WILDLIFE REPORT

SINGITA SABI SAND, SOUTH AFRICA For the month of October, Two Thousand and Fifteen

Temperature Rainfall Recorded Sunrise & Sunset Average minimum: 19.1˚C (68.4˚F) For the month: 18.2 mm Sunrise 05:10 Average maximum: 30.3˚C (86.5˚F) For the year to date: 188 mm Sunset 18:15 Minimum recorded: 15◦C (59˚F) Maximum recorded: 37˚C (98.6˚F) This has been a busy month with a variety of sightings that have been memorable in one way or another. The temperatures have fluctuated by over 20 degrees from the morning to the afternoon. Fortunately, after the

seething hot days, we have had a few cool mornings that made it feel like winter had returned. The clear blue skies and crisp breeze were perfect conditions for game viewing. Unfortunately rain has been scarce and the effects of a dry season are starting to show. The Sand River trickles slowly and various species are congregating around water sources just before midday to avoid the hot conditions. A few dams north of the Sand River have almost dried completely and thus the small amounts of water remaining are writhing with catfish. This bounty makes easy pickings for raptors, storks and a honey badger that we saw moving in for a fishy feast.

We've recorded 216 species of birds this month - many are visitors here to enjoy our summer and all it offers.

Here's a highlights package of the month's sightings:

Lions: Lion sightings currently could not get any better! Two male lions of the Matimba coalition have been sighted on a few occasions and they are gradually expanding their current territorial zone north of the river. The Mhangene pride continue to dominate the central area of Singita Sabi Sand and we have watched a few interactions between the Majingalane male l ions and the sub-adult males in the Mhangene pride that resulted in the young males being dispersed from the pride temporarily. One of the lionesses from the Mhangene pride has been seen with prominent suckle marks indicating that she has given birth. The lionesses has been seen moving in front of the lodges during the early morning as we suspect that the cubs are hidden in the river just east of Boulders Lodge. Exciting times ahead with this pride! Leopards: The two sub-adult leopards from the Mobeni female leopard have become independent and there have been a few sightings of the young female. Normally we only give names to leopards in established territories, but even though these two are not yet territorial, we are referring to them as the Ntoma male and the Mawelawela female. We look forward to seeing more of these two new leopards in the future. Buffalos: Smaller groups of males have been encountered north of the river. The larger breeding herds exceeding 200 individuals have not been viewed as regularly and this maybe due to the lack of nutritional vegetation as a result of the poor rainfall we've had so far this summer. The large herds are moving further for better grazing and permanent water sources.

Elephants: A large number of elephant have been seen moving along the Sand River as they are drawn to the remaining water source. It’s been a treat watching them from the lodges. (Insider tip: an ideal location to watch game is from your personal plunge pool.) Wild dogs: A pack of twenty-one wild dogs have been seen north of the Sand River. With their puppies growing up they are covering more ground which means more sightings are bound to occur.

Life and death in the African savannah Article by Michelle Campbell I hear murmurs of excitement as we round a bend and standing in the road in front of us is a dazzle of zebra,

including a very young foal. We watch them grazing for a while, happy to see them content with the heat of the afternoon having passed and recent rain providing new shoots of grass on which to feed. Quite suddenly, sharp-eyed tracker Phanuel, exclaims he’s spotted a cheetah, lying underneath some bushes just 100 meters away. We drive off into the veld and indeed he's right - a male cheetah lies there full-bellied and snoozing under a bush. It is always so special to see a cheetah, as so few exist in the wild today. We sat captivated, observing his beautiful spots, delicate whiskers and distinct red-orange eyes that look straight through you. The surprise and joy of the cheetah aside however, the crowd-pleaser of the afternoon remained the zebras, who were still grazing near the road a short way off, and in particular the young zebra foal, who after hopping around in play started nuzzling its mother and began to nurse. The collective, “Awww” was soon interrupted when we realized that the cheetah too was watching the youngster suckling.

