WILDLIFE JOURNAL SINGITA SABI SAND, SOUTH AFRICA

For the month of July, Two Thousand and Twenty Temperature Rainfall Recorded Sunrise & Sunset Average minimum: 07.3˚C (45.14˚F) For the month: 8mm Sunrise: 06:29 Average maximum: 21.3˚C (70.34˚F) For the season to date: 613.4 mm Sunset: 17:31 Minimum recorded: 02.0˚C (35.6˚F) Maximum recorded: 28.0˚C (82.4˚F) A dusty haze falls over the bushveld and the bright bursts of green are few and far between. Water is scarce, it has been sapped up by the dry winter’s heat and minimal rain. However, life goes on and as we observe the animals using all survival skills in order to live, we remember that we too are able to survive even the harshest of seasons. The chilly winter mornings begin with incredibly beautiful sunrises in which we observe birds and small mammals alike basking in the warmth of our solar system’s central star. With that the beginnings of all daily routines start to take place. Warm up, get moving and find water, for in every daily routine there comes possibility and in possibility we can always look forward to exceptional surprises presented to us by nature.

Here’s a Sightings Snapshot for July: Lions

• Lion movements across the property continue to change and surprise us. Last month saw the arrival of three young male lions moving into the northern parts of Singita Sabi Sands. These three males have continued to make their presence known and have also since been seen mating with a lioness who we believe may be from the Othawa pride.

• The Nsevu pride have seemingly begun to explore wider areas and have been witnessed on a few occasions hunting in our south-eastern parts of the property. With more than twenty lions in the pride, they truly are a staggering sight to behold.

• Due to the Nsevu pride spending some more time on our property, this has meant that the Birmingham males have also started to move into a closer range. With roars coming from both the two Birmingham males, as well as the three young males in the north, this meant that the Othawa male has had to make a bigger name for himself within his territory and remain sure that his area is secure.

Elephants

• We continue to view large numbers of elephants around the property, perhaps due to the fallen leaves and cleared vegetation, we tend to view much larger herds of thirty plus elephants moving through the bush often looking like a large rocky area from afar until you make sense of their movements. There are very limited water sources at this stage, therefore viewing around waterholes during the day are excellent places to observe a herd and their behaviours.

Wild dogs

• July has been a month for wild dogs, with two different packs and their pups showing themselves on the property. Last month we mentioned that a den-site had been found north of the Sand River and we were waiting to let the pack establish themselves. This month we have had the incredible privilege to view the Othawa pack introducing us to their eleven puppies!

Leopards

• Not only is the Schotia female continuing to thrive, but her young female cub has shown incredible signs of independence in the way of stalking and catching her first young impala and attempting to suffocate it as leopards typically would. Unfortunately for her, the appearance of her older brother, the Tavangumi male, meant that all of her hard work went to waste as he stole the impala from under her.

• Both the Shangwa young male and Tavangumi male continue to mill about, still growing into their independence and remaining in their natal area with the tolerance still in place from their father, Nyeleti male. However, they do seem to be branching out into new explorative places in search of their own future territories.

Cheetah

• The female cheetah and her two cubs have definitely begun to explore the area and begin moving from their general home range. We are seeing the male cheetah more regularly as he patrols his territory in the southern parts of the property.

Bird List The bird list for July includes two new bird species, bringing our yearly total to 269. Special bird species include: Black sparrow hawk.

A tale of two packs Article by Marc Bowes-Taylor Winter in the Sabi Sand sees the woodlands turn into something of a wonderland. Emerald greens change into warm rustic hues, and what was an impenetrable hedge now allows for well-worn game paths, and the setting sun to filter through to the dry leaf litter. For wild dogs this is their time to den. Over the past four consecutive years Othawa, north of the Sand River, has played host to the formidable Othawa pack, which consists of 12 adult wild dogs, denning in abandoned termite mounds amongst the deciduous bushwillow trees. This year in late June the pack welcomed 11 new puppies. The alpha female of this pack has shown preference to the area between Ingrid's Dam and Tom's Dam possibly due to the protection of the heavily wooded surroundings. She has been well supported by her fellow pack members in keeping her and her puppies well fed. There have been a number of sightings of them, and plenty more that have been unrecorded, of them hunting along the Sand River with great success, even with the guaranteed presence of trailing hyena. Last year saw all puppies make it to that all-important age where it was time to leave the den and learn the skills to survive. This is surely due to the adults of the pack with records showing that larger packs have greater success in raising puppies to independence. Not all stories are as bright. We too witnessed the harsh reality that ensures Mother Nature is not taken lightly. A pack of two wild dogs, which denned elsewhere in the Sabi Sand, miraculously had raised a litter of nine puppies to two-and-a-half months when they first were sighted on Singita. The pair had earned themselves somewhat of an admirable reputation on social media, and they certainly deserved it. We watched as day after day they continued to provide for their young which saw them moving from den to den on almost a daily basis. This differed to the Othawa pack which had four dens in 2019, over three to four months. This would prove to

