Majingi male lions - Devon Becker

Monday, 6 May 2013

(23ºC)

• A breeding herd of about twenty elephants feeding on Grasscut Road
• Salayexe, the female leopard and her cub, moving south from Land Cruiser Crossing
• Styx female pride of lions resting east of Safari airstrip
• One elephant bull feeding on MMM South
• Three Tsalala lioness moving north of Guarri Central

Tuesday, 7 May 2013

(24ºC)

• Nine wild dogs hunting impalas at EP open area
• Salayexe, the female leopard, moving east from EP/Manyeleti Crossing
• Lamula, the male leopard, moving east from Tamboti open area
• A breeding herd of about twenty elephants feeding on Leopard Drift
• Tsalala female lions resting at Kraaines Dam

Wednesday, 8 May 2013

(26ºC)

• Tsalala female lions still resting at Kraaines Dam
• A breeding herd of about ten elephants feeding north of Kraaines Dam
• One buffalo bull feeding on Madash Road
• Another breeding herd of about thirty elephants feeding on Sawmill Road

Thandi, the female leopard's cub - Morné Fouche

Thursday, 9 May 2013

(27ºC)

• Two Majingi male lions and three Tsalala lioness resting on Madash Road
• One elephant bull feeding on Gowrie Main
• Lamula, the male leopard and an unknown male leopard, having a standoff on our Southern boundary
• One male cheetah with a juvenile kudu kill on Chitwa open area
• A breeding herd of about thirty elephants feeding and drinking water at Leeukuil
• Salayexe, the female leopard, scent marking on Bushcamp East

Friday, 10 May 2013

(23ºC)

• A breeding herd of about sixty elephants feeding and drinking water at Leeukuil
• Another breeding herd of about fifteen elephants feeding on A-main
• Another breeding herd of about twenty elephants feeding on Rhino Ring North
• Salayexe, the female leopard and her cub, playing on Eastern Bank Manyeleti
• One sub adult lioness of the Tsalala pride resting on EP drive way
• Lamula, the male leopard, scent marking on Grasscut Road
• Moya, the female leopard, moving west on Seepline Road
• Tingana, the male leopard, moving west on Wetpatch Road
• One buffalo bull feeding on Pungwe Island

Saturday, 11 May 2013

(26ºC, 15mm rain)

• Salayexe, the female leopard, drinking water at Serengeti Pan
• One buffalo bull feeding on Madash Road
• A pack of five wild dogs moving west on our Southern boundary
• A breeding herd of about fifty elephants drinking water at Leeukuil
• Another breeding herd of about twenty elephants feeding north of Zimba Bridge
• One buffalo bull resting in the dry Manyeleti river bed close to Serengeti Pan

Beautiful Sunset - Morné Fouche

Sunday, 12 May 2013

(25ºC)

• A breeding herd of about forty elephants feeding on Marula Bult
• One buffalo feeding on A-main close to Milkberry Road
• Thandi, the female leopard and her two cubs, playing on One Eye Pan Road
• Tingana, the male leopard, hunting impala on Guarri Central

Wild dogs feeding on an impala - Devon Becker

Monday, 29 April 2013

(27ºC)

• Shadow, the female leopard, and her two cubs feeding on an impala kill on Central Road
• Two elephant bulls feeding on Tamboti Open Area
• A breeding herd of about ten elephants feeding on Seef’s Pan Road
• BB, the lioness, and the sub adult lioness of the Tsalala pride resting on EP open area

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

(25ºC)

• A breeding herd of about forty elephants feeding in the Wetpatch block
• Moya, the female leopard, moving west on A-main
• Lamula, the male leopard, feeding on an impala kill on MMM South
• Salayexe, the female leopard, moving west on Shirley’s/EP cutline
• BB, the lioness, and a sub adult lioness of the Tsalala pride resting on Wetpatch Road
• Another breeding herd of about ten elephants feeding on Madash Road

Moya the female leopard - Devon Becker

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

(26ºC)

• Salayexe, the female leopard, moving north on Marula Bult South
• Salayexe, the female leopard’s cub moving west from Shirley’s/EP cutline
• Two elephant bulls feeding on Horseshoe East
• A breeding herd of about 400 buffaloes feeding on Bee Eater Road
• One unknown male leopard with an impala kill in a tree on Drongo South

Thursday, 2 May 2013

(28ºC)

• BB, the lioness, and the sub-adult lioness of the Tsalala pride with an impala kill on A-main, close to Puff adder Road
• One unknown male leopard still with the impala kill on Drongo South
• One buffalo bull resting west of Kudu Drift
• A breeding herd of about 400 buffaloes feeding on Bee Eater Road

Friday, 3 May 2013

(29ºC)

• A breeding herd of about 400 buffaloes feeding close to Seefs Pan
• A breeding herd of about forty elephants feeding on EP open area
• Moya, the female leopard, scent marking on Leopard Drift Road
• One buffalo bull feeding on Madash Road
• Two buffalo bulls feeding in EP/Manyeleti Crossing

Saturday, 4 May 2013

(28ºC)

• A breeding herd of about 400 buffaloes drinking water at Big Dam
• A breeding herd of about sixty elephants feeding on Shortcut Wetpatch Road
• Two lionesses of the Tsalala pride resting just off A-main
• Salayexe, the female leopard, and her cub feeding on an impala kill on Wetpatch Road
• Shadow, the female leopard, moving south on Madash Road

