Elephant Sized Problems in Chobe National Park, Kasane, Botswana

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Wild Dogs at Chobe

It was a long and hot 600km from Maun to the Kasane, the town closest to Chobe National Park.  We skirted the Makgadikgadi Pan, but unfortunately didn't get very good views of the park.  Upon arrival, we had a well deserved swim at our camp to escape the heat briefly.
Chobe National Park apparently has a problem - a very BIG problem…. as in there is an overpopulation of elephants - approx. 30,000 of the behemoths!  They cause a problem because they knock over tons of trees and cause lots of damage.  Of course the animals are protected within the park boundaries, so not sure what they plan to do about the problem.
We visited the park on a game drive early in the morning.  We actually expected to see more elephants than we did, but I guess they come down to drink at the river later in the day.  We did see a few new animals for us - Sable antelope with beautiful long curved horns, a puku antelope, and the highlight of

Impala pronking while chased by wild dogs

the morning - a pack of wild dogs (or painted dogs as they are now called).  Probably about 15 or so, both adult and young, just strolling along towards the truck and across the road.  A couple of the dogs started to hunt the impala nearby and it was quite a wild chase with all the impala 'pronking' along.  When they pronk, they basically bounce high up in the air but also are moving quite quickly forward.  It was interesting to see all the impala bouncing along and the dogs giving chase.  No luck for the dogs on that chase though, but many happy impalas as they live to see another day!
Michelle cruised into the little town of Kasane for the afternoon, but I was too overheated to bother.  I relaxed by the pool, while Michelle did our shopping in town.  She was surprised to see a warthog just strolling through town - kind of funny.
That evening, we joined the rest of the group on a boat cruise down the river into Chobe. 

Tired Hippo?

It was definitely a good way to see the park, by land in the day, and by river at dusk.  The elephants were all out cooling off, the hippos must have been tired as they were yawning away, and the crocodiles were feeding on a dead elephant floating in the river.  We were on the river that separates Botswana from Namibia (at the Caprivi Strip), so I think we snuck in a small return trip to Namibia.  A relaxing start to the evening, with some sundowner drinks on the boat, while watching tons of wildlife along the riverfront and on the islands.   *Stub