be a disadvantage for the two and only adult dogs of the pack, as dens were not as secure as those that were amongst the woodlands, and puppies would often wander around without any adult supervision. Photographed below was the last time the remaining seven puppies were seen altogether. We found them running unsupervised down an open road looking for the two adult members of the pack. They have not been seen since, but we still remain hopeful that they are roaming elsewhere around the massive 2,2 million hectare area which is the Greater Kruger National Park. Many parts of the park remain unexplored due to the restrictions on tourism in the area but the tenacity that wild dogs are renowned for keeps our beliefs for their future positive.

Looking up into the clear evening sky Article by Quentin Swanevelder Last night I had the privilege to spend a few hours alone out in the bush on an exceptionally clear and dark night. With a dark night and a decent pair of binoculars a whole magical universe can be explored. Nowadays with smartphones there are amazing stargazing apps available to assist you in finding some of the star clusters, nebulas and planets that are available. So, when you look up and start searching, there could be anything from 5 000 to 10 000 stars visible. These are all amazing to look at, but I think we should look at some figures and numbers to truly understand how incredibly amazing it is. Firstly, we can look at the Milky Way Galaxy that we are in. It spans roughly 100 000 light years across, which means that light travelling at 186 282 miles per second will take around 100 000 years to get from one end to the other. If we break down the size even more into just our solar system (our sun and all the planets) the sun would be the size of a single blood cell in an area the size of the United States of America! Considering the fact that science believes that there are around 350 billion galaxies out there, we really are a very special tiny part of it all. With the help of the Hubble Space Telescope as well as the Herschel Telescope we are finding out more and more. Scientists now believe that there could be around 20 billion planets just in the Milky Way Galaxy alone that are in what is called the Habitable zone. This means that the planet is not too hot or not too cold for liquid water to be present which could sustain any form of life. This bring me to my final point... and one that we have most probably all discussed, is there life on other planets out there and will we ever receive any visitors? This is a highly debated subject and I don’t think that anyone can say for sure. The best explanation I recently heard was that there could be, however our scientific timeline and theirs would have to be in very close proximity. Considering that the Wright brothers only invented motorized flight in 1903 and the first object blasted into space (Sputnik 1) was only in 1957, just in our Galaxy alone would then roughly be a 1 in 20 billion chance.... All of this sounds like a lot to take in, however for me at least it just makes looking up into the dark night sky even more magical!

The winter lily (Adenium multiflorum) Article by Nick Du Plessis This vibrant flower would stand out anywhere, but because it only flowers in our winter months (usually between July and September) when the surrounding vegetation is rather dull, this beautiful lily is really a welcome splash of colour! Although beautiful, these bright colours are there to serve as a warning to stay clear! This little succulent is well known for its toxicity, as the milky latex contained inside has a toxic alkaloid, which is a 'cardiac glycoside' that effects the functioning of the heart. The Koi San found out the properties of these flowers a long time ago and used these toxins for fishing and arrowhead poisoning. Even though the plant is quite toxic, it is actually still quite heavily fed upon. This will prevent this succulent from growing very tall. Most winter lilies found on Singita Sabi Sands stand under a metre tall. When protected in gardens, however, it can comfortably reach three metres. This stunning and interesting little flower is definitely one to look out for, especially if you are visiting us during the winter months.

