In the drier areas, Kwara’s dominant antelopes appear to be tsessebe and impala, with very healthy populations of reedbuck, kudu and giraffe. You’ll also find wildebeest, zebra, bushbuck, warthog and steenbok, plus a liberal sprinkling of elephant and the odd herd of buffalo. On the floodplains around camp, lechwe are also common, whilst deep in the papyrus there are sitatunga, though these are not often seen here.
All the big cats are around – lion, leopard and cheetah – and given the open nature of some of the environment, and Kwando Safaris’ policy of tracking game as actively as possible, it is a good area for wild dog. I last made a very short visit here in February, which is usually a very difficult time for spotting predators. But despite the thick, green vegetation the guide and spotter managed to locate a pack of wild dogs as they killed an impala – having tracked them for several miles across the bush.