Singita Sabi Sand Ebony & Boulders Lodges Castleton House South Africa

Wildlife Report For the month of August, Two Thousand and Fourteen

Temperature Rainfall Recorded Average minimum: 5.8˚C (42.4˚F) For the period: 3.5 mm Average maximum: 31.0˚C (87.8˚F) For the year to date: 854.5 mm Minimum recorded: 4.0˚C (39.2˚F) Maximum recorded: 37.0˚C (98.6˚F)

Lion versus hippo Article by Andy Gabor

Interaction between two different species is always interesting to watch. Sometimes it can be playful and inquisitive as in the case of a family of banded mongooses that use the garden of my house as a thoroughfare on their way to and from foraging. The garden is also used by a family of vervet monkeys that use it as a place to feed, lie about in the sun grooming each other or just to play in. When these two species are together in this shared garden they young of each tend to be more inquisitive and play with each other, testing boundaries and learning about each other. But this was not case when a pride of lions met a large male hippo recently...

The Mhangeni pride had been sleeping in the shade of the nearby trees and two male hippos had spent the day lazing about in the watering hole that they frequent regularly. As the day cooled off the lions began to wake up. First it was the cubs who yawned, stretched, did a bit of grooming and then niggled each other until all eight of them were awake and ready to get going. They found a small puddle of very muddy water, which most of them drank out of and then they waited for the four lionesses to wake up and get moving. The largest of the females did not bother with the mud puddle that the cubs had used, instead she walked straight over to the side of the watering hole where the hippos were. Hippos are very protective about their space, in particular the water in which they reside. As the lioness got closer the larger male hippo started thrashing the water with his head, gaping and defecating - all signs of aggression to indicate to the lioness that he wanted her to move out of his comfort zone. But she moved closer, with a bit more caution, and wasn't deterred from taking a long drink. The rest of the pride took courage from this and approached the edge of the water. By now the large male had ceased his show of aggression and the younger and smaller male hippo got between the lions at the edge of the water and the larger male in the water. With a spurt of energy he ploughed through the water to the edge of the pan, opening his mouth as wide as it could go and grunting as he came.

The lions moved back slightly and then stretched out along the edge, almost encircling the hippos. Still the angry young hippo came at the lions, each time stopping just at the water's edge. The lions were not backing off and the hippo was not giving up. He stood at the edge facing the lions and then suddenly he leapt out of the water charging at the closest lioness. She jumped back followed by all the cubs and they moved to the far side of the pan. The hippo returned to the water still keeping an eye on the lions. Two of the lions settled down in the long grass next to the pan, however the rest of the pride had not been put off by the display from the hippo and moved closer and closer to the water’s edge. Slowly the male hippo crept closer and closer to the lions and eventually came out of the water. Slowly, almost as if he was now more intrigued by these stubborn lionesses and their cubs, he walked up to lions to take a closer look. One of the young male cubs, with his fluffy mane just starting to show, giving him a more sizable appearance, also crept closer and closer to the hippo, until he was able to sniff the hippo’s hind quarter. At this indignity the hippo spun around and tried to head butt the cub who deftly jumped out the way. The hippo then returned to the water with both sides feeling as if they had won that battle of dominance over the watering hole. Leopard extravaganza! Article by Leon van Wyk

The Sabi Sand has always been famous for its excellent leopard viewing, with a good number of relaxed or habituated leopards existing in this area which, with its very varied terrain and habitat, offers everything that leopards require in order to be successful. These wonderfully adaptable carnivores can, of course, exist in just about any habitat where there is food and cover. Having claimed that the Sabi Sand boasts excellent leopard viewing, I would not for a moment suggest that finding leopards here is easy, and nor would I ever take a leopard sighting for granted. Indeed, one can sometimes spend days searching for a leopard without success, and with guest expectations high, the pressure on guides and trackers can really mount! The afternoon of Sunday, 17 August, was one of those days when the leopard viewing was truly superb, with no less than eight leopards seen! During the morning, the nearly two-and-a-half year old Mobeni Male (son of the sometimes shy, but very beautiful Mobeni Female) had been found with an impala kill, which he had hoisted into

