Rangers Report January 2012
I think I speak for everyone when I say that January 2012 will always be remembered. It was a very exciting, but also challenging month for us. As Wayne mentioned in his report, we had some serious flooding during January. I have been working in the bush for nine years now and I have never before seen so much water in an area that is usually quite dry. It was unbelievable to witness such a wonder of nature, but it was frightening at the same time. To see the usually dry Manyeleti riverbed in front of the lodge, overflowing its banks and spread onto the open area was really impressive. With the river being in full flood and the roads soaking wet and muddy, game drives were challenging. Even though our roads are very reliable, we could not go on drive for the first day or two until the water receded. You can just imagine how saturated the ground was after at least 520mm of rain in such a short amount of time. I have not seen the bush so wet in my life! Luckily, everything is back to normal now and we are looking forward to a jam packed February, full of exciting game drives! Just to humor you, our average maximum temperature for the month of January was 29 °C and we had a total of 570 millimeters of rain (most of it in 48 hours).
Elephant
Water masses in front of the camp
The elephant sightings were a bit quiet this month, due to the amount of water that is currently in the bush. There is no need to go to a waterhole when they get thirsty or just want to cool down, as there is a pool of water or a small stream around every corner at the moment. At this stage we see a lot of mature bulls in the area and some of them is also now in musth. During periods of musth mature bulls wander alone, in search of mating opportunities. The bulls rank order is determined by seniority and their reproductive condition. Although bulls normally wander more widely than cows, they sometimes stay in a certain area for months at a time. During periods of sexual inactivity they might be alone or in small groups. Elephants can live in virtually any habitat which provides adequate amounts of food and water and at the moment there is no shortage of any of these. The elephants also provide us with a laugh every now and again. Being January, it is time for the Marula trees to start losing their fruits, which is definitely a delicacy for elephants. It is a very special sighting to see the elephants almost stalking the tree from a distance, and then going in for the kill. Some in the herd will vacuum up the fruits already down on the floor and others will shake the branches, causing the fruits to pour down like rain. It is strange to think that an action so normal for an elephant can be so amusing to watch for us human beings.
Buffalo
This month there were still no breeding herds in sight, but we did have plenty of old bulls / dagga boys in our area. With plentiful food sources we are happy to see a lot of males by themselves, because there is no need for them to travel in herds to better their feeding grounds. They will once again join their original bachelor herds as soon as food availability becomes scarcer. Breeding herds have home ranges which can be anything between 60-1000 square kilometers or more, but it is not defended like territories. Buffaloes are not migratory, but move in response to seasonal changes in food availability. Routes between grazing, water and cover will be frequently used. Buffaloes will graze up to 8-10 hour a day and they need a lot of grass and water to keep them busy for this long!
Lions
This month BB rejoined the four young Tsalala females, or maybe I should rather say that she actually brought them back together again. In last month’s report I mentioned that the four younger lionesses got split up and nobody knew what happened to them. I am glad to see them back together and that BB joined them. The two young Nkuhuma brothers are really looking good and feeding well. They are getting bolder by the day by giving territorial calls almost every night, maybe because of the absence of the four Majingi males. We have not seen the four big boys for most of the month and when we do get to see them, they are on our eastern traversing area, very seldom moving this far west. In regards to the Styx and other Tsalala females, we have not seen them this month. It might be because they were south of the Sand River when it started flooding. They are possibly still waiting for the surrounding areas to dry out a bit. It usually gets tricky to try and hunt, while you’re stuck in the mud.