Lilac-breasted roller - Devon Becker

Sunday, 5 May 2013

(23ºC, 3mm rain)

• The Styx female lion pride feeding on a kudu kill at 2nd Windmill Pan.
• Salayexe, the female leopard, and her cub still feeding on an impala kill on Wetpatch Road
• Nine wild dogs feeding on an impala kill also on Wetpatch open area
• A breeding herd of about 400 buffaloes moving south from A-main on Grasscut Road
• A breeding herd of about thirty elephants feeding on Wetpatch open area

Elephants drinking water - by Louis Liversage

It’s raining again, but this time it’s raining leaves! Summer is slowly disappearing, as autumn starts to take command. The vegetation is now taking on a whole new colour. No more bright greens can be seen, just yellows and browns, with some of the leaves also turning red. What a beautiful sight! With autumn comes the colder mornings and evenings, but being in the Lowveld, the temperatures are nothing compared to some other places in South Africa. In our area, the temperature mainly drops to around 3-5°C. The late morning temperatures rise again to between 18-25°C. So the temperatures are still comfortable in winter time. Our guests have been treated to some great game viewing this past month. It’s not just the guests that endure getting up for the early morning game drives that get rewarded with great sightings, though. Sometimes guests that decide to sleep in are also spoiled with great sightings right on their doorstep. Twice this past month we had wild dogs chasing bushbuck around the open area in front of the Luxury Suites. Then the other morning we had hyenas making a kill on the flood plain, right in front of Zebra Suite. Whilst enjoying our lunch the other day, we were all entertained by a massive bull elephant playing around in the riverbed. Even though having a meal at the coast whilst staring at the deep blue sea is great, nothing beats lunches in the bush with wild animals coming to drink water, grazing lazily or even chasing each other around. Seeing all the day to day wonders that nature has to offer is what roots you to the bush. What a blessing!

Please remember to share your photographs of your EP holiday with us. You can send them to photo@elephantplains.co.za

Sunrise at Big Dam - by Dawie Jacobs

A lot of readers that follow our weekly sightings have asked for a map to indicate our traversing area in order to better understand the movements of the animals. We have loaded a map of our western traversing area onto the website and as soon as a map of the eastern area becomes available, we will also supply this. This map includes the following properties: Elephant Plains, Simbambili, Arathusa Safari and Arathusa Private. You can view the map at the bottom of our Game Drives and Bush Walks page.

Once again it has come to that time of the year when Etienne, Marlet, Tersia and I, make the long journey down to Durban. You might ask why? Well, it is Indaba Tourism Show time again. Can you believe it? It doesn’t feel as if a year has passed since the previous one. We are all very excited to get down there and get the ball rolling. I know I’ve mentioned this on previous reports, but for those of you who are not sure what Indaba is I’ll briefly explain. It’s Africa’s biggest tourism marketing expo, where all the role players in the industry come together under one roof to market their products. Anything from accommodation, tour operators, tourism service providers etc. exhibit at the show. It’s amazing to see the amount of work that goes into building the stalls. Some of them are double storey, or have amazing artwork done to them. Some lodges even go as far as setting up their stands to replicate the actual lodge. For most of the year, we are in contact with our agents over the phone and via e-mails. Indaba gives us the opportunity to meet with them in person, discuss new opportunities and to make new plans for the future. We also get to meet new, upcoming agents and explore different travelling markets. It is exciting to have the opportunity to be part of this. For our agents receiving this newsletter, our stand will be situated in the DEC building, number B07. Please drop in and say hello if we do not already have an appointment scheduled with you.

Trapcam photo of the month - Salayexe and her cub

We have been waiting a long time to get Wi-Fi activated at the lodge. Over the last few years, we have tried installing it on a number of occasions. But on most attempts we always used to hit a glitch somewhere in the system. John Oliver, the same gentleman that got Africam at the lodge going, was staying at the lodge for over a week. He worked the whole day and late into every night, in order to make sure that all the settings and connections were correct. After all this hard work, we were able to pull it off. With all the ups and downs I am now glad to report that at long last, we have Wi-Fi hotspots around the lodge. Being out in the bush makes it difficult to have technology on your doorstep. But we’ve managed to overcome those problems and I am sure all our guests would be super excited with this new addition.

The search for a new Spa therapist proved to be quite a challenge, but after a fair amount of interviews, I am glad to say that we’ve found the perfect lady! Her name is Evelyn Viet. She is from the Cape and has a very bubbly personality. Another plus is that she can actually speak French, something that comes in very handy in the lodge industry. Her first day kicked off with a bang and she was fully booked in a matter of minutes. As the saying goes, throw them in at the deep end! By the end of the day she knew her new workplace inside out. The Spa has had its busiest month since we opened its doors and we are looking forward to Eve enjoying a long and happy career at Elephant Plains!

Salayexe and her cub - by Morné Fouché

To all our guests who celebrated their birthdays this month, we hope you had a fantastic day filled with love and laughter. May your future hold many more joyful days to come! This month we had a lot of birthdays at the lodge. Simon was the first to celebrate his birthday on the 3rd. He is the guy who looks after the gardens around the Rondavels. He takes a lot of pride in his job and you will usually find him working the ground with a smile on his face. Mohamed also celebrated his birthday on the 3rd. He is the friendly face that you will see around the main area. He doubles up as a barman / waiter and his friendly chatter entertains all our guests. Then Etienne celebrated his big day on the 13th. Etienne has taken Elephant Plains under his wing for the past 15 years and made it grow into the wonderful lodge it is today. On the 18th Janine had her birthday. Janine is one of the ladies you will meet first when arriving at lodge, as she works the front desk. So, on your next trip to Elephant Plains, the lady who welcomes you with an ice cold welcome drink and a big smile would be Janine. She treated us all with a lovely birthday cake – one of the big reasons we all get excited when her birthday is around the corner. On the 30th Joyce, one of our cleaning ladies, celebrated her birthday. Joyce also loves babysitting our younger guests, so many of you will know her personally as she often looks after the babies when their parents go on game drive. I trust that you all had very good birthdays, and hope you will spent many more here at EP!

