I have been away on leave for the first two weeks of October, due to this this is the first new blog for the month of October. The sightings during the past two weeks have been fantastic. We started off with an unusual sighting of two male wild dogs, which were not from our pack. At one stage they were trying to join the resident pack. They moved north for a day until they were finally chased east by the others.
A white rhino bull was killed in a territorial fight. We discovered the dead animal the following morning. It wasn’t long before the vultures and hyenas arrived. They enjoyed the carcass without the presence of the lions.
One of Metsi’s cubs was chased up a tree by a hyena close to the rhino carcass. The scavengers soon lost interest and the leopard descended the tree and quickly moved away.
The elephant sightings have been numerous with lone bulls and large breeding herds being encountered. We were treated to a great sighting of bull elephant swimming at Dam Five.
The good rains in October have stimulated the vegetation to flourish. Beautiful Fireball lilies have been seen in various areas, and the rains have also prompted the dung beetles to begin their gathering and reproduction cycle.
A very small Leopard tortoise, one of nature’s very vulnerable reptiles, was seen crossing the road one day. These tortoises can reach a weight of 40 kilogrammes and they are the only species of tortoise in SouthernAfrica which is capable of swimming for an extended period.
The Ximungwe pride is still quite fragmented, although the older lioness and her 13-month old cubs are seen regularly. The cubs are growing rapidly and proving themselves to be very inquisitive. The older female seems quite happy to be away from the pride.
We were treated to a very special sighting on one occasion. One of the lionesses from the Ximungwe pride was moving her young cubs to a new den site. She carried them out of the Day One river system towards Drongo Drive. Click on the link to see the video clip:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiuhEYHzjqY
The rest of the pride has been seen close to Kerry Crossing on the Sand River. The three lionesses have four cubs from three different litters, ranging in age from three months to eight months. With the abundance of prey such as nyala and bushbuck along the river the lioness are quite successful when hunting.
The Mapogo brothers have been travelling long distances. They have been going east regularly, probably as a result of the Machingalan coalition.
On the way back from their travels, they killed a male buffalo on thenorthern side of the Sand River.
On the rarer side of things, we have been truly spoilt with three pangolin sightings in the past two weeks. These strange creatures are not normally encountered during the day, yet on two of the three occasions we have seen them in daylight. When threatened these mammals, curl themselves up into a tight armoured plated impenetrable ball for protection.
Buffalo are constantly encountered around the camp. The herds range from small herds of old males to large breeding herds. On one occasion, approximately 1300 buffalo were seen on Cheetah Flats as three breeding herds simultaneously moved through the area. . The lions haven’t ventured to the southern section for some time and therefore the buffalo seem quite relaxed in this area.
Rhinos have seen regularly throughout the western sector. A young male calf which was seen suckling its mother became very intrigued with our vehicle.
The leopard viewing is always special. We were watching a male hippo at Ebony Dam one day when Kashane wandered over the dam wall. It was an extremely hot day and the two animals eyed one another for a while. The male leopard continued drinking, while the hippo moved in for a closer look. Once the leopard had satisfied his thirst, he posed on the dam wall before moving off.
Mobeni’s five-month old male cub has been spotted in a large tree and is becoming more accustomed to the vehicles. The Mobeni female was trying to stalk a group of impala while the cub watched from an elevated vantage point.
The Day One male has been quite scarce lately. He was at one time located close to the western firebreak, so we had a great sighting of him while he was lying on a termite mound. Later in the week we found him wandering south close to Mackenzie cutline. He seems to have settled on the western half of our area.
During the last week we have been treated to four separate sightings of leopards with kills. Metsi killed a female duiker on the eastern side of Mackenzie airstrip. She later retreated to a large marula tree which afforded her plenty of foliage shade as the temperature rose sharply.
Metsi’s male cub was finishing off an impala kill which he hoisted into a nearby tree. Both her independent cubs seem to be doing well.
While following Metsi on Bushwillow Drive, she found the remains of an impala carcass. After carefully surveying the area, the carcass was taken up into a nearby marula tree.
The Tasselberry female killed a grey duiker on Patty Pans road. She was in a precarious position in a small tree, with two hyenas and a drainage line below her. While balancing well, she skilfully kept her carcass from the scavengers.
Hlangisa seems to have settled down in her new territory. She is regularly seen near the western firebreak and south of the Madge Mbhirhi river system. This particular female leopard loves to rest in large trees.
We had a great interaction south of the Sand River between three leopards. Shangwa killed an impala and was soon joined by her 13-month old male cub. In close proximity, however, was her 6-year old daughter, Xicavi. There was a great deal of growling between the young male cub and Xicavi, but eventually the tension dissipated and the leopards fed at different times.
The Hyena populations are on the increase and we are seeing them on regular basis. This young individual was found resting at Lion Pan.
With summer slowly creeping up on us, the birdlife is fantastic and there is evidence of lots of new chicks. An African Jacana and Purple Crested Turaco are seen and heard regularly along the Sand River.
At Tasselberry Dam a Woolly-necked Stork was observed with a new chick in its nest and a Goliath Heron carefully watching for a meal.
We observed a hippo bull at Tasselberry dam. This particular hippo we have nicknamed George. He is famous for his spectacular behaviour while in the water, with rolls and yawns. This behaviour is supposed to intimidate any animal approaching the water.
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