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February 2005
Dear All February has passed at the speed of light and with the problems of our phone lines it seems like only yesterday that we sent out January’s newsletter! We have to apologize profusely to those who did not receive it at all or to any of you who might not have received a reply to an email. The massive storms played havoc with our lines and the bush telegraph does not work well in this modern day and age! We had 37 mls of rainfall in about 9 minutes one evening. Luckily, the timing could not have been more perfect. It did not disrupt the game drives, however, the guests would have done well to have had webbed feet, as the rainwater swept onto the deck with huge force during dinner! We are very grateful to them for keeping their good sense of humor and continuing a wonderful evening in such good heart! |
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We have now reached the grand total of 24 lion cubs that we are actually able to view. The Ximungwe Pride female with the 4 smaller cubs has now joined together with the other 10 cubs. This Pride, looking quite thin, had been shadowing the herd of 400 buffalo for 3 days and eventually the big male made his advance but he was repelled with huge force by a big bull. They gave up on this plan of action but have been seen looking full in the last few days on a diet of impala. The Ravenscourt Pride has now introduced us to 3 cubs that are about 9 weeks old and there are 2 other females in this Pride that are heavy with milk but not lactating yet. The young females of the Sand River Pride, that includes the lioness with one eye, have 7 cubs between them. |
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Leopard viewing has not been as constant as in previous months, probably overshadowed by the amazing lion cub viewing. We are sorry that the rangers have been unable to locate the Dayone female with her 2 cubs since mid January. Mkwela and her offspring have probably been giving the best sightings. Her male cub of 14 months from the latest litter has a nasty scratch on his eye and a wound on his shoulder. The rangers think another male leopard, maybe even his father, the Wallingford male could have inflicted this. Mambiri, the 38 months old cub from Mkwela’s previous litter has a puncture wound in her foot. She was possibly caught in a territorial dispute between the Thai Dam female and Shangwa. The Thai Dam female is a leopard that we have known about for some time but we do not often see her. Her territory was in the Northern part of the Reserve across the river but of late she seems to be trying to expand this territory to the south of the river, infringing on other leopards territories. She could be under pressure from leopards on the northern side that we do not know about. What is unusual about her is that we have been aware of her for the past 5 years, seeing her irregularly but, as far as we know, she has never had a litter of cubs. Now that we are seeing her more often, we should be able to monitor why this should be so. |
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Some of our guests had the most wondrous viewing of a buffalo birth. Having received the call from another lodge, our guests raced from the northern side of the property and arrived in time to watch a cow in labour. The whole event took about 45 minutes. The cow kept walking with the serious contractions then eventually lay down while the baby’s head appeared. With this, she was then back on her feet for the rest of the calf to be born. Initially, it was roughed up by a calf from her last litter but within 30 minutes it was up on its wobbly legs and starting to move slowly with the herd. Buffalo young need to be able to suckle on the move, as the herd is constantly mobile, ensuring that they do not over graze or damage an area badly. This large herd has now moved on but we are still seeing some old bulls on a regular basis.
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Our cheetah viewing has been exceptional. We continue to see cheetahs on a daily basis. The mother with the 2 young male cubs has been the prime focus of the past 3 weeks. What is unusual is that she has not moved from a particular clearing for the last five days. Normally, cheetahs are constantly on the move but this particular female and her cubs seem perfectly comfortable staying in this area. No doubt hunger will eventually play a part though game seems to be walking into her on a regular basis.
One thing that we are worrying about is the lack of hyena. The hyena population seems to have dropped in our area substantially. However, this may be due to them moving further to our East and making their den out of our driving jurisdiction. |
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We have had some special sightings of servals and honey badgers. This has been a real treat as we normally see these animals during the drier periods when the grass is not so high. |
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As you can see, life in the bush continues with so much activity and is forever changing. There is always something going on to keep the guests mesmerized, from the largest animal to the smallest insect. This is why the saying “If you are tired of Africa then you are tired of life” is so true. We look forward to seeing you back here soon. |
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 Warm Wishes Paddy and the Savanna Team |
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Copyright © Photographs taken by Paddy Hagelthorn and Neil Wright Wildlife Interactive |
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