Reigning Cats and Dogs

Forgive me followers for I have sinned.  It’s been 6 weeks since my last entry…

The last few weeks of life at Sabi Sabi have been incredibly busy, with the lodge running at near full capacity.  Whilst this has given us a true understanding of sleep deprivation, it has allowed me to spend plenty of time in the field following the daily lives of our myriad of inhabitants.  Spring has definitely arrived now and the temperature is getting hotter by the day.  The knobthorns and tree wisterias are in full bloom and the bush is beginning to prepare itself for the coming resurrection, brought about by the impending rains.  We have had one brief thunderstorm in the past 2 weeks and this is surely a precursor to the changing weather patterns in the days that follow.  For now though, the game viewing is at its peak.  September is one of the best times to visit the bush – the vegetation is low allowing maximum visibility and the animals need for water is at its greatest.  Elephants have been making daily voyages to the watering hole in front of bush lodge and the warmer days have brought back some of our migratory birds.  Yet more birds are beginning to moult their drab eclipse plumages and begin to grow their breeding colours as they prepare for the annual courtship displays.

Close up of one of the beauiful lioness in the southern pride

No doubt a lot of you will be keen to catch up on the main players in our corner of paradise.  We’ll start with the big news, and also the saddest, although it comes as no surprise to those of us witnessing the script unfolding.  After weeks of running, the inevitable has finally caught up with the Southern Pride and one of their cubs has been lost to the wrath of the Kruger males.  We watched perplexed as the males were seen fairly recently eating with and interacting with the cubs; leading us to think that perhaps the females’ promiscuous tendencies has been rewarded and that the males had been duped into believing that the cubs were theirs.  However, it seems that the lure of food and potentially receptive females merely prolonged the confrontation that unfolded.

The 2 Kruger males contemplate the next move in their hostile take over

One of the lucky ones takes advantage of high ground as they put distance between themselves and the males

The lionesses stretching after a brief rest during their evacuation

As is usually the way, we were not there to witness the act itself and many emotions were felt by all when the call came in that a dead cub had been seen close to where one of the males had been hiding.  However, as the day continued, more evidence was discovered as to the course of events that had unfolded the night before.  The other male was found with huge gashes on his back legs, no doubt inflicted by the females as they valiantly fought to save their offspring. To administer such wounds to a full grown male is not easy and evidence of this was seen later when the remaining females and cubs were found far away from the battlefield.  It seems that the female with the floppy ear, known as Mandleve, had run distraction and sustained some nasty injuries to her paw.  Although not a matriarchal society, our pride often looks to her, as the most experienced lioness, for guidance and it comes as no surprise that she was one adopting the role of protector.  From the look of it, both parties will recover, as in the wild animals heal quickly – a necessary adaptation to ensure future survival.  It seems losses on the prides’ side numbered only one and the rest of the pride was able to escape.  Now that the males have entered the playing field however, the chances of survival for the remaining 9 seem slimmer than ever.

And then there were 9....

Display of motherly affection as pride reaffirms its social bonds

Lioness reflected in the water at sunset

This cycle we have also been afforded a rare glimpse of the wild dogs once more.  Since the pups have started to mature they have been accompanying the adults on their ceaseless hunt.  Their endless roaming in search of food to feed their voracious appetite brought them back to Sabi Sabi, even if only briefly.  Those of you that have viewed wild dogs before will know that a sighting is chaotic as we try to keep a visual of them as they tear through the bush.  This one was no different and when we finally caught up them, we managed to catch a glimpse of them finishing off their latest victim: a common duiker.  With 6 adults and 6 pups, the duiker was finished off inside 10 minutes!  The communal regurgitating of food followed, as did the playful social bonding that often follows a successful hunt resembling warriors celebrating a fruitful campaign.  The following day they had disappeared and we wait with impatience for their future return.