I now hand you over to our head chef, Linda Van Heerden, for the very delicious recipe of the month. For those of you with a serious sweet tooth, you’ll be in for a treat with her Millionaire’s Squares.

Millionaire's Squares

Millionaire’s Squares

(Makes 24)

• 560g Plain Flour
• 220g Castor Sugar
• 340g Butter, melted
• 3 tins Caramelized Condensed Milk
• 400g Dark Chocolate

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Mix the flour and sugar. Add the melted butter, until it starts coming together. Press into a greased baking tray and bake for about 15 minutes. Spread the caramelized condensed milk over the biscuit and bake for another +- 10 minutes, until the caramel has bubbled up a bit. Allow to cool. Cut into slices and set aside. Melt the chocolate and allow it to cool slightly, spread thinly over the caramelized layer. Serve and enjoy!

Well, that’s all from my side this month. Have a good one!

Wayne Dovey

Red billed oxpecker - by Louis Liversage

Leopards

With all the amazing leopard sightings we were once again spoiled rotten, but with all the excitement there was also a very sad day. Xivambalana, the sub-adult male leopard and son of Kurula from her previous litter, killed Ntima’s little cub. We are unsure of how many cubs Ntima actually had, but my heart goes out to this old lady as she once again lost all her cubs. It just shows you how tough nature can sometimes be. Males would often kill a female’s cubs if they did not sire them, in order for the female to come into oestrus quicker. Salayexe and her little female cub are doing great. The little cub is getting really bold as she attempts to stalk everything that moves, even playing a very dangerous game with hyenas. Normally when a hyena approaches a leopard cub, the cub will run for the nearest tree. Well not this little one! She would first hiss and snarl and have a stand-off with the hyena and only when the hyena charges closer, would she jump up and get into the safety of a tree. The moment it loses interest, she would get out and start stalking it again. Salayexe usually leaves her behind when she goes hunting, because the little one is sure to spoil the whole hunt as excitement would make her chase after the prey too early. Poor Salayexe lost four kills to hyenas this month. This happened either because the little one dropped them out of the tree, or because it was too big to hoist up in the first place. What we’ve found this month was that all the leopards killed more male impalas and that they are sometimes a little bit too big to hoist into a tree, making easy pickings for the hyenas. The reason why they killed more males this month is due to the rutting season. Big males will leave the safety of the bachelor herd to look for a harem and challenge the dominant male. This makes them an easy target. Shadow and her two cubs are looking fantastic and I’m so glad to see she still has both cubs. Moya and Kwatile were rarely seen this month, but when we did see them there was no disappointment. Moya is a stunning female leopard and I for one didn’t really think that she would make it in the big league, with the likes of Salayexe and Kwatile bordering her territory and always looking to expand their own territories. Despite lacking experience, this young cat is still a formidable force to be reckoned with. Against all odds she has made it this far. Growing more in confidence, she has settled well into her territory. Kurula is still off the radar and all that we can do is to be patient and wait for her to come and show us her new bundles of joy. Mvula, the big male from the east, is pushing west into Tingana’s territory. In this process he is also pushing all the young males out of his turf into Tingana’s turf. Xivambalana, Kurula’s son from her previous litter, is getting pushed more west, as well as Lamula. Lamula is actually going very far into Tingana’s area and he means business as he is scent marking all over Tingana’s scent. Lamula is bigger and stronger than last year and it looks like he is ready to take on Tingana. The stage is set and it is just a matter of time before these two warriors will battle it out. It looks like Tingana knows he is loosing territory bit by bit and that is why he is on the move a lot. Lamula, Xivambalana and Mvula are not the only problems Tingana faces. The young male from the west is also pushing more eastwards. Only time will tell how this situation will play out.

Lions

Sub adult Styx male - by Morné Fouché

We were very fortunate to see the Styx, Tsalalas and all four Majingi male lions this month! Let’s start off with the Styx pride. Tragedy struck this pride again as they walked into the Tsalala pride one evening and a huge fight broke out. They lost one of the small cubs in the fight and another one was badly injured. The rest of the pride members got a few cuts and bruises and were a bit shaken after the ordeal, but nothing too serious. The little one that is injured is still moving with the pride, but it looks like he might be in some pain. We keep our fingers crossed that this little one makes it and the pride doesn’t lose another cub. Territorial disputes like this one is common and it’s not just the males that will fight with each other. Females will also defend their territories and their cubs against rival prides. The Tsalala pride on the other hand is looking great and is in magnificent condition. I think out of all the lion prides in the Sabi Sand Wildtuin, the Tsalala pride is most probably the smallest, with three big females and one sub-adult. Despite being the smallest pride, these three females are quite the force to be reckoned with! BB is still looking good and going strong. She’s definitely got a few years left in the tank and that’s really a good thing for the pride. All four of the Majingi male lions came into our area and stayed here for a while, before moving on again. To our surprise the black maned Majingi male later linked up with the Tsalala females and they came back into our area. They stayed for a few days, with full bellies before moving on again. One morning early we heard two males calling close to the lodge and we knew that they couldn’t be too far. On drive we came across two of the four Majingi males tucking into a buffalo kill. Nothing went to waste as they stayed at the kill until there was almost nothing left – just a few scraps for the vultures and some bones for the hyenas.