a bare marula tree. When viewed that morning, he had been a little elusive, and had taken the kill out of the tree and dragged it towards a more suitable tree, a jackalberry with plenty of foliage, with a prominent termite mound at its base. (The bare marula was less suitable, because its lack of foliage would have meant that the hoisted carcass might easily be seen by vultures and eagles, and their interested activity could well draw in other scavengers such as lions or hyenas.) That afternoon, I had intended to take my guests to this area to see if we could view the Mobeni Male, as they were very keen on leopard photography in particular, and the previous few days had proved tough for leopard viewing. On our way we came upon a beautiful scene where approximately 30 waterbuck and 16 zebra grazed along the banks of the wild-date-palm-lined Mobeni, and close to a grove of prominent leadwood trees (one of my favourite trees, remember?) Seconds after coming upon this tranquil scene in beautiful late afternoon light, my tracker James spotted a leopard lying down in short grass. The leopard was on the western edge of the stream, watching all the zebra and waterbuck on the eastern side of the stream. There was little water flowing, and plenty of cover for the leopard to use, if he wanted to. We immediately recognized the leopard as the Kashane Male. Between him and the zebra and waterbuck, walking along the edge of the stream, was a female bushbuck, but the Kashane Male failed to notice her. He was too busy intently watching the most southern group of waterbuck, which moved north along the eastern side of the stream. There were a couple of youngsters among them, one of which the Kashane Male may have chosen as his potential target. Tense minutes passed and as the sun dipped lower in the sky behind us, the temperature dropped slightly, and all the zebra and waterbuck moved further away. Eventually the Kashane Male seemed to sense that he had lost whatever advantage he might have held earlier, and he stood up, stretched, and began to move slowly south (upstream) along the banks of the Mobeni. His path took him in the general direction of where the Mobeni Male had been left that morning, and when he was about 400 metres from the area, he positioned himself on top of a large prominent termite mound. He remained there for a while, looking alert, and suddenly seemed to gaze very fixedly in a south-easterly direction. We followed his stare, and with binoculars, were able to see movement in a distant jackalberry tree. It turned out that this movement was indeed caused by another leopard, and a careful look from long range revealed that this leopard was feeding on a kill. We rightly guessed that this leopard in the tree was the Mobeni Male. Predictably, the Kashane Male now strode purposefully towards the tree, and the two Land Rovers in the area followed him over the tricky terrain towards the jackalberry and the Mobeni Male. Also

predictably, the Kashane Male then ascended the jackalberry and appropriated the remains of the impala carcass from his son, the Mobeni Male. There was no violence involved, but the smaller Mobeni Male was submissive to his father and left the tree. Just then we noticed a third leopard in the area! It turned out to be the Mobeni Female, and she was lying on the ground about 20 metres from the jackalberry. She had been watching her son feeding in the tree, and was probably waiting her turn. A substantial chunk of the impala carcass had become disconnected from the bulk of the carcass, and fell to the ground. The Mobeni Female immediately moved to pick up this piece and feed on it. After a few minutes, the Kashane Male took what was left of the carcass out of the tree, descended, and began to feed on it on the ground. The three leopards were now all about 10 to 20 metres from each other. The two adults were benefitting from a kill made by their son, while the adolescent son, already with a full belly himself, looked on. There were some rather endearing soft vocal exchanges between the leopards, with the Mobeni Male making almost kitten-like sounds to his mother! It must be remembered that the Mobeni Female is now also the mother of two approximately 7-month old cubs, also sired by the Kashane Male. While we were enjoying quality time with this trio of leopards, other guides and their guests had found a mating pair of leopards near Pios Crossing, the established crossing point over the Sand River upstream of Ebony Lodge. The Nyelethi Male and the Hlabankunzi Female were mating, and some time after they were first found, a third leopard appeared there as well! This turned out to be the Xikavi Female, another female who is spending more and more time in the western parts of Ravenscourt, following the death more than a year ago of the Ravenscourt Female. As if this was not enough, the Ravenscourt Male was also seen that evening, active in the general area of a bush breakfast site downstream from Boulders Lodge on the southern bank of the Sand River. Earlier in the evening, a fairly young female leopard had also been seen in the vicinity of Ebony Pan, on the northern bank of the Sand River, opposite Ebony Lodge. All the guests were able to enjoy superb leopard viewing that Sunday afternoon, so it really was quite an extravaganza!