Southern Ground Hornbill perched in a dead Knobthorn tree
Leopards
Salayexe turned out to be a dark horse this month. She was seen attempting to mate with a male leopard at the end of January and this made us think that she had lost her cubs once again. But then we saw her a few days later, with what appeared to be suckle marks, so the verdict is still out on that one. There is an opinion that female leopards would sometimes feign wanting to mate in order to lure a male leopard away from the cubs if he gets too close to them. If she did lose the cubs, it could either have been the flooding, or because another predator killed them. As soon as we know for sure, we will let you know. The new dominant male leopard, who also fathered Salayexe’s previous cubs, got a name befitting his character: Tingana. Tingana means “the shy one”. We hope that he will become more accustomed to the vehicles over time. Tyson came into the area again in the beginning of the month, but soon moved down south, back to the core of his territory. Kurula is keeping a low profile at the moment, but when we see her there is no doubt that all is doing well as she and her youngsters are all in a great condition. Shadow is still as elusive as always. She is moving more north into her mothers’ territory. Ntima is still moving around and she was seen mating with the new male in the eastern traversing area. He is called Lamula – which means orange. He got this name because of the orange colour of his eyes. As we have not seen either Safari or Mafufunyana for a number of months now, they are both presumed dead.
Special sighting
For me, the most special sighting this month was definitely to see BB and the four young Tsalala females back together again. Two of the four are BB’s own cubs and the other two are actually her granddaughters. She did, however, raise all four of them very successfully, as her own. After they got separated last December, we were concerned about their survival as they were not old enough yet to start mating and therefore could have easily been killed by male lions frequenting the area. Seeing the Fantastic Five together again was great!
Did you know?
Lionesses in a pride with cubs of more or less the same age will suckle and nurse each other’s cubs.
Hope you enjoyed this month’s report. See you out on game drive soon!
Morné Fouché
Rangers’ Report December 2011
It is unreal to think that I am writing the last report for 2011 and that, by the time you read this, we’ll already be in 2012. The past year went by so fast! This just shows how life goes by in a blink of an eye. The same goes for the animals and the bush. It was just a few months ago when the bush was pale and dry and now it has changed to a lush green tapestry, bursting with new life and juvenile herbivores running and jumping and just being silly. This month was filled with excitement, happiness,and good times – overall another good month at Elephant Plains! We had some great wild dog sightings during the month. These majestic, but rarely seen animals came in and out of our area on a regular basis. We were also lucky enough to see two male cheetahs during the month as well! It was awesome, as these super sprinters need large, open plains in order to successfully hunt. They can reach a top speed of between 110-120km/h and we do not actually have a lot of big open areas here. We have also officially entered our rainy season and already had 89mm of rain which really helped to cool down the extreme temperatures. Our average maximum temperature during December was 30⁰C.
Elephant
Dancing Zebras. Photo by Willie Woest
We saw elephants every day and around every corner! After all the lovely rain, the bush really transformed with loads of food for all the animals, big and small. Since the good rains,the big herds made their journey back into our area. Elephants overall eat close to 95% of all the plant life that the bush can provide. During the rainy season, elephant don’t have to go only to certain waterholes where they are used to getting water. When you come to the bush you will see that there are loads of mud wallows, which they will visit on a hot day just to spray mud and water on them to cool down. On really hot days you will also see elephants flapping their ears. Now for many years people though that it is a sign of aggression, but it’s not. It is just their built in radiator system. Warm blood goes from the body into the ears and by flapping the ears the wind will cool the surface of the ears and the blood will also cool down.
Buffalo
On the side of the buffaloes it has been quiet at times, but every now and again a breeding herd of between 80 or 150 animals would come in and out of our area. There are fewer bachelor herds at the moment, which means they are slowly going back to the breeding herds. There is also a lot of friction between the males at this time. We saw 2 males just the other day, going head to head. When the 2 heads connect you can hear the sound from far away. The horn is made up of bone and an outer keratin sheet. If you take the keratin sheet off, you will see that the bone has a lot of holes or air pockets, which will absorb the shock when they fight and protect the brain. Just as elephants have their own radiators, buffaloes have their own shock absorbers! The horns of the males are adapted for fighting as they are much bigger and broader at the base of the horn. This is called a boss. It is not going to be very long before the other males go back to the breeding herds and challenge each other for mating rights. The females never really fight with each other. This might happen when the older, more dominant females will chase the smaller younger females out of the waterhole or off a nice patch of green grass.
