Tree climbing lions of Katavi

By Gabriel Mushi, Guide - Chada Katavi

Katavi has a large number of lions, with different prides in each part of the park.  Though lions are terrestrial, spending a large amount of their time on the ground, they as well climb trees.

Lake Manyara National Park has been so famous for its tree climbing lions, but Katavi lions as well climb.  Lions climb trees mainly to try to get away from the flies, to catch a good breeze and to scan the area around them, mainly to look for prey.

Though they climb trees, they do not look that good or relaxed when trying to balance themselves on branches.  They are not as efficient climbers as leopards are.

Elephants in Chada

By Gabriel Mushi, Guide - Chada Katavi

Elephants are very intelligent animals.  They feed on a variety of plant matter, from flowers, leaves and fruits to pods and even bark.  They use their tusks to debark trees, then peel off strips and chew them.

Recently, while on an evening game drive with my guests, we came across a male elephant, about thirty years old, feeding under an acacia tree.  He was picking up seed pods from the ground, but when he had finished them all, he started shaking the tree.  Lifting his trunk and aligning it up the trunk of the tree, with his tusks on either side, he started pushing hard to shake the acacia pods down.

After that, he continued picking up the pods and eating them, grasping them one by one with the tip of his trunk and lifting them into his mouth.  After making sure there were none remaining underneath the tree, he moved on and kept on pushing on other acacia trees to get more pods that were out of his reach.