Buffaloes

Mvula the male leopard - by Louis Liversage

Still the big breeding herds are nowhere to be found. With winter approaching fast, food is getting scarcer and that will lead to the smaller buffalo herds joining forces to form bigger herds. Overall, herds of buffalo don’t stay in one area for too long as they get driven by food and water supplies. Some of the females still have small calves of a few months old and some of the other females with bigger calves are coming into oestrus now. With the females coming into oestrus, the dominant males that left the female herds a few months ago have returned to the herds. The dominant males leave the herds to fatten up and get themselves ready for mating season, which is starting now. When the males enter the female herds again, they have to fight for mating rights. A big dominant male will have anywhere between ten and fifteen females that he will mate with. Even the really big males can’t attend to all the females and sometimes some of the younger males might also get a change to mate, without having to fight it out beforehand. The old dagga boys are once again alone and we see them on a regular basis. Being alone in the African bush is surely the worst thing for an old buffalo. Lions will not hesitate for a second when they spot an old buffalo bull on its own!

Elephants

We’ve had very good elephant sightings this month. While having breakfast or lunch, you would often see elephant herds walking over the open area to quench their thirst with nice fresh water at the waterhole in front of the lodge. Also with all the rain that we had this last month there is still a lot of water in the dams. We saw some really nice big breeding herds on drive, ranging anywhere from forty to about sixty animals, including a few tiny calves. As a rule of thumb, when a baby elephant can fit under the mother’s stomach, that baby is still under a year old. We were also very fortunate to see a really big bull with some very impressive tusks. Because there aren’t many big tuskers around anymore, it is extremely special to see one on drive. He was later joined by two younger, smaller bulls. It is common to see the really big bulls being accompanied by a few younger bulls. This old man is like a mentor or teacher to the younger bulls and will keep them in line when testosterone levels runs high and rage takes over. Although elephants have a very unique social structure, the males don’t stay with the herds. At the age of about thirteen years, the males need to leave and will then look for their own home range, close to the female herds.

Water monitor - by Devon Becker

Special sighting

This was to see all four Majingi males resting together on Tamboti open area. What a treat it was to see all four of them together as we normally only get to see one or two of them, joined by some females.

Did you know?

It will take a baby elephant roughly six months to learn how to fully use his little trunk.

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

Morné Fouché

You must take care of your skin during winter season in order for it to look glamorous and attractive. The cold months may be pleasant for many of us, but at the same time it demands a special type of pampering for this outer layer of our bodies, which tends to become dry and crack during winter time.

Therefore going the extra mile to pamper the skin with moisturisers and emollients is imperative.

TIPS FOR SKIN CARE IN WINTER

1. Moisturise your skin generously. Replace your water-based products with creams. And besides facial skin, also apply cream to your hands, elbows and feet. Look out for vitamin E enriched products. This will prevent itchiness and loss of water content from the skin.

2. “The top layer of skin cells are either dead or old and can easily make your skin look dull,” says Doctor Norman. Exfoliating gets rid of the dead skin cells and reveals newer, healthier-looking skin.

3. Avoid prolonged baths, hot showers and the use of harsh soaps. These will take away the natural moisture from your skin.

4. Winter sun can still damage your skin. Apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen to your face and hands (if they are exposed) about 30 minutes before going outside. Reapply frequently if you stay outdoors for an extended time.

5. Don’t lick… your lips. If you do, you’ll only chap your lips even further. Keep a lip balm in your purse and apply it when you’re tempted!

Mask yourself

NATURAL HOME REMEDY FOR DRY SKIN

Avocado/Honey Mask

To make this ultra hydrating mask, mash a ripe avocado into a creamy pulp and stir in a tablespoon of organic honey. Massage the mask onto your face using your fingertips and allow it to set for 15 minutes. Rinse away with warm water and repeat weekly for best results.

These winter tips are not only excellent for keeping your skin glowing through the cold months, but will also be beneficial for whatever season you are entering.

And remember to always keep hydrated – drink plenty of water!!!

Salayexe the female leopard - Louis Liversage

Monday, 22 April 2013

(26ºC)

• Two buffalo bulls feeding west of EP/Manyeleti crossing
• A breeding herd of about twenty elephants feeding on MMM South
• Lamula, the male leopard, moving west on Seepline Road
• Two lionesses of the Tsalala pride and one Majingi male lion walking south from 15th Crossing
• Another breeding herd of about twenty elephants feeding on Safari airstrip

Tuesday, 23 April 2013

(26ºC)

• Four wild dogs moving west from Safari airstrip
• A breeding herd of about ten elephants feeding on MMM South
• Xivambalana, the young male leopard, following Mvula, the male leopard, on MMM South
• Salayexe, the female leopard, scent marking on Marula Bult North
• Two buffalo bulls feeding on Hawk Eagle Road

Wednesday, 24 April 2013

(25ºC)