The dogs playing together after their duiker kill

Submissive behaviour being exhibited by a lower ranking dog

Leopards, in my humble opinion, the most beautiful mammal walking the planet today, are in short supply at the moment.  But our interpretation of the word ‘short’ means maybe one sighting every 3 game drives – we truly are spoilt in this area!  Nottens and the Selati male have been spending a lot of time in the north of the reserve, often crossing our boundary in the process.  However, they have been regularly together and it seems that the apron strings have yet to be cut.  She is still providing her offspring with food but is now more inclined to ensure that she is satiated before allowing her cub to feed.

The selati male carefully watching the hyenas circle below his bushbuck kill

Xihangalas has been an enigma of late and only seen once or twice in the last month.  In his absence a new male has entered the area around Bush lodge and whilst he truly is a magnificent specimen, his habituation levels, during the daylight hours at least, have caused us some frustrations.  Xihangalas was seen this morning and we hope that he banishes the new kid on the block with immediate effect!

Our huge new leopard's eyes bore down the camera lens

Those of you that have visited Sabi Sabi know all too well that the rhino population is booming in this area and they continue to be viewed daily.  Currently we have 2 young calves of around 3 months of age and they are constantly pushing the boundaries of their curiosity.  With the mothers’ levels of habituation, the calves are becoming more and more bold and are even beginning to approach and investigate the land rovers unaccompanied.  

Territorial bull rhino evaluating the land rover and any threat we might pose

3 month old calf boldly approaches us while Mum remains oblivious

Giraffe and zebra have also returned although sighting of these honorary members of the big 7 are still difficult to come by.  They are every guest’s favourite and its no wonder looking at the beautiful patterns of a zebra’s stripes and the elegance of the giraffe as they glide through the savanna.  Theories as to the scarceness of the zebra are unsubstantiated but the general consensus is that the grazing value of the veld was dramatically reduced after the floods of 2000, with many of the nutrients washed away.  Animals must have sustainable resources to remain in an area and with a poor food supply; the carrying capacity has dropped dramatically.

Giraffe's eye view

Male zebra regards us with interest

The smaller things are also a major draw card; none more so than the striking saddle billed stork and the adorable dwarf mongoose.  The latter gave us a great display as they frolicked on a tree stump during their morning grooming session.  We were also lucky enough to get up close and personal with their companion, a yellow billed hornbill who was so relaxed around us I even lay on the floor to get a great perspective for a picture!  There have also been some great raptor sightings of late, with African hawk eagle, African cuckoo hawk, lesser spotted eagle and the sublime Martial eagle making appearances.

Dwarf mongooses survey the surroundings before embarking on another day's scavenging 

Rare sighting of the stunning saddle billed stork



Yellow billed hornbill at ground level

The migratory birds are beginning to arrive in drips and drabs as the days lengthen and thus far red breasted and lesser striped swallows have returned and the Wahlberg’s eagle’s mating call is echoing around the reserve.  These amazing birds return to the same exact nest they used the previous year after spending the winter in central and northern Africa!  And we consider ourselves sophisticated with the advent of the GPS?!

That’s all for now but I will keep you posted (if you excuse the pun) on the lion situation as soon as I know more!!



Leopard vs Porcupine: The Inside Story

Its not often I have the inclination to put up 2 blog entries so close together but every now and again a sighting comes along that justifies its sharing.  The drive started off with a stunning sighting of a female and her calf drinking from a waterhole.  I was able to position the land rover to get a great view of them quenching their thirst, reflected perfectly in the still waters. 

Mother and calf reflected in the water hole

           Then, as the African sun sank slowly over the horizon, we got the call that the grand daddy of the leopards in the area, known as Sand River, had just killed a porcupine.  It’s not often that you see this elusive spiny member of our nocturnal contingent and tonight afforded us the most graphic sight I have ever witnessed.  People always ask about the techniques used to quell such a well armoured foe and the answer is always the same: carefully!  Typically, the leopard must flip over the porcupine in order to expose the softer underbelly.  This Sand River did perfectly.  Having avoided any unpleasant encounters with the walking pincushion, he settled down to eat. 

