There’s a good range of species here, typical of the Delta, though game densities didn’t appear to me to be very high. They are certainly highly seasonal with animals proving scarce during the rains, and then numbers improving as the land dries out in the dry season.
The dominant antelope here is probably tsessebe (in one study of the Delta these made up 70% of all lion kills), though wildebeest and impala are also fairly common, occurring frequently in small groups. Family groups of giraffe and small numbers of zebra are also seen in the drier areas, along with kudu and steenbok. Red lechwe are dominant in the wetter areas, and there’s no shortage of hippos or crocodiles in the deeper waters around the Boro River.
Roan, eland and gemsbok are seen but very rarely, and generally only in the drier areas on the south side of the NG29 concession nearest to Xudum, in an area not usually visited from these camps.
Between about December and June elephants occur here in small family groups (this is typical of their behaviour in the whole region when food is plentiful). Then they tend to be most frequently found in the mopane scrub areas in the south of the concession. Later in the year, as the land dries up, they gradually coalesce into larger herds, hundreds strong, which move north and east, nearer to the heart of the Delta. Buffalo tend to occur in large herds that move through the concession in the dry season; smaller groups are seldom seen.
Of the predators, lion are by far the most common in these concessions; there is a big population here (it’s probably slightly over populated). Leopard are also permanent residents, although they are shy and rarely seen, despite the night drives. I didn’t see any spotted hyena on my visit, though they’re almost certainly around – but perhaps restricted by the density of lion.
Cheetah are very scarce, and generally only seen in the driest of months, around October to December. Then the grass is shorter, and there’s more dry land, and so less pressure from lion. At other times of the year the cheetah move away from the water, south and west out of the concession.
Recently there’s been a family group of caracal which are seen fairly regularly (about once per month) near Xudum airstrip. Given how rarely these cats are seen, this represents a really good chance – so keep a sharp lookout.