WILDLIFE JOURNAL SINGITA SABI SAND, SOUTH AFRICA

For the month of November, Two Thousand and Nineteen Temperature Rainfall Recorded Sunrise & Sunset Average minimum: 18.0˚C (64.4˚F) For the month: 75mm Sunrise: 04:59 Average maximum: 33.3˚C (91.94˚F) For the season to date: 99.6mm Sunset: 18:20 Minimum recorded: 18.0˚C (64.4˚F) Maximum recorded: 40.0˚C (104.0˚F) It seems as though someone has taken a box of colour pencils and coloured-in the reserve. Within a couple of days, we watched as the miraculous transformation of the landscape happened in front of our eyes. Shades of dark greys, burnt browns and dirty creams turned to crisp bright shades of green, with the occasional flash of purple and orange as the morning glory and lion’s eye flowers emerged. With the welcomed arrival of the November rains and the almost dried up river now flowing strongly, the wildlife seems to have a new spring in its step - quite literally. Impala lambs bound through the bushes, watched closely by their moms. It’s a tense

time for these mothers, as they are either heavily pregnant and slower than the herd, or preoccupied with a newborn, and we’ve seen a few mothers fall prey to leopards and wild dogs.

Here’s a Sightings Snapshot for November: Lions

• We tracked the Matimba male and two other lions (a male and female that are often in the north) in the northern part of the reserve to find them attacking a buffalo bull. A traumatic sight that lasted all day and night with the result in the lions’ favour and a nourishing meal for them.

• The Mhangeni Pride ventured onto the property, trailing a large herd of buffalo.

• The Ottawa Pride have taken advantage of the Mhangeni Pride not being around and we’ve seen them exploiting the game at the river.

Elephants

• Huge herds roam the land over the property. We’ve seen quite a few very young calves within these herds, the light pink behind their ears and under their delicate feet prominent as they keep up with the adults.

• Some large tuskers have wondered through from time to time, enjoying the Sand River. Wild dogs

• We’ve been very lucky to view these animals quite regularly this month. The puppies are almost adult size and keeping up with the adults’ movements. They have stayed in the southern part of the reserve, exploring areas of new growth that impala can usually be found in. Impala rams and ewe’s falling prey to these incredible hunters has made for exciting game viewing.

Leopards

• Kokavela and her cub have been extremely active in our western area. Their playful personalities make for great viewing.

• The Tavangumi male is now on his own, rarely seen with his mother, the Scotia female. We believe the Scotia female is pregnant and has been seen around the river potentially looking for a den-site.

Cheetah

• Not as many sightings with cheetah, however this may be due to the wild dogs being so active within the area they usually reside in.

Bird List We added a pallid harrier to the list this month bringing our total number for the year to 270.

Some Bush Stories follow, as well as a November Gallery of images.

The beauty of a little rain Article by Nick du Plessis

Although it has officially been spring for a while, for me it really starts to feel like it has sprung once we have our first decent rain and, of course, dramatic thunderstorm of the season! This year even more so following the very dry conditions in this area. We had it right towards the end of October following a couple of extremely hot days. It was a welcomed relief temperature-wise, and the guests lucky enough to be here at the time were treated to one of the amazing bush experiences! The smell is so difficult to describe but everyone would agree that it is completely unmistakable and just wonderfully clean, especially following the first drops to moisturise the parched ground. The birds turn out in full chorus, including so many migratory species who seem to time their arrival perfectly, and there is an almost noticeable sigh of relief from all the larger animals, especially those who are so reliant on grass! What has always fascinated me is how quick the transformation is now that we've had the first decent rain. What looked like barren dry land has a new lease on life and within just a few days has signs of new green growth, a colour that we have seriously missed for a few months. What this also means is it’ the start of the lambing/baby season.

With overnight rainfall, we all woke up with the river in full flood. The bulk of the rainfall was outside the reserve unfortunately, however it was a relief for all, as the waterway filled up. The river subsided pretty quickly due to the dry earth soaking it up.

Even the resident hippo pod moved away briefly from the crossing point west of Ebony lodge.

Even the Burchell’s coucals decided summer had officially arrived!

Male leopards of Singita Article by Damin Dallas When one gets to spend as much time with individual leopards as often as we get to, a keen interest develops in each individuals “story”. This is without attaching any human emotion to the animals but more rather knowing where individuals have dispersed to or where individuals have come from. While the female leopard population of Singita has remained stable, it is on the male leopard side where we have seen some significant changes over the last year. Below is a small snapshot of some of the males we get to view here:

Nyeleti male Having arrived onto Singita Sabi Sand back in 2012, the Nyeleti male is still going strong even at 10 years of age. He holds a large territory to the west and north of the lodges concentrating a lot of his movements around the sand River where he’s benefitting from the plentiful impala, bushbuck and nyala that inhabit the riparian areas. Having already successfully sired a number of cubs who have reached independence, the Nyeleti male has recently been very busy mating with both the Hukumuri and Schotia females ensuring that his genes continue to pass on. Flat Rock male Dominant to the east of Singita this male is still relatively young and is continuing to expand his territory. He is seen on the eastern portions of Singita and has recently been seen pushing further west along the Sand River, almost encroaching on what is known to be the Nyeleti male’s territory. He is also often seen north of the river in what was known to be the Anderson male’s area and it is probably safe to assume that he has successfully taken over from him in this area.