                However, undisturbed meals in the bush are rare and with senses bordering on precognition, the hyenas soon honed in on the leopard’s dinner.  Unprepared to relinquish this evening’s nutritional treat, Sand River stood his ground, faced the competition and let out a menacing, guttural growl toward at his tormentors.  His aggression was unheeded though, and the hyenas continued their advance, minds focused solely on stealing the prickly prize.  Out numbered and out-jawed, the leopard had to take evasive action.  His gripped the porcupine in his jaws and headed for the nearest tree.  In front of one of the vehicles, he hauled the awkward meal into the branches, unperturbed by the myriad of spines that now dug into his paws and chest as he scaled the trunk to safety.

With the porcupine in his jaws, Sand River scales a marula tree

Sand River gleefully tucks into the porcupine's internal organs

          The hyenas circled the tree like sharks, chattering with excitement as they willed the leopard to drop his folly.  The leopard, now safe, was able to enjoy his food in peace.  His scissor like carnassial teeth swiftly opened the soft under parts and the hyenas’ bloodlust was briefly satisfied when a shower of entrails sloshed graphically on the ground among them.  The internal organs are the softest and most nutritional part of the animal and we watched with a grotesque fascination as the leopard ate liver, intestines and the finally the colon, looking like a starved Italian as he sucked up the organ like spaghetti, the contents of the colon being squeezed unceremoniously from its casing like a tube of toothpaste! 

              


Sand River stands proud and satisfied after his porcupine dinner



Sand River looking on as the hyenas gather



          After lining his own stomach, he set about the unpleasant job of removing the spines embedded in his paws and chest from the climb before finding a comfy position in the tree to digest and reflect on another successful hunt.  What a way to end the evening!

Eternal Enemies

       

          The beauty of a non fenced reserve is the element of surprise.  At any moment, any animals can turn up, and therein lies the fascination and intrigue of this job.  The other day, we discovered an adult male lion and 2 younger males on a fresh buffalo kill.  For the next 3 days we watched these huge cats gorge themselves to bursting point.  A male can put away 30-40kgs in a sitting and their comical appearance resembling that of having swallowed a pair of beach balls gave us plenty of amusement.

Male lion repels another hyena raid on his hard earned buffalo kill

          The presence of a large kill brought with it the inevitable hyena party.  At its peak, numbers reached about 30, yet none of them were bold enough, or stupid enough to try and steal a morsel from the ferocious diners.  Each time they plucked up the courage to form a raiding party, they were sent scurrying by the biggest of the males.  Ultimately, the coalition finished off every palatable item and the hyenas were left looking forlorn and miserable as they scrabbled over the scarce remains with the vultures.

3 hyenas keep their distance from th buffalo carcass

          Some lucky guests at Selati witnessed the wrath of the hyena gang late one night when they had an all out war with our group of females and cubs.  By all accounts, about 35 hyenas took on the lionesses, and this time they came out on top, stealing a fresh zebra kill from the females, sending them scattering all directions.  With this harassment and the presence of males that posed a threat to the cubs, the lionesses have once again retreated to the safety of the southern section of the reserve.  Sightings of them have continued to be good and all 10 cubs still continue to defy all the odds.

Blood drips from the mouth of one of the lionesses on a fresh zebra kill

The lionesses scan the horizon for their next meal

The next generation being led to less dangerous ground

3 of the lionesses keep a close eye on proceedings as they move to a new hunting ground

           It is hard not to get too attached to the animals when you spend hours every day watching them go about their daily lives.  We are privileged to watch the younger members of the community grow up in their natural habitat and we share their trails and tribulations during their battle for survival.  There is no more poignant case at the moment than that of our young male leopard.  After his torrid beginning of just escaping the same fate that befell his brother (death at the jaws of the Xihangalas, the dominant male) he has matured into a handsome young specimen.  In the last 2 weeks he has come of age and we have seen him kill his first impala with his bare claws.  The most traumatic period of his life is behind him with the arrival of adulthood but with his impending abandonment by his mother, his next test has just begun. The life of a leopard is hard and lonely and we all have or fingers crossed that his hunting skills have been sufficiently honed to see him through.