• Salayexe, the female leopard, hunting impala on Kudu Drift
• One buffalo bull resting on Seepline Road
• A breeding herd of about thirty elephants feeding on Robson’s boundary
• Two Majingi male lions feeding on a buffalo kill west of Rhino Ring West
• Moya, the female leopard, moving south on Big Dam wall
• One elephant bull feeding on Shirley’s open area
• Another breeding herd of about ten elephants also feeding on Shirley’s open area

Impala herd - Louis Liversage

Thursday, 25 April 2013

(26ºC)

• One Majingi male lion still feeding on the buffalo kill west of Rhino Ring West
• Another Majingi male lion moving north on A-main
• Salayexe, the female leopard, moving west from Kimbians Crossing
• One buffalo bull feeding north of 2nd Windmill Road
• A breeding herd of about twenty elephants feeding on the western side of Safari open area
• One elephant bull feeding on 16th Crossing

Friday, 26 April 2013

(26ºC)

• Salayexe, the female leopard, and her cub with a juvenile bushbuck kill in front of our lodge.
• Two buffalo bulls resting in the water at Rhino Pan
• A breeding herd of about twenty five elephants feeding around Wetpatch open area
• Another breeding herd of about forty elephants feeding on Madash Road
• One buffalo bull feeding close to Big Dam

Saturday, 27 April 2013

(29ºC)

• Mvula, the male leopard, resting on Gowrie Main
• Shadow, the female leopard and her two cubs feeding on an impala kill on Central Road
• A breeding herd of about forty elephants feeding on Seepline Road
• One buffalo bull feeding on Rhino Ring East
• Salayexe, the female leopard, and her cub feeding on an impala kill close to Pungwe Island

Curious hyena inspecting our game drive vehicle - Louis Liversage

Sunday, 28 April 2013

(29ºC)

• Salayexe, the female leopard and her cub still feeding on the impala kill close to Pungwe Island
• Shadow, the female leopard, and her two cubs feeding on an impala kill on Central Road
• A breeding herd of about thirty elephants feeding east of Safari airstrip
• One buffalo bull feeding at Eagle Owl Crossing
• BB, the old lioness, and the sub-adult lioness of the Tsalala pride hunting impala on Safari airstrip

Majingi male with Tsalala females - Morné Fouché

Monday, 15 April 2013

(29ºC)

• A breeding herd of about twenty elephants feeding on Mamba Road
• One buffalo bull feeding on 1st Windmill Road
• One buffalo bull feeding at Leeukuil Dam
• One buffalo bull feeding at Shirley’s crossing
• Salayexe, the female leopard’s cub resting west of Madash Road

Tuesday, 16 April 2013

(30ºC)

• Salayexe, the female leopard, and her cub moving west from EP open area
• Two buffalo bulls feeding on Eastern Bank Manyeleti
• The Styx female lion pride resting south of Mhisi Mati
• One unknown young male leopard moving east on Gowrie Main Road
• A breeding herd of about twenty elephants drinking water at Safari Dam

Wednesday, 17 April 2013

(31ºC)

• The Styx female lion pride resting close to Mhisi Mati
• Xivambalana, the young male leopard, resting close to the Hoffmans/Little Gowrie cutline
• Two buffalo bulls feeding north of Leeukuil
• Two buffalo bulls resting in the water at 2nd Windmill Pan
• Salayexe, the female leopard’s cub resting on Marula Bult Central
• Shadow, the female leopard, moving south on Madash Road
• Tingana, the male leopard, moving east on Old Borehole Road

Elephant bull in Big Dam - Morné Fouché

Thursday, 18 April 2013

(32ºC)

• Two Tsalala female lions and one Majingi male lion resting on Big Dam wall
• Shadow, the female leopard, and her cubs moving west from 2nd Windmill Dam
• A breeding herd of about ten elephants feeding on MMM-South
• Another breeding herd of about twenty elephants feeding on A-main
• One buffalo bull resting in the water at Big Dam

Friday, 19 April 2013

(21ºC)

• A breeding herd of about ten elephants feeding on EP airstrip
• Another breeding herd of about twenty elephants feeding on MMM-South
• Salayexe, the female leopard’s cub resting in a tree on Wetpatch open area

Saturday, 20 April 2013

(26ºC, 50mm rain)

• Salayexe, the female leopard, moving north on Madash Road
• Four buffalo bulls feeding on Saseka Road
• Lamula, the male leopard, moving east on A-main
• Salayexe, the female leopard’s cub resting on Wetpatch open area
• A breeding herd of about ten elephants feeding on EP driveway

Lamula the male leopard - Morné Fouché

Sunday, 21 April 2013

(28ºC)

• Four elephant bulls feeding on Simbambili firebreak
• A breeding herd of about twenty elephants feeding on Rhulani Road
• One Majingi male lion and two of the Tsalala pride lionesses resting south of Kraaines Pan
• A breeding herd of about ten elephants feeding on Sixes Road

Styx female lion hunting - Dawie Jacobs

Monday, 8 April 2013

(33ºC)

• Styx lion pride killing a juvenile waterbuck west of Chitwa airstrip
• Salayexe, the female leopard, and her cub feeding on an impala kill at Pungwe Island Crossing
• One buffalo bull feeding south of Kimbians Crossing
• One elephant bull feeding in Shirley’s Crossing
• Seventeen wild dogs hunting a herd of impalas north of Wetpatch Road

Tuesday, 9 April 2013

(33ºC)

• Salayexe, the female leopard, and her cub moving east from EP open area
• A breeding herd of about twenty elephants feeding on Simbambili firebreak
• One buffalo bull resting in the water at Seef’s Pan