Changing of the seasons Article by Francois Fourie

Once again we are coming to that part of the year where days become slightly longer and a little bit warmer, and with this change come some rewards. Going out on drive slightly earlier than usual gives us the opportunity to see the beautiful sun rise over bare treetops of the lowveld bush, and even though there is still a cold nip in the air that half an hour earlier is definitely worth the while. You hear the dawn chorus come to life as all the birds wake up and start calling along the river. Hearing the distinct call of a crested francolin always reminds me of the times growing up and going out into the bush as a young boy. The distant sound of lions roaring gives you that spring in your step to go out and try and find the big males vocalising with steam coming out of their mouths as they proclaim their territory and the low light of sunrise captures the feline silhouettes. Afternoons are slowly starting to get warmer which means we get out into the field a bit later than before, but with this, like the mornings, there are advantages. The sun going down a little bit later giving us that extra half an hour or so of daylight. Also, of course, the beautiful sunset over the Drakensberg mountains is different every day. With some dust in the air at the end of winter a beautiful red hue lights up the escarpment in late afternoon making for an incredible sunset and the silhouette of the Blyde River Canyon in the distance. But the day does not stop there - as the sun sinks and darkness sets in a different light starts to show… the African night sky! It changes year round and soon Orion the hunter will be in full early evening view, while Scorpio starts to fade away taking winter with it… Each day is different and each season as well, but everyday out in the field is a great day.

Lessons in life Article by Dave Steyn

Searching for the roaming herd of Cape buffalo can be very difficult even though there can be anywhere from three to five hundred bovids all moving in unison across the grasslands and kicking up dust as they steadily go from one waterhole to the next. It had been a couple days since we last had any sign of them and the only place left to search was in the far south eastern reaches of the concession, so we figured that would be a good place to start. On a cool early morning we set off. We drove directly south as to not waste any time and get to our chosen search area at sunrise. It was quiet at first, the south can be like that sometimes, but on we pushed crossing the old remains of the Selati railway line. Here we found remnants of the herd's presence, dung piles everywhere with tracks by the hundreds heading north-east through the round leaf teak thickets. On we continued with the signs getting fresher and fresher until we stopped to hear the undeniable lowing of the herd not too far away. Finally we had found them milling around seemingly nervous and restless.

After positioning ourselves to the east of the heard we could finally see exactly what had stirred the herd into the state that they were in. Perched up on an elevated ledge of an old quarry lay the unmistakable tawny bodies of four lions - a male and three females. The arch enemies were looking down on the sea of buffalo beneath them, not moving, just sitting waiting and watching the herd swirling beneath them... Further to the north, towards a small gully which runs from east to west, the lowing of the buffalo was escalating and dust was being kicked up into the air. We headed that way to see what the commotion was about and on arrival saw a number of the larger bulls all facing the small gully to their north. With intermittent head shakes and snorts through their noses they tried to stare down five, wide-eyed, young predatory faces in the long grass. Suddenly one inexperienced lion burst out and lunged towards a buffalo bull standing just metres away, but the buffalo did not move an inch. The lion soon realized that his intended prey had not been stirred by his advances and quickly turned tail. This tactical game ebbed to and fro for about half an hour with spells of commotion and calm leaving us at the edge of our seats, till eventually out of the long grass the faces of experience appeared, much to the delight of the young lions who quickly ran to their mentors side to seek safety and assurance with intense head nudging and rubbing alongside one another. After ten minutes of this and the youngsters almost begging the adults to advance on the herd, the adults turned the other way and headed north as the herd moved south without a sound, leaving the youngsters with a lessons on when is a good time to turn away.