Xihangalas monitoring his territory from the vantage point of one of the many termite mounds

          In other news on the reserve, the wild dogs have since move on with their cubs and have not been seen in the last few weeks.  The den site stands empty but we still live in hope that they will return in time.  As usual, the beauty of the open system has compensated for their loss and we have had regular sightings of a huge buffalo herd with numbers estimated in the 700s cutting a swathe through the bush.  We are all waiting for the lions to discover this feast but thus far they have been left to their own devices.  It’s still very impressive to be sat in a sea of buffalo as they cruise past the car; it feels like you have been accepted into the herd. 

Buffalo bull gives the 'bank manager' stare

One of the last looks at the wild dogs before their departure

Enthousiastic young rhino gallops through the grass

          There have been some interesting happenings on the feathered front also, with confirmed sightings of woodlands kingfisher, wood sandpiper and red breasted swallows in the last week.  All 3 are migrants and not expected to return until October.  Perhaps the climate changes are finally manifesting in their behavior or maybe they just set their watch wrong this year?!  Only time will tell…

Close up of the fork tailed drongo as he follws the land rover looking for insects flushed from the grass by the tires 

Co operative breeding group of the beautiful magpie shrikes



Leaps of Leopards

As most of you know by now, Sabi Sabi is renound for its leopard sightings.  Having just returned from a month off getting married and enjoying a honeymoon in Bali, I was eager to watch these gorgeous animals prowling around their domain once more.  What has transpired since my return has been more than I could have ever expected.  The main players once again have been these sleek enigmas of the African night. 

Last week we found the female known as Nottens and her now 18 month old cub, Selati, in a jackelberry tree with an impala kill.  We were lucky enough to get a good view of the male gorging himself on the remains of the carcass.  His experience is growing by the day and is starting to become more and more independent.  He is still being provided for by his mother but has recently been seen taking out a scrub hare on his own so he is maturing nicely.  We try not to get too attached to these animals but watching them learn these life lessons, it is hard not to!

The Selati male keeps a keen eye out as he enjoys his impala breakfast

The Selati male reaping the rewards of his mother's hunt

                Later that night, the dominant male of the area, Xihangalas, no doubt attracted by the smell of fresh blood on the air, arrived at the kill sight and muscled his way into action, chasing the 2 smaller leopards away.  Both showed incredible boldness or perhaps stupidity and stayed close to the kill in case his majesty let any tit bits slip from his grasp.  Let’s not forget that this same male was responsible for killing Nottens’ other cub last year and will have no issues in chalking up another victim should the Selati male stray too close. 

Xihangalas' barbed penis, used to stimulate ovulation, causes the female to lash out as he bids a hasty retreat from her wrath

                The next morning we found Xihangalas and another female next to the water close by engaged in mating activities and to our surprise, Nottens watching close by.  She was not trying to get involved but I presume merely watching the events unfold and keeping an eye on Xihangalas and his intentions towards her cub.  To see 3 leopards together twice in 2 days is special enough but when Selati wandered into the mix to make it 4, we knew we were witnessing something special.  Xihangalas chased Selati up a tree with Nottens trying to run interference.  Thankfully he seemed more preoccupied with his nuptials with the other female that he failed to hammer home his size and weight advantage.  What a way to start the cycle though!

                As if that wasn’t enough, a few days later, we found the Lisbon female with a waterbuck kill in the south.  No sooner had she choked out her victim, a hyena ambled into the equation and casually stole her spoils.  Disconsolate, she settled in a tamboti thicket to watch her prize being consumed.  Shortly after, she was joined by a male and young female!  The new female hasn’t been seen before and she was intent on mating with the male, presenting herself to him at every given opportunity but he was having none of it.  Perhaps she was too young still and her promiscuous demeanor was her way of saving herself a hiding from the male.  Again, a spectacular sighting!