Wednesday, 10 April 2013

(23ºC)

• Salayexe, the female leopard, resting in a tree on Marula Bult South
• One buffalo bull feeding at Grissly Bear Crossing

One of Shadow`s cubs - Dawie Jacobs

Thursday, 11 April 2013

(21ºC)

• Salayexe, the female leopard, and her cub feeding on an impala kill on Marula Bult South
• One buffalo bull feeding south of Serengeti/Manyeleti Crossing
• Shadow, the female leopard, and her two cubs moving west from 2nd Windmill Pan
• One buffalo bull resting at Land Cruiser Crossing

Friday, 12 April 2013

(25ºC)

• One elephant bull feeding on Rhino Midden Road
• Two elephant bulls feeding on EP open area
• Salayexe, the female leopard, and her cub feeding on an impala kill on Ntoma Driveway
• Two elephant bulls drinking water at Simbambili open area
• One buffalo bull resting on Rhino Ring West
• Lamula, the male leopard, moving east on A-Main

Saturday, 13 April 2013

(24ºC)

• One elephant bull feeding and drinking water at Big Dam
• A breeding herd of about 20 elephants feeding on Leopard Drift
• One buffalo bull resting on Rhino Ring West

Giraffe cow and calf - Louis Liversage

Sunday, 14 April 2013

(27ºC)

• Salayexe, the female leopard, moving east on Eastern Bank Manyeleti
• Four Majingi male lions resting on Tamboti open area
• Three buffalo bulls resting in the water at 2nd Windmill Pan
• One elephant bull feeding on Saffron Road
• The 2 sub-adult male lions of the Styx pride resting on Safari airstrip

Salayexe's cub - by Dawie Jacobs

I think I can safely say that the summer’s heat is over and that autumn is arriving. It’s strange how it never feels as though the seasons are changing, until one day you realize that it’s already dark by six o’clock in the evening. On drive in the mornings, the rangers always wear short sleeves during summertime and then out of the blue one morning, it’s pretty cold. The vegetation is still green though and we’ve had loads of wonderful sightings.  We are already seeing a lot more elephants drinking in front of camp as all the pools of water in the bush have dried up, forcing the animals to use the waterholes now. So life is just that little bit easier, as on game drive the rangers often find animals at, or at least close, to the waterholes. With the cats, however, there is still a lot of tracking involved, because on most days the big cats enjoy resting in very dense vegetation. The art of tracking is amazing. There have been times when I tracked with our trackers and I truly got blown away by the manner in which they are able to continue following tracks, especially if they go through thick vegetation or over very hard ground. For the untrained eye it’s very hard to spot the track, but as for our guys, well it’s another story. You see them take their foot and mark the back of the track and move on, until you start thinking there is no way we are going to find this animal… All of a sudden you’ll get the hand signal to stop, and right there in front of your eyes would be the animal you have been following. Mind blowing indeed!

A lot of guests always ask what time of the year is not too busy for us. To tell you the truth, we don’t really have a low season. We are always running at a fairly high occupancy, regardless of it being summer or winter. Being a 24 bed camp is a very comfortable number of guests to have. Having such a small amount of people, you get to interact with everyone. Guests are not just a number that come and go and are forgotten. We’ve had guests that have returned from last being with us in 2005 and I still remember them. That’s what makes a small camp great! All the guests were very happy with the sightings that they got to view this month. Salayexe and her cub had a few kills right next door to the camp. The one Breakaway Tsalala lioness has been seen moving around the front of the rooms in the dry river bed. We suspect that she is hiding her newborn cub in the lush thickets of the dry river bed. So our guests are spending a lot of time on their viewing decks, trying to get a glimpse of them.

Female cheetah and two cubs - Dawie Jacobs

We’ve welcomed Devon Becker as our new ranger this month. He is doing very well and has quickly learned all the game drive roads in our traversing area. The truth is that learning the roads in our traversing area can be quite tricky. There are no high mountains to use as a land marks. But after a few drives you start getting used to some of the main roads in the reserve. A ranger needs at least 20 drives to get used to the roads, so you can’t just give a ranger a map and guests and say “enjoy!” What also helps is the fact that our trackers know the roads very well, so even if a new ranger still forgets the name of a certain road, his tracker would be able to help him out.  A funny story a few years ago with one of the other lodges in the north, was that the new ranger drove together with a new tracker so they were still unsure of all the roads. They found a leopard on their first game drive, and it was indeed the first leopard that this ranger ever saw in the wild. Being super excited seeing his first leopard and being the one who found it, he screamed over the radio that he had found a leopard. We all thought this to be great news and asked if we could join his leopard sighting. Well! He had absolutely no idea where he was, so this made life a little interesting. We all had a good chuckle and went out not to find animals, but to find the lost ranger with his amazing leopard sighting. We did find him after a short time later and enjoyed a great sighting. The best part of it all was that the ranger did not feel embarrassed about his situation, he was just very proud as he found one of Africa’s most beautiful cats. I sat and watched his excitement and it reminded all of us in the sighting why we love being in the bush so much.

Trapcam photo of the month - Nyala and Vervet Monkey

Dawie is now doing game drives permanently at Elephant Plains and he has already received a lot of compliments. Dawie has been with us for just over two and a half years now, and in that time he went on game drives with the other rangers, plus did a lot of work on the roads. Doing road maintenance means that you literally get to know the roads like the back of your hand. Mostly when we are doing road clearing, it involves cutting overhanging branches that end up brushing up against the side of the vehicle. You walk up and down all the roads for days on end. So by the time you are finished with the maintenance, you know exactly where every rock and special tree on that road is.