Lion
We really can’t complain about the lion sightings we had in December as we saw lions almost every day! The two Nkuhuma males are still with us and killing buffaloes whenever the opportunity arises. We can hear them every now and again, giving soft calls and this tells me they are going to stay in our area for a while. The young Tsalala females and the young Styx male crossed our southern boundary for a few days, where they got split up. It’s not clear of what and why this happened. We saw the one female and male first and then they found the three other females who moved very far to the east. Now to make matters worse, the Styx male and one female went back south to search for the other three females and they also got split up. We have seen tracks for a young male going past our lodge though, so hopefully they will join up soon. The Styx pride and the five cubs is really doing good at this stage and the Black Mane Majingi male lions join them more often now, helping them hunt. It looks like these cubs might just make it if the four brothers can stay around. The two Nkuhuma females broke away from their pride with their two cubs and they are currently staying around in our area. They are now hiding the cubs from the new dominant males, the Matimba’s, as they will kill the small cubs because it is not their own.
Leopard
Hyenas feeding on a giraffe carcass. Photo by Willie Woest
What can I say! This month was a combination of feelings with a lot of excitement, a beginning of a new life and the sad end of another. The young male leopard that came into the area in the beginning of this year is doing really well for himself. He started with a very small territory and is expanding at a rapid pace. He is becoming more relaxed with the vehicles day by day. We have not named him yet, but will give him a name which describes his character. He has now settled in and is the new male after Tyson moved south. Never the less, the new kid on the block had his first challenge this month when another young male from the east started to expand his newly claimed territory more west. The stand-off took only a few hours, until the newcomer decided to move back east. This challenge is only the first of many that this male has to endure in his reign as dominant male and some of them might not be that subtle. Salayexe gave birth between the 9th and 10th of December. We have not seen how many cubs she’s got but we see the suckle marks which is the perfect indication of healthy, drinking cubs. We are so happy for her after she lost the previous litter and it’s also the first cubs that the new male sired. Ntima was seen mating with Mvula and her daughter, Kwatile, was seen mating with the other new young male from the east, so hopefully all went well and we can expect more cubs in 2012! Kurula and her cubs are also doing great. They are over a year old now so time is running out for them as a family – they will be starting a solitary life soon. Then it brings us to the sad, but real aspect of life. We suspect that our granny, Safari has passed away as we have not seen her for more than two months. She shared a very special place in many of our hearts and will always be remembered! Mafufunyana has lost everything and has been moving all over, and stealing kills from female leopards. The old worrier with the “never say die” attitude has come to the end of his reign. Mvula and the other young male is running the show in the eastern side of our traversing area as they are younger and stronger and still expanding their territories.
Special Sighting:
The one young male leopard was scent marking around when the intruder was lying at the waterwhole with Kwatile. As soon as the two males saw each other, they stared for a few seconds and then both snapped. They were having a stand-off, right there and then! They moved side by side, growling at each other. They then faced each other and also came real close at times, but fortunately no fighting took place. It was really exciting to sit there and listen to the growling and see the different personalities and reactions. As if this was not already something special, having two young males and a female in one sighting. The next moment Ntima also appeared from behind a bush! They say two is company and three is a crowd. So what do you call four leopards in one sighting then? Priceless!
Did you know?
Grasshoppers are well known for their songs, which are made in different ways by different subfamilies. Some make sounds by rubbing pegs on their hind legs together, some clatter their wings together in flight, some rub their wings together and others do not make any noise at all.
Hope to see you out on game drive soon!
Morné Fouché
Rangers’ Report November 2011
This month started off on a high… the arrival of the babies! Impalas, blue wildebeest and warthogs are just some of the herbivores which will give birth during the start of the rainy season. The first babies arrived on the 5th of this month and they just kept coming from there. Although we have not had a lot of heavy rain yet, the effect of the 66mm we did get is showing! With the rain, also comes the heat. Our days are getting quite hot now and with an average max temperature of 32˚C we are feeling the heat of summer! With all the aspects of summer being here, the Woodlands Kingfishers got all excited and we now have them calling overtime during the day and sometimes even during night time! The frog choir in the fishpond next to reception is entertaining our guests with their beautiful sounds during the evenings.
