us many fond memories. So when the opportunity arises, we are excited to see what is happening in that area.

"Drop of water" shop in the village of Khwai

Right now, the water was still very high in Khwai and covered many of the trail roads, limiting our travels. So we changed course and headed south, further into the game reserve. We had hopes that we might be able to catch a glimpse of the elusive, but extraordinary, young pink elephant. It has been months since the incredible sighting of this young one and we are hoping to keep track of the family herd. (read about him in March blog) However, again, we found ourselves “snorkeling” through pools of water to access areas. At several points we had to turn about and find alternative routes to keep going. Passing “Third Bridge” and Xaxanaxa, we came across a nice pride of lions, consisting of one large male, several lionesses and cubs. As lions tend to do, they were happily lazying about, after enjoying a zebra brunch. They were so full they were panting and had left very little for the vultures.

Lioness and resting pride after zebra brunch

After such a nice sighting it reminded us that too, we were running low on both food and fuel, so we decided to pack it up for the time being and head back towards Maun. We could not be disappointed not finding the little “pinky” because we knew our chances were slim. And, the time spent out was really beautiful weather, despite the cold. However, strange things tend to happen and accommodate for little disappointments. We had stopped for a quick stretch and were admiring some Red Lechwe (Kobus lechwe) dawdling in the wetlands, when we saw a flash of white that made us blink more than twice. We could not believe what we were seeing! Right in front of us, crossing our path, was a fully grown, female, albino lechwe! It was stunningly beautiful, grazing amongst a large herd of 30+ or more lechwe! What were the chances of something like that happening… searching for a rare albino sighting and finding a different one!

I quickly snapped up a slew of photos, and upon return to Maun, headed to the local newspaper with our rare sighting. (see www.ngamitimes.com, Edition 468 10-17July 2009) We learned later that albino lechwe have been seen, but the occurrences of them are very few and rare. The last reported sighting was in 1985. It certainly makes one wonder and brings up many intriguing questions, especially in combination with the albino elephant sighting, hmmm….