The smaller character of Africa’s carnivore story Article by Crystal Perry During your stay at Singita Sabi Sand, you might get a glimpse of a small scurrying animal, going from termite mound to termite mound in families of up to 15. This is the mighty dwarf mongoose, Africa’s smallest carnivore. A typical scene is seeing them peer at the vehicle from the termite mound, or next to the road. While they are a bit shy they seem to be curious enough to pop their heads up and have a good look at their human visitors. There is a dominant breeding pair, which is usually the oldest in the group. The colony is made up of offspring of the breeding pair and other immigrants. If a female in the group becomes pregnant at the same time as the alpha female, she may lose her offspring before birth or after birth and then help the alpha female with suckling her young. The alpha female may practice infanticide (killing the other female’s young), however this is uncommon. The pack members help raise the young of the alpha female, they catch insects and bring them back to the den. They also guard, groom, warm, play with and transport the babies between the den sites almost from the day the litter is born. This is just as well for the alpha female, as she is the leader of the pack. She is the first to emerge from the den, and first to forage. The alpha male spends most of his time at the top of the termite mound keeping a vigilant eye on things, as there are lots of snakes and birds of prey that are their enemies. The dwarf mongooses have highly developed social roles, and are a very cooperative social society in their packs. They groom each other by nibbling the fur to help get rid of parasites. They will keep in contact with a different sound for each activity, and will react to a bird’s alarm call, using it to help them stay safe. In the Serengeti they have been recorded to have a good relationship with the fork tailed drongo, foraging together in return for the bird to warn them of danger, which is also the same as the meerkat’s relationship with the bird. Take time to enjoy a session with a dwarf mongoose colony – these precious little creatures can be most entertaining to watch!

Game viewing summary for August 2014 Article by Mark Broodryk

Lion Leopard Cheetah Elephant Buffalo Wild Dog

No. of sightings 73 74 12 109 27 10

Predation analysis: Leopard (15) Lion (9) Cheetah (1) Wild Dog (4)

Impala 9 1 1 2

Buffalo 4

Duiker 1

Wildebeest 1

Warthog 2

Nyala 1

Unknown 1 2

Monkey 1

Kudu 2

Hyena 2

Statistical analysis:

Lion sightings: A significant increase in lion sightings this month, up to 27 sightings, equating to an almost additional sighting per day for the entire month.

Leopard sightings: Up by 9 sightings from previous months, statistically.

Elephant sightings: A more accurate reflection of the number of elephant sightings this month, up by 23 from the previous figure.

Buffalo sightings: The larger herds returned during the month.

Cheetah sightings: The increase in lion sightings reflects adversely on cheetah sightings. It was still a good month for cheetah viewing but felt less only because July was such a bumper month for cheetah viewing.

Wild Dog sightings: One of the packs that has denned not far from our traversing area have been frequently seen in our area on their hunting excursions, and thus much improved viewing this month.

Hyena: The den site has been moved but cubs remain healthy and are doing well.

August highlights It is difficult to highlight this month, as the game viewing overall has been exceptional. We have been very spoilt. It is nice to see the Mhangeni pride spending a significant amount of time in our area. They have been hunting buffalo with great success along the river - long may it continue. The leopard viewing has lived up to expectations for this reserve, we are seeing different individuals up north with more and more frequency which is adding to the viewing numbers. The wild dogs are always a highlight, but for me what has been so special this month is observing the interaction between multiple species particularly around the water sources. The dry and dusty conditions create spectacular photographic opportunities in these areas. One is not sure where to look with so much “action” concentrated in one area.

Photographs on location by Ross Couper, Andy Gibor, Dave Steyn Singita Ebony and Boulders Lodge

Sabi Sand South Africa

Thirty-first of August 2014