Elephants
Hyenas cooling down in Rampan by Morné Fouché
Even though some breeding herds have moved out of our area, we still have our fair share of good elephant sightings. With the rainy season here, all trees are wearing their new green leaves, including the Mopani trees. Elephants are very fond or these trees and as soon as the new leaves are visible, they will move to an area where there are plenty of these trees. At this stage we see a lot of young males who have been kicked out of the big breeding herds. These young males are now unsure of where they fit in, as they are no longer welcome with the breeding herds or with the older males. The young males get kicked out of the herd at a certain age (usually between 12-15 years) and then they will sometimes link up with other young males or with an old male who is willing to have him tag along, learning the tricks of the trade.
Buffalo
We had good sightings of a generous sized breeding herd during this month and we are also still getting a visit from the old bulls every now and again. Overall, the dominant bulls are in great shape, with all the nice green grass. Whenever you see them, they are either eating or resting and cooling down in a mud wallow. Buffaloes have massive cheek teeth and broad incisors with a prehensile tongue, which gathers and bundles grass before each bite. This enables the buffalo to feed efficiently in longer grass. Buffaloes are ruminants, meaning they have a 4 chambered stomach. Their diet mostly consists of grass, but they will also eat herbs and leaves which will make up 5% of their diet when there is not enough grass to eat.
Lions
We had some fantastic lion sightings this month! We saw the Tsalala females, Nkuhuma males and also two of the big boys, the Majingilane males. By the looks of things, the Tsalala pride has split up. BB rejoined her two older daughters and their cubs. The one older daughter also lost her tail and she now looks just like her mother! The four younger Tsalala females are still moving around in order to avoid the Majingi males. The youngsters are doing really well for themselves, now hunting and killing big and small animals. This might be why BB left them, as she knew she did her part and it’s up to them to do the rest. It can also be that she is coming into oestrus and she doesn’t want to put their lives at risk when looking for a male to mate with. It is unknown at this stage if they will join up again, but the bush always holds some unexpected surprises, so you never know!
Leopard
Breeding herd of elephants drinking water by Morné Fouché
Salayexe is looking really good. It can’t be long before she will give birth and she now even looks a bit uncomfortable when walking around. The father of the cubs is not Tyson as we predicted, but a new young male who came into our area and claimed a small territory for himself. Tyson has actually been very scarce the last few months and he is seen more in the south at this stage. Mafufunyana was seen in our area, again moving around in his old territory. It really looks like the old worrier is coming to the end of his reign. It will be sad to see him go one day, but this is how it works in the wild: survival of the fittest. Kurula is a good mother and she has done very well with raising her cubs. They are a year old now and their chances of reaching adulthood are looking good. Kurula is still maintaining her 100% success rate as she has raised both her cubs with all three litters successfully, touch wood. With the first litter it was the two girls: Thandi and Shadow. The second litter, two boys: Nduna and his brother and now one of each – this is remarkable if you ask me!
Special Sighting
This month we actually had more of a special merge taking place, rather than a special sighting. The young Styx male lion joined forces with the four young Tsalala females. It looks like the four young females realized that a male will be a good asset to their group and as they say, the more the merrier!
Did you know?
The word ‘tadpole’ is derived from the Greek words “tad” meaning toad and “pole” meaning head. Come to think about it, a tadpole does look like a small frog head, with a little tail…
Hope you enjoyed this month’s report. See you out on game drive soon!
Morné Fouché
Rangers’ Report October 2011
October is usually a good month for game viewing, with the weather and sightings all working together. This month was no exception. We had nineteen wild dogs in our area, causing chaos amongst the impala and also with some hyenas who tried to steal their kill! Regarding the weather, the mornings and evenings are still cool, but lovely. The afternoons are warm, but not too hot yet. We’ve had 50mm of rain up to date. Although this is not much, every drop is a blessing and the bush is transforming into a beautiful green landscape. Although the average maximum temperature for October was 30˚C, the temperatures went scouring high during some days, with the real feel temperature being well above 40˚C. I can safely say that summer is here!
