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     We would like to apologise for the Newsletter being a little late this month but Jane and I have been away on leave in the UK for a family wedding. Before we left, we had made notes of so many wonderful game viewing experiences. These have continued while we were away and since our return yesterday, more wonderful stories have been passed on to share with you all.

     Due to the dryness of the bush and surrounding areas, there have been a huge number of fires. We had a small fire on Savanna property but thanks to the concerted efforts of all our neighbours and staff, we were able to contain it into one small block. It is unknown what caused this fire but the speed with which it was dealt with and contained was greatly helped by the well managed firebreaks that we burn and maintain yearly. The fires outside the reserve and in the Kruger have been devastating, burning huge tracks of land and the glow of the flames in the twilight have provided us with spectacular sunsets. The aftermath of the fires has often left the Sabi Sands with smoke giving us unique photographic opportunities, as shown by this photograph of elephant in the Sand River.

     While on the subject of elephant, we have kept our breeding herds throughout the whole winter and these huge herds have been seen on a regular basis. However, it is at this time of year that it is noticeable how much damage these elephants are doing. The unofficial census of elephant in the Sabi Sands has indicated that the elephant population has doubled since last year. We have gone from just over 700 last year to 1400 this year. Should this trend continue, our scrub encroachment will not provide for them for much longer. Herds of young bulls are congregating at the waterholes now and the guests are having wonderful viewing of them swimming.

     Probably due to the Mpogo extending their boundaries, there is a new pride of lion coming in from the east of our property. This new pride consists of 2 females and a 12 month old cub and they have been spotted twice. The Ottawa females that generally only operate in the north of our driving area have been seen right in the south. It was on one of these occasions that we had an incredible sighting of 11 hyenas attacking the 2 Ottawa females. The females were initially cornered on a termite mound. This encounter became so intense at one stage that we thought that one of these lionesses would actually be killed by the hyena clan. However, she managed to escape and climb into a nearby marula tree. This whole incident was started off by 2 hyenas following the lionesses across a clearing. The hyenas then called for backup and within a very short space of time they were joined by a further 9..

     The Sand River female with the new cubs has finally brought her cubs out. There are 3 males which is disappointing as we were hoping for female stock so there are now 5 male cubs in the Sand River pride. What is good news is that all the Mpogo seem to have accepted these cubs so there is a good chance that some of these cubs will survive. The Ximungwe pride continues to keep our wildebeest population in check even though the wildebeest that we have released have settled down and those remaining seem to have established themselves in certain areas of the western block.

     Shangwa, the 9 year old female leopard, brought her two 3 month old cubs onto our area for a short time. We only had a few glimpses of them before she returned to the eastern properties and we were subsequently told that at least one of her cubs had been killed by hyena. We are still waiting to hear whether the 2nd cub survived.

     We are seeing a fair amount of Mambiri and her cub. She still seems to be working Mkwela’s territory. You might remember that Mkwela is her mother. Mkwela was seen stealing a kill from Mambiri which is an indication that Mkwela still has control of her territory even though Mambiri is putting pressure on her.

     The Wallingford male is still being seen on a regular basis in a very small territorial core area around the Sand River. We still believe he is being pressurized by new shy males that have encroached into his area. It will be interesting to see the line of progression with regard to this as Wally is now at least 14 years old.

     We had some exciting interaction between four hippos. The dominant male hippo in Tree House Mackenzie dam had obviously found himself a girlfriend. Another 2 young females tried to join the happy couple in the water and the dominant bull took umbrage to his privacy being encroached on. For over an hour, he kept coming out of the water and threatening the 2 young females by yawning and thrashing the air with his huge teeth. The two young females were huddled in a pathetic thicket trying to look inconspicuous.

     However, when the 2 youngsters decided to move off, the bull came out of the water yet again and chased one of them across the clearing. This one immediately ran back into the thicket and tried to hide again. The bull then turned his attentions to the second young female who stood her ground. The bull ran up to her, they touched noses and the young female then bit him on the shoulder. The big bull then turned around and lay down in the middle of the clearing for a few minutes before moving back into the water. This was the most bizarre occurrence and very difficult for us humans to comprehend.

     The guests over this last month were very privileged to be able to participate in rhino capture. This was being done to micro chip a number of rhino within the reserves so that we could keep tabs on their movement and progression as they got older. We have always said that our rhino populations are higher than they should be within the Sabi Sands area. This exercise will give us an indication of carrying capacities and movement of the rhino in our area. The guests were able to watch the darting and then touch the animals while they were under sedation. Ear notching took place to help us distinguish each individual rhino by sight. Blood samples were also taken to ensure that the parasite counts were not too high thus establishing the good health of our rhino for the future.

     A rhino that had succumbed to its wounds after a territorial fight provided a huge meal for a hyena clan. One of the hyenas managed to squeeze its way into the carcass and then was unable to get out. Only after a period of about 14 hours did it finally chew its way through the rib cage and free itself – talk about food being on tap!

     Over the last few months we have seen a marked increase in serval sightings and where these beautiful cats were once a rare commodity within the reserves they are now very prevalent.

     Through the generosity of one guest we have been able to buy 30 children’s push trikes. These have been donated on the request of the guest to Ntshuxekani Pre-School in Justicia. Again, we would like to thank all of you who have made contributions to our Community Development efforts.

     We look forward to seeing so many of you returning to Savanna this year and once again sharing some wonderful experiences with us.