Anderson male Sightings of this impressive male have become few and far between and he hasn’t been seen here for the last few months. Once dominant over the whole north eastern part of the property stretching from the far north all way south to the Sand River, it appears he has started to lose ground to the younger individuals moving in.

Thamba male The Thamba male arrived here a year ago. Like any newly independent young male, he moved across the property, avoiding the already larger dominant males. He eventually found himself a small patch of vacant land wedged between the Flat Rock and the Torchwood males’ territories where he kept a low profile for a few months. He then came into a bit of luck with the unfortunate sudden disappearance of the Torchwood male, leaving the central and southern parts of our property up for grabs, which he almost instantaneously snatched up. I say a bit of luck as the Thamba male may well have been the cause of the Torchwood male’s disappearance but that is something we will never really know. At only three-and-half years of age he’s already established himself as one of our dominant males, scent marking, calling and even attracting the attention of the elusive Mobeni female with whom he has already mated with on a number of occasions. Hosana male This male, just like the Thamba male, first made an appearance here about a year ago. He didn’t stay for very long before heading back to his natal area. He, however, recently appeared back on the property to the north of the Sand River. We’ve been enjoying regular sightings of him over the last few weeks all over northern Singita, and he has been seen both scent marking and vocalizing. The north has been, to some extent, a bit of a mystery in terms of the male leopard dynamics in recent times with sightings being only short fleeting glimpses of males disappearing into the bush. We’re hoping that the Hosana male decides to settle in the north as there is definitely space for him to occupy.

Tavangumi male The recently named son of the Schotia female, the Tavangumi male seems to be on his own for good now. Approaching two years of age, this young male still has a long road ahead of him. He is often found in the immediate vicinity of both Singita Ebony and Boulders lodges, taking full advantage of the many nyala and bushbuck that move in and around the camp grounds. He will eventually have to move off in order to find territory of his own but for now he’s providing excellent viewing and should continue to do so for a while still.

Misava male Having been cast into independence at a young age due to the death of his mother, the Misava male has had a rather difficult start to adulthood. Having to rely on scavenging and killing smaller animals this leopard is rather small for his age and at times has been mistaken for a female leopard. Without regular large meals during his critical growth period (which his mother would’ve provided) he hasn’t been able to bulk up as much as he could have. But with that being said, he is still in good condition and has been found on adult impala and nyala kills recently which bodes well for his future. Still being somewhat nomadic he’s frequently seen in the Sand River in the heart of his father’s territory (the Nyeleti male) to the west of the lodges. Dewane male Residing predominately to the west of Singita, this male has lost territory to younger, stronger individuals and has been forced into living a nomadic lifestyle. He is still a large and impressive male but I think age prevents him from competing with and deterring other males. He is seen from time to time all along the western parts of Singita Sabi Sand but is mostly found in the south western portions where no other males occupy this area.

Unknown male leopards There are only two individuals that I’ll touch on as there are a number of other unknown individuals that make appearances here, but there are two that have actually set up territory on the property. The first is an orange eyed male that holds territory in the central areas of the north. He is an unrelaxed skittish individual who does allow for viewing at times, but only at a distance. He’s been in the area for well over a year but may just come under pressure from the Hosana male. He was recently found with fresh battle scars in the exact area that the Hosana male was seen in the afternoon before. The second male is another very skittish large male who has taken over the far south eastern parts of Singita, again an area that was once under the Torchwood male’s control. This male does not allow for viewing and very quickly disappears when discovered. While we get to enjoy amazing sightings of most of the leopards on the property this individual may just be one that remains somewhat of an enigmatic animal.

Ostrich Family Article by Ross Couper

During the course of the last seven years ostriches were generally a scarcity in the Singita Sabi Sand region. A single female ostrich wandered the open grasslands in the south and she soon become a highlight to a game drive. This was mainly due to her trying to flirt with the vehicles unbeknown that there were no male ostriches in the back seats! Until last year, a tall, dark and very handsome looking male ostrich strolled in. It did not take long before a clutch of eggs was found in an open clearing. The chicks wobbled around and explored their new surroundings. This turned out to be quite the find. Within a few months they were known

as the ‘Ostrich Family’ when sighted. Often guests would want to find the wobble of ostriches (believe it or not that is the collective noun for a group of ostriches), specifically knowing the history of the lonely female over so many years. This year we have been bowled over with another successful clutch of eggs. With the bush news spreading like a gin and tonic being shared on a hot afternoon, we soon were looking for the ‘Ostrich Family’ once again.

November Gallery

Wildlife exemplify family bonds that we all admire. It’s that time of the year that we enjoy those family bonds together. Wishing everyone an enjoyable start to the festive season.