Elephant
Hyena by Morné Fouché
With the rainy season on the way, the breeding herds are splitting up into smaller groups as rain brings more water and more vegetation. Within each group there’s a leader called the matriarch. She will decide on the direction of the next move and will have the best instincts on where the next, closest water source, food and minerals are. The survival of the herd depends on the decisions she makes. When there is an abundance of food and water, she will split the group, giving her sisters and sometimes even her oldest daughters, their own group to lead. We are very blessed to have elephants moving past the lodge during the day and some of our guest had amazing sightings of breeding herds in front of the lodge, while they were having lunch or relaxing on their viewing decks.
Buffalo
The big breeding herds were nowhere to be seen the past month, possibly because they are spending more time close to the firebreaks that have been burned. This is normally where the first sign of green grass would be after the winter. Now, as we’ve had some rain and the grass in the bush is growing and becoming green again, they will slowly return. The older and dominant males stayed around and we saw them on a regular basis. Either eating, drinking or just cooling down in the water. The buffalo sightings were actually bitter sweet as we saw a lot of buffalo kills made by lions this month.
Lion
The lion sightings were unbelievable. We’ve had lions interacting, hunting, feeding and mating! The Majingi males moved north this month and spent a lot of time in our traversing area. This move might be related to the six Matimba males who are currently moving southwards. While in the area, the Majingi’s provided us with a lot of interesting sightings and photo opportunities. Within the first week, they chased around BB the lioness and her 4 youngsters, splitting them up. They also brought down a buffalo cow and her calf. They chased the two Nkuhuma males off their buffalo bull kill as well. As if this was not enough for a week, two of them then mated with BB. The mating took place right after the males chased BB and the youngsters apart. BB’s motherly instincts kicked in and she went straight in the direction of the Majingi’s, following them. She knew that by mating with them, she would lead them away from the youngsters and that they would then be safe. The two Ottawa males are also doing well and still moving around our area. The young male of the Styx pride is also doing well. The two Nkuhuma males are now slowly getting more used to our vehicles and we are certain that they are productive hunters because every time we see them, their bellies are full.
Leopard
Wildebeest by Morné Fouché
Tyson is somewhat skittish at the moment. We do not see him very often, but do get a glimpse of him every now and again. Salayexe is moving all over her territory, making sure that no other leopards are hanging around in her area. We have our fingers crossed that she is actually looking for a safe place to give birth, as this is normally what pregnant females will do beforehand! Kurula and her cubs are in a very good condition and the cubs are growing up very fast. They will be with mum for another few months and then they will be kicked out to start their solitary life. I have some interesting news as well this month. We have a new young male that has moved into our area! He came from the south and took over part of Nsagwen’s territory, in his absence. To the north of him, lies the territory of the older and more experienced male, Mafufunyana. It was just a matter of time before the young male would meet his match. What a sighting this was! The standoff took place over a period of two days until, eventually, the more experienced leopard prevailed. It is good to see that Mafufunyana is not yet pulling back and still has some fight left in him.
Special Sighting
We were very fortunate to spend time with a pack of nineteen wild dogs. It is something out of this world to see this majestic animals hunt and take care of their pups. We got to see them kill two impala’s right in front of the lodge when they came to our open are to drink from the waterhole. I am sure that our active Africam viewers also enjoyed this sighting! The best sighting with them, however, must have been when they killed an impala right next to one of our game drive vehicles.
Did you know?
An elephant’s tusks are in fact modified, elongated upper incisor teeth, which consists of a unique combination of dentine cartilaginous material and calcium salts.
Hope you enjoyed this month’s report. See you out on game drive soon!