Some of our rangers did their Advanced Rifle Shooting this month. The entire exercise is very nerve racking, yet exciting at the same time. It consists of having to load your rifle with five rounds then unload the rifle, blind folded. You then shoot a target on your own time at fifteen meters. The following drill is to shoot one shot in the bull’s eye at fifteen meters, then ten and lastly at five meters. Then it starts to get difficult, you do a whole lot of speed shooting. The shooting part is fine; it’s remembering the whole sequence that you need to perform that makes it tricky. Then the last shoot is a picture of a life sized lion dragged on wheels to simulate a real charge down by a lion. It is very difficult, but as long as you think through the whole charge quickly in your head you should do fine. It is important to be confident with your shooting, as you might need this skill anytime when out in the bush.

Rhino horn treatment - Dawie Jacobs

On the 27^th of this month we had the privilege to be part of the Sabi Sand Wildtuin’s anti-poaching initiative. The Sabi Sand, in an effort to fight the high incidence rate of rhino poaching in South Africa, has decided to make use of the services of the Rhino Rescue Project. The rhino’s horn is treated by infusing it with a compound made up of depot ectoparasiticides and inedible dye. This contaminates the horn and makes it useless for ornamental and medicinal use.  The treatment, however, has no adverse effects on the rhino itself.  The rhino was treated on Elephant Plains and we got to witness the process, which was an amazing experience. Etienne and Marlet Swart have decided to sponsor another treatment as these are entirely dependent on fundraising. The Elephant Plains rangers have also decided to take initiative in holding a fund raiser between themselves and other rangers in our area, in order to sponsor another rhino. This is a project very close to our hearts and we would like to do everything in our power to ensure the future of our beautiful rhinos. If any of our readers are interested to join the initiative by sponsoring funds for the future of rhinos at Elephant Plains Game Lodge, as well as the rest of the Sabi Sand, please feel free to contact Marlet Swart for more information: marlet@elephantplains.co.za.

To all our guests that celebrated their birthdays this month, we hope you had a fantastic day filled with love and laughter. May your future hold many more joyful days! We had a busy month with all the birthdays at lodge. Yoldah celebrated her big day on the 6^th. You will rarely see Yoldah as she is hard at work in the laundry. She manages the laundry, with the help of her four best friends, the Speed Queen machines. She is a very delightful person that always has a smile on her face. I take my hat off to her for the amount of laundry she does on a daily basis. Sidness had her birthday on the 23^rd. She works at Etienne and Marlet’s house and also helps look after the very energetic little man, Etienne junior. Clement, one of our trackers, also celebrated his birthday on the 23^rd. Just goes to show you how time flies, Etienne junior turned five on the 26^th. The little man is starting to grow up very fast indeed. Last but not least Louis celebrated his birthday on the 28^th of this month. I am very proud of Louis. He started at the lodge as a junior ranger and five years later he is our new assistant Head Ranger. He has come a very long way in the past few years. Well done Louis! Just shows you what hard work and determination can achieve.

I now hand you over to our Head Chef Linda Van Heerden, for the delicious recipe of the month.

This month’s recipe is an Herbed Cucumber Salad, a fresh addition to any meal.

Herbed Cucumber Salad

Makes 8 side servings

Recipe of the month - Herbed Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

• 31.5 ml Low-fat Yogurt
• 1 tbsp Dill, coarsely chopped
• ½ tbsp Parsley, coarsely chopped
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• ½ tbsp Olive Oil
• ½ tsp Mint, coarsely chopped
• 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
• ¼ tsp Sugar
• ¼ tsp Salt
• ¼ tsp Black Pepper
• ¼ tsp Crushed Garlic
• 2 ½ cups Cucumber, deseeded and sliced
• 1 cup Red Onion, sliced

Preparation

Combine the yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, mustard, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic and herbs. Combine the cucumber and onion, drizzle with the yogurt mixture. Toss to coat. Arrange on a serving platter and serve cold.

Well, that’s all from my side this month. Have a good one!

Wayne Dovey

Hippo and Buffalo at Leeukuil - Louis Liversage

Leopards

Leopard sightings were just great this month. Salayexe and her little cub are doing fine and they are always a treat to view. The cub is really free spirited and full of surprises. It is almost as if you are watching a suspense movie, you don’t know what she will do next. Every inch of Salayexe’s territory is her playground and she thinks that all the animals inside of it are there for her to play with. Salayexe is really struggling to keep up with the liveliness off her daughter and all the games that she plays. I’ve also noticed that when Salayexe’s had enough of her cub and want some alone time, she will become a bit hostile towards the little one. Being so young and outgoing like she is, she wants to turn everything into a game. When two cubs are born and one dies the mother automatically needs to take over the entertainment role of the dead cub when it comes to play time! Shadow, on the other hand, was quiet at times but the times we did see her she and the two cubs were just priceless. The one cub is really getting used to the game drive vehicles around it and growing more in confidence as she stalks the vehicles in play. The other sibling is still very cautious and watches our every move and always sits close or even sometimes behind her mother. Some reinsurance in the form of a head rub or gentle face wash by mum lets her know everything is all right and that we pose no threat whatsoever. It’s common to find a very adventurous cub and a shy one born in the same litter.

