Rangers Report June 2015

by | Jul 14, 2015 | Rangers Reports | 2 comments

June was hands down the best month of the whole year, so far. The nightlife was amazing and we saw many different nocturnal species on game drive. The general game was also spectacular. We saw loads of zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, kudu, waterbuck and much more. Our resident hyena clan is also doing great and we’ve had some really great sightings around their den. Winter is definitely here and not just a figment of your imagination anymore. The mornings and evenings are really cold at times, but the day temperatures are still pleasant. The bush is very dry at this stage, but there is still food for all the herbivores and they are all in good condition. The average maximum temperature for this month was 23°C and we had no rain.

Tyson by Neil Coetzer

Tyson by Neil Coetzer

Leopards

Leopard sightings this month was any photographer’s dream. We also welcomed a very old friend who came to visit us… At last we saw Salayexe’s little cub for the first time, as she took us to the den the one morning. The little one is awesome and unbelievably relaxed with the vehicle. She jumps onto mom’s belly and head, then she grabs mom’s tail and she even stalks the vehicle. This is the start of the habituation process. It is crucial that the process runs smoothly. If we do not stick to the rules, the little cub could become afraid of the vehicles and we will struggle to get her relaxed again. For the next month we will be viewing the little one with only one vehicle at a time. We are so excited to have the little one around and we just hope that she will survive. Hopefully Salayexe can stay clear of Anderson, as the current den site is in his newly claimed territory. Shadow and her cub are looking great and this little guy is growing up so fast. It really looks like Shadow is putting a 110% effort into raising her son to independence. It will be great for Shadow if she can take the little man all the way to independence. She also spends a longer period of time away from her son, maybe to encourage him to get his own food. It looks like the bond between Kwatile and her daughter is busy disappearing, as the two are spending more time apart than together. It will be interesting to see what will happen during the next few months. Moya was seen very briefly this month and she is also looking great. She unfortunately lost her cubs to another female, but then she was seen mating with Lamula shortly after. We were also very fortunate to see Quarantine and his twin brother, Nkunyuma, together on a kill. These two will sometimes join up and will be seen together and then they would just go their separate ways again. Lamula was seen a few times, marking his boundaries and making sure there are no intruders in his territory. The territorial shift between the male leopards has stepped up a notch. Anderson has successfully pushed Tingana more north and east and took over a piece of the southern and western part of Tingana’s area. The part that Anderson took is the part that Salayexe calls home. Tingana is staying well clear of this section around our lodge, but is venturing more eastwards into Mvula’s area. Unfortunately one of these impressive male leopards has to give way, as this is survival of the fittest. We were lucky to see an old friend who came to visit us. Tyson came marching through his old territory the one day. It was a massive shock to see him again after such a long time! He did not stay too long before moving on again. You can expect this from a nomadic male leopard. Come visit again soon, old friend.

Lions

Male cheetah on a duiker kill by Jonathan Vogel

Male cheetah on a duiker kill by Jonathan Vogel

The two breakaway Styx females and the three tiny cubs are doing great. The little cubs are just so cute and also very relaxed with the vehicles around them. It is nice to see these little bundles of fluff running around, chasing after each other. It would be amazing to see these little rascals all making it to adulthood. The only way these youngsters will survive, is if the two Matimba males can stay dominant for at least another two years. The older Styx female of the original pride was seen mating with one of the Matimba male lions this month. It would be nice to have more cubs in the Styx pride, as this can just help them to grow. We had a few wonderful sightings of the Breakaway pride this month. The Breakaway pride also feasted on a big buffalo bull, but with thirteen lions feeding away, the buffalo did not last very long. The 4 big females are looking very healthy and the 9 cubs are getting big now. When you see the pride walking down the road, it is difficult to identify the cubs from the adult lionesses. The Tsalala pride also came through our area and decided to stay here for a few days. It is always such a treat to see these old ladies with their little ones. Talking about little ones, the four sub adults of the Ximungwe pride was seen again this month, while feasting on a zebra carcass. A few days later, after leaving our area they worked together and managed to bring down an estimated 800kg buffalo. These four youngsters are survivors and they do not stand back for anything! One of the young Styx males was also seen around our area, but all alone and without his brother. Three of the Majingi males also moved through our area a few times this month. It is great to see them still holding onto their territory and their females. The Matimba males are also very active in their territory and they are staying close to the Styx females and their newest cubs. At this stage we see the two Matimba males more often than the Majingi males.

Buffaloes

Hippo by Jonathan Vogel

Hippo by Jonathan Vogel

This month the buffaloes were back in the game. The big breeding herds we have been waiting for have returned to our area. We saw a massive breeding herd of about 400 buffaloes that slowly moved through our area during the month. The herd did not stay too long before moving on again, in the quest to look for enough food and water to sustain the entire herd. After the herd left our area, we saw a few large bachelor herds of males which decided to stay behind. These male herds consisted of old and young males. In the winter, males might leave the safety of the breeding herds to get back into shape. We still have the dagga boy hotspots, where we are almost guaranteed to see our old, loyal friends.

Elephants

Matimba male by Morné Fouché

Matimba male by Morné Fouché

What a memorable month it was with these gentle giants. There were elephants all over the show and around every corner. We had such wonderful times with all these elephant herds in and around our area. They made sure we were always entertained. We had a few smaller herds that congregated together at one of the water holes close to our lodge the one afternoon. It was so special to sit and watch them, as they were trumpeting and making a lot of noise. A few of the small babies did not know what was happening and they became very agitated and stressed with all the rumbling and trumpeting. After a few minutes the trumpeting and rumbling calmed down and the elephants started feeding again. This vocalization is just their way of greeting each other as they normally do when meeting up.

Special sighting

This month the special sighting was to see Salayexe with her tiny cub at their den site. It was such a treat to be able to spend some quality time with her and her small cub. The one morning we followed Salayexe down the road when suddenly she changed direction. We decided to keep following her to see where she was going and I was glad we did. Very close to the edge of the river bank she went and sat down and stared towards the dry river bed. After a while she decided to lie down and started with soft contact calls. I knew she was calling the cub, so we sat there in total silence. Suddenly from out of the thickets a tiny head appeared. After seeing that the coast was clear and mom was calling, she came running towards Salayexe. A little blue eyed girl! That was really a great sighting.

Did you know?

A lioness will leave her pride to give birth. She will only rejoin the pride when the cubs are between 6-8 weeks old.

I hope you enjoyed this month’s report. See you out on game drive soon!

Morné Fouché

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