Morné Fouché
Rangers’ Report September 2011
September can be best described as a month of ups and downs… We had some awesome wild dog sightings, as well as fighting leopards, fighting lions, lion cubs and to top all of that, a huge breeding herd of about 1000 buffaloes! The downside of the month I will only share with you later on. We experienced some really hot days, with the average maximum temperature for the month being 31˚ C. We still had some cold days in between, but the temperatures mostly reminded me more of summertime than spring. Morning game drives are becoming more pleasant with the sun rising earlier and therefore the hot water bottles will not be needed for much longer. The surrounding vegetation is still pale brown and dry, but there are still some nutrients left in the grass and this will be sufficient until we have our first proper summer rainfall.
Elephant
by Robin Hester, South Africa (Elephant Plains Guest)
We have some big breeding herds in our area. In each of them you will find newborn and month old babies. Elephants breed throughout the year, but most births occur during early summer. Cows are only in estrous for 3 to 6 days and their gestation period is a full 22 months, that’s almost 2 years! One baby is born at a time and there have been very few recordings of twins being delivered. When a calf is born, it weighs around 100kg and stands 90cm to the shoulder. The calf will suckle on mum and is normally weaned between the age of 3 and 5 years, just before the birth of the next calf. Baby elephants will get their little tusks between 18 and 20 months, if it is a male and 27 and 30 months, if it is a female. The females, or cows, will stay in the breeding herd and the males will leave the herd after about 12 years.
Buffalo
Buffaloes remain one of nature’s strangest animals. One minute they seem calm and the next they are stampeding! As they are the smallest of the Big Five herbivores, they are easier targets for predators like lions. Large packs of wild dogs will even attempt to catch the calves. Buffaloes might appear aggressive if lions are in their immediate surroundings and they will sometimes take their frustrations out on anything, including the surrounding bush. These temper tantrums can sometimes be quite funny to watch! The majority of the females in the breeding herds have round bellies at the moment. Buffaloes do not really have a breeding season, but nearly all the births will be in the summer. Females occurring in the Kruger Park area will mostly give birth between January and April. The reason for this would obviously be an abundance of water and food.
Lions
September turned out to be a great month for lion viewing. The two young Nkuhuma males are having a really tough time. Firstly they got chased around by the Majingilane males and then they had a fight with the two Ottawa brothers. The Nkuhuma males decided not to accept the young male (that was seen with them last month) into their coalition and they are yet again moving around alone. The Ottawa brothers are exploring more and more, going further east every time. They are also now looking for females and an own territory, as they are still maturing. BB and the 4 youngsters of the Tsalala pride are still avoiding the Majingilane males. They are all still very healthy and fit and are now strong enough to take down a buffalo every now and again. But with all this happiness comes a sad end. The two other Tsalala females brought their 8 cubs into our area a few days before the end of September. The four smallest cubs are believed to be 3 months old. Tragedy struck when the two females went after a breeding herd of an estimated 1000 buffaloes. Two cubs got trampled by the herd but the other six were luckily not harmed. It was heart breaking to see the lionesses return from their successful hunt, only to find two of their cubs killed. These two members of the Big 5 will always remain one another’s biggest enemies.
Leopard
Saddle-billed Stork at Bush Camp Pan
Our resident leopards were all out and about this month, although some of them were a bit shy and hard to find at times. Whenever there is a high lion population in a certain area, smaller carnivores tend to hide away a bit. We had some good sightings with Salayexe and she appears to be pregnant once again. On the other hand, it was a sad month for Ntima, as one of her cubs got killed by Mafufunyana. This definitely confirms that he was not the father of the cubs. It is very common for males to kill any cubs they did not sire.
Special sighting
Have you ever witnessed teamwork and survival of the fittest at its best? BB, the 4 youngsters and a young Styx male lion was in the process of bringing down a buffalo bull when they got interrupted by two of the Majingilane males. The males chased them off of the buffalo and killed him themselves. How is that for crossing the line?
Did you know?
Ruminants have a 4 chambered stomach. These include the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum.
Hope you enjoyed this month’s report. See you out on game drive soon!
Morné Fouché
Elephant Plains Game Lodge is situated in the northern part of the world famous Sabi Sand Game Reserve, which forms part of the Greater Kruger National Park. The lodge is owner run and can accommodate a maximum of 24 guests. This ensures personal service and attention to detail.
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