The cheetah’s body language changed in an instant and suddenly he was on his haunches, directly facing the dazzle of zebras. We sat in anguish for the following minutes that passed, as completely oblivious to the

cheetah, the zebras grazed ever closer to the predator lying in wait. We had previously semi-discounted the cheetah from hunting due to his full belly and panting, but what a turn of events this was to be. It goes to show how opportunistic these rare animals are however, because without warning, he leapt up and shot off, scattering zebras every which way, but his stare was on one individual only… the foal. Over in seconds, the dust settled to present the cheetah and foal lying in a tangle on the ground. The cheetah’s mouth was clamped firmly onto the foal's neck, suffocating it to death. What happened next was truly heartfelt as the rest of the zebras regrouped, recognised their missing foal, and came back to search for it, calling out their desperate, shrilly whinnies; loudest of all it’s mother. They soon found their little one, lifeless at the feet of a cheetah, and apart from snorting alarms and calling out, they recognised that the situation was helpless, and left the area, heads down, whinnying in sadness. Action over, the cheetah panted hard in recovery and then eventually pulled the foal by its tail, beneath a small bush to feed. As if convinced that a nearby predator or scavenger must have heard the zebra alarm calls, he nervously looked all around, in anticipation of an approaching predator coming to steal his kill. None arrived however, but we left before it got too gory, my guests heartbroken at the loss of the young animal they had grown so fond of that afternoon. Such is life and death in the African savannah. Life lessons Article by Michelle Campbell Having feasted on the dead nyala that his mother led him to, a young male leopard cub was snoozing in the shade of a bush while his mother finished feeding on the kill at the base of a tree. The cracking and crunching of bones soon attracted a sharp-hearing hyena, who after a steady stare off, darted in with astonishing speed, sending the female up the tree, leaving the kill at the base. Head up and interested in the commotion, you could almost see the indignation on the leopard cub's face when he noticed this turn of events, and he crept slowly but purposefully toward the hyena, as if to chase him off... The hyena did move off, but soon returned, unperturbed by the cub, who jumped up the tree to safety beside his mother. He lay sprawled on the branch above the hyena and watched mournfully as the hyena finished off his food. It was suddenly too much to bear and in a brave moment, the cub started creeping back down the tree towards the hyena. At eye-on-eye level, the leopard cub reached out his oversized paw and tapped the hyena on the back, as if to say, “Hey, get away from my breakfast!” If his plan was to make the hyena run away, it couldn’t have gone more wrong, as the hyena turned immediately to fight and try bite the cub's foot. The pain sent the cub flying back up the tree. Having watched the whole event unwind and not get involved, as if to teach her son a lesson, the female leopard, upon seeing the aggression of the hyena, came tearing down the tree to chase it off and protect her cub.

Deciding that there was not enough meat left to be worth the trouble of returning, the hyena skulked off and after a while the frightened cub inched back down and out of the tree, and walked, somewhat embarrassed, towards his mother for a head rub, and what only could have been a, “Thank you and sorry mum,” moment. Certainly one of his life lessons learnt… do not mess with hyenas! New life Article by Ross Couper

Robert Ruark, the America novelist wrote that, “A buffalo always looks at you as if you owe him money.” Upon seeing this animal you can certainly see exactly what he meant. This African bovine kills an estimate of 200 people and year, and is the one animal we field guides do not want to meet face-to-face. Recently we witnessed the Mangheni pride kill four buffalos (an adult female and three calves) from the same herd, at the same time! Even though the buffalo grouped themselves together, forming a circle to try and stand their ground in an effort to defend their young and each other, they were no match for the calculated hunt of this successful pride.

There were eleven pride members seen on this hunt compared to the normal thirteen. One of the lionesses has been seen in the Sand River and has prominent suckle marks - a good indication that she has a litter of cubs tucked away in the riverine thickets, to the east of Boulders Lodge. Guests have seen her frequently during breakfast time, from the deck, as she walks the riverbed in search of prey. It is suspected that a second lioness from the same pride is pregnant, so lets hope that the summer season will show in full bloom with lion cubs. Fireball lily Article by Francois Fourie

Currently in bloom, thanks to the small stint of rain we had, are the fireball lilies (Scadoxus multiflorus). The spectacular looking red flowers appear on bright green stalks, about 30 cm above the ground. The flower head is a huge spherical umbel consisting of up to 200 small individual flowers. Each small flower has protruding stamens carrying bright yellow anthers. As beautiful as this plant is it contains poisonous alkaloids that can be harmful to some animals. These poisonous alkaloids have their traditional uses, including being used to poison arrow tips for hunting.

September moments

Photographs on location by Ross Couper

and Michelle Campbell Singita Ebony and Boulders Lodge

Sabi Sand South Africa

Thirty-first of October 2015