Female giraffe and her suckling calf - Louis Liversage

Kurula was again very elusive this month as we haven’t seen her or the little cubs once this month, but we are confident that she will bring them out one of these days. The old lady, Ntima, was seen once or twice, but without any cubs. The little cubs are still very young and tucked away safely in a hidden den.  It won’t be too long before the little cubs will start eating meat and Ntima will move them around to a new location, or to kills. Kwatile came for a surprise visit and what a surprise it was as we saw that she also has suckle marks. This is really good news for us and we keep our fingers crossed that she will this time successfully raise her new litter. Moya, the youngest of the territorial female leopards in our area has no cubs yet as far as we know, but we hope that this year will be a wonderful year for her. Tingana, our dominant male leopard, was seen a lot this month while marking his boundaries. Tingana has got his work cut out for him as the young male that came in from the west of his territory is expanding more east and Lamula in the southeast is expanding more northwest into Tingana’s territory. It’s only a matter of time before Tingana catches up with these two newcomers to defend his title and ultimately his cubs. Mvula is also expanding his territory more south and that caused Lamula to move more west. Mvula was very quiet this month and we didn’t see him a lot. Lamula was also under the radar and we saw him just a few times this month. Lamula is looking really good at this stage. He is getting bigger and putting on a lot of weight. It’s not going to be too long before he will be a force to be reckoned with.

Lions

Salayexes Cub - Morné Fouché

Three of the four breakaway Tsalala females have been keeping a low profile this month. The one female with the cub/s stayed around our lodge for the whole month. We think that her den is very close to the lodge, somewhere in the thickets on the banks of the dry river bed that runs past our lodge. She will come out of the dense vegetation in the late afternoons to hunt and then return in the early mornings. She is looking good and feeding well as she killed a juvenile giraffe the one day and fed well for a few days, before the hyenas chased her off her kill. When she is by herself, hyenas can easily chase her off a kill, but when they are in a pride it will take a lot of hyenas to chase them off. We are unsure about the amount of cubs as more than one was heard while we were tracking one day. We have, however, not seen them yet. Pregnant females will normally leave the safety of the pride to go and give birth in a safe area, only to return to the pride when the cubs are about 8 weeks old.  When she gives birth the whole game plan changes. She will have to hunt alone and that calls for a different hunting strategy because, unlike leopards that are solitary hunters and are used to hunting alone, lions are pride animals. The pride works as a team to bring down prey and feed together. Being alone she now has to depend on herself for food and taking care of her little ones. Lions are unbelievable animals and can adapt to any situation that presents itself. Hopefully it’s not too long before she will take the cubs back to introduce them to the rest of the pride. BB and her older daughters also came into our area, accompanied by three of the Majingi male lions. BB will be 15 years old this year and she’s still looking very good for her age. When you look at this old worrier, with her face and body covered in battle scars that each tell an exciting yet painful story, you can’t help to think of what she’s been through. BB’s daughters are looking superb and seeing them with the male lions gives us hope that in the next few months they might also have more cubs. We had two Nkuhuma lionesses and three of their cubs, joined by two of the six Matimba male lions, on a zebra kill in the area. They stayed in the area for about two days then moved north back into the core of their territory. The Styx pride is looking very healthy and better than ever. The four sub adults are over two years of age and it’s normally this time of their lives when they join in on hunts to learn the skillful art of successful hunting. The Majingi males are also looking good, but the only problem that I see is that they are splitting up too often and this leaves them very vulnerable and open for an attack by a group of younger males. Just look at what happened to the Mapogo coalition when they decided to split up.

Buffalo

We are still waiting for the big herds to pass through our area. We had tracks of a very nice sized herd that came into the area during the night, but moved out of the area again the very next morning. We are still full of hope that it will change when food gets scarcer and the big herds need to move further in search of more food. We had a few old dagga boys cooling down in the water or rolling in the mud. They will also roll in the mud to get the mud on them to rid their bodies from any unwanted tics, parasites and flies. The mud also helps the buffalo to keep cool in the hot African sun. We were lucky to see a bachelor herd consisting of dominant and sub dominant males. They usually leave their herd when mating is done in order to work on their condition. When mating season starts again, they go back to the herds to claim their females and their right to mate again.

Elephant

Sunrise in the bush - Morné Fouché

There has been no shortage of elephant this month with medium sized herds, ranging between 30-40 animals and smaller herds of about 5-10 animals. These are trailed by a few big bulls in musth, with only one intention. When males go into musth their body undergoes a chemical transformation where high testosterone levels are released throughout the body. With this whole transformation going on in the bodies of these bulls their temperament also changes and they can get more aggressive and irritable, sometimes even charging the vehicles. It is always better to rather avoid these really bad-tempered heavyweights. During this time of the year, the smaller herds are slowly but surely starting to join forces to form a bigger herd. In the winter months you might find a few herds of maybe a hundred animals. In these herds there are quite a few little ones and it is so special to view them as they are full of surprises, like all young animals tend to be. It’s so funny watching these little rascals opening their ears and then charging at the vehicles, followed with a loud trumpet. The moment they realize that they’re all alone, they quickly turn around, running towards the safety of their mothers.

Special Sighting

The special sighting of the month was to see a pack of 17 wild dogs working as a team in hunting impalas. Six hyenas came in to try and steal the kill. All the wild dogs launched a full-on attack on the hyenas. The hyenas did their best, but there were just too many wild dogs and the hyenas came off second best.

Did you know?

A pack of wild dogs are led by an alpha pair.