The power of listening Article by Chene Wales-Baillie “Listen to the voice of nature, for it holds treasures for you” - Huron If there is anything, I have learnt from this lockdown period, it is that stillness and quiet allow us to listen to our intuition and to Nature where its voices begin to speak louder to us, if only we choose to tune in. Being on safari is one of the most exciting adventures one could ever dream of, immersing oneself in a complete sense of wildness, unknowing of what to expect from the surrounding wilderness, yet so often many tend to bring with them the need for doing, rushing and stirring. We are so used to the conformities of constantly needing to move and to do, that we don’t find time to be still and to be present in the moment. The life of a guide may seem very laid back and relaxed in comparison to some careers, however we as guides sometimes also fall into this pattern and it can easily take preference over what is truly important. There have been a few days out in the bush over the past few weeks which have opened my eyes (and ears) to this idea and I have begun to feel more and more in tune with Nature and following my instincts to be still in order to gain the best experience. One of the first occasions where this became apparent was when I came across some leopard tracks along the road not too far south east of the lodges. I got off the vehicle to study the tracks in which to gain an understanding of this magnificent creature’s movements in previous hours of the day. I paced up and down looking to find which way it had gone, however there became a moment where I allowed myself to just stop, listen and be still. The seconds passed by as I listened to the songs of the bush, breathing in the crisp fresh air and focusing on the sounds around me, then, between the chorus of birds I heard a nearby rasping sound. One in which you would imagine a handsaw shifting back and forth through a block of wood except with the volume of a chainsaw. A leopard!

I quickly got back on the vehicle and moved toward where I imagined the sound to have originated from. Around the corner and there he was, Nyeleti male leopard. Pacing along the road on a territorial patrol, vocalizing and scent marking as he continued on his path...

A few weeks later, on another brilliantly beautiful morning in the Sabi Sands, I decided to head east along the river from the lodges not looking for anything in particular but hoping to find something interesting along the way. As I moved through the arches of a leadwood tree along a small open clearing and close to a rocky outcrop, the golden rays of light burst through the canopies and I felt a strong sense in me to stop and take in the present moment. There is nothing more wonderful than to bask in the delightful warmth of the sun on a cool winter’s morning. I sat there for about fifteen minutes as I sipped my coffee and listened to the sounds around me and with no alarm calls or signs of a predator nearby, I decided to continue along the river. I find that it is within these quiet moments that we are able to listen to our intuition the most and on this morning, something was telling me to change direction completely and move south toward a place we call Camp Pan. The thoughts in my mind took me back to the way I had found the Nyeleti male in the same area and a strange sense in me thought that if I went back there, I would find a leopard. I arrived at Camp Pan and stopped once again to listen. The wind began to blow stronger and the dried leaves rustled as they brushed along the ground making it a little bit harder to hear clearly. About four minutes passed when I started to hear a few impala alarm calls but due to the wind I couldn’t quite pin-point which direction the sound was coming from. As the calls became more incessant, I turned the vehicle to face away from the wind and in that moment I could both see and hear the herd of impala just west of my position. I drove toward them all, looking around hoping to see a leopard moving away from the very aware herd, however there was nothing. For a few moments this confused me, when a leopard is busy hunting and are then seen, an impala will snort an alarm call which then flaws the hunt. Typically, the leopard would then move away in surrender, often with a very unsatisfied look on its face. This wasn’t the case. I circled again watching as the distressed herbivores continued to stare towards a large bushwillow and it was there that I fixed my eyes on the spots of a leopard! The Schotia female had just caught a male impala and had dragged it into a thicket! I couldn’t believe it! What made this even more exciting was the knowing in how I had reached this point and found this leopard. It was intuition. Perhaps a bit of luck, but in my heart, it felt as though I was drawn to this area at the right time. If it weren’t for the moments spent to stop, listen and be still, this sighting may have gone completely unnoticed and we may never have seen her or the cubs feeding. With no hyenas in the area, Schotia female walked back toward the lodge area where her two little cubs were stashed and began to lead them back to the carcass. They were then able to enjoy a full meal before nightfall. Although I have experienced a few more accounts of this sort recently, this story in particular really lead me to thinking about the way in which we do things and live our lives. I believe that there is so much power in listening. In stopping to take a moment for ourselves and to be present. Our lives may be in constant movement, but listen to yourself and ask yourself if you are truly living? Are you taking the time to be present and appreciate the current breathes you are taking? We may not all spend our time in nature, however we can all afford the time to listen. Be it to someone you hold dear to you willing to share their stories, to the sounds of your surroundings or to your inner voice and intuition which is guiding you toward your next adventure... and if your next adventure happens to be a safari in Africa, remember to let go of ‘the rush’ and make sure to slow down, be present, stop and listen. You may find that special sighting you’ve always dreamed of in doing so.