The un-named male from the south shows his contempt towards a young female's advances

                The lion cubs continue to be a great source of amusement most days; their playful behavior so important in developing the skills necessary for life as an adult.  Against all odds, the 10 cubs seem to be doing well, even with the absence of a dominant male to protect them from rogue male lions.  Time will tell if they can continue to cheat fate but their chances of reaching maturity still look grim.  The females within the southern pride have proved themselves before though, with 8 cubs from their last litter now successfully independent!

Two of the cubs locked in an embrace as play continues to dominate their days



One of the cubs delivers a flying headbutt to his sibling during another bout of play



One of the females from the southern pride flaunting her fearsome assets!



The cubs are beginning to develop their tree climbling skills



Lovely silhouette shot of the cubs bathed in the spotlight from another game viewer

 

                This entry would not be complete without a mention of the wild dogs, who are, for the time being anyway, denning close to Earth Lodge with 6 pups.  We had not seen them for 3 or 4 months until last week but we are now enjoying daily sightings of Southern Africa’s most endangered and efficient predators.  The other day, they took out a sub adult male nyala on the lawn of room 7 at earth lodge and we all had front row seats to the carnage that ensued.  Within the hours, nothing was left of the poor nyala except skin and bones.  The animals in that section cannot rest easy though as wild dogs’ exceptionally high metabolism means that 2 or 3 kills a day are not uncommon!

One of the wild dogs caked in blood after eating a nyala in front of Earth Lodge

                Other highlights to mention are a brand new rhino calf that I found a few days ago.  Three days prior to the sighting we had discovered the placenta from a recently born rhino in a drainage line, its presence given away by nature’s clean up crew – hooded vultures, bataleur and tawny eagles congregating in the trees above.  I have never seen such a small rhino – a 3 day old looks like a medium sized wart hog and we watched entranced as it suckled from the mother, sometimes confusing the location of the teats and scratching around in her armpit instead!  With dinner plate sized feet, his constant unsteadiness and stumbling antics had us engrossed for quite some time before they moved into thick bush.  An incredibly rare sighting of caracal also deserves a mention.

A lilac breasted roller coming into land after an aerial hunting sallie

A rare picture of the nocturnal white tailed mongoose

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Rhino Scorned

Another week in the bush has flown by.  Winter is most definitely here now and those of you that have never been to South Africa will not comprehend that it is possible to be so cold in the sub tropics!  Mornings now are between 1 and 3 degrees on average and guests are very grateful for the inclusion of blankets and hot water bottles in the land rovers.  The wind chill is biting when there is no roof or windows and chapped lips, streaming eyes and frozen ears are becoming par for the course!  The bush is also drying out now as we expect no more rain before October.  The vibrant greens and colours of summer are long behind us now and have been replaced by shades of yellow, orange and brown as the bush begins its annual torpor.  This is fire season and smoke has been spotted in neighbouring reserves often over the last few days.  Thankfully we have avoided any thus far but we are under no illusions that the fire fighting team of us, the lodge personnel, will be called into action soon.

                The sightings are also picking up as the trees are losing their leaves and the visibility improves.  The lion cubs have been seen regularly and all 10 balls of playful fluff are entertaining us on an almost daily basis.  The mothers hunting has also improved as they camp out by the river waiting for the unwitting animals to approach the river for water during this dry time.  In the past few days they have killed 2 buffalo and all are looking in great shape.  Winter is a great time for predators as the lack of food and scarcity of water mean that the herbivores are loosing condition and taking more chances to find nature’s elixir, water.



1 of the young lion cubs swots his sibling bathed in morning sunlight

                     We also had a great sighting of the original dominant male leopard of the area, known as Sand River, one night.  He has been patrolling his old stomping ground looking for the female that hangs out around Little Bush Camp.  It seems as if she has lost her cub and is now back in estrus and the males of the area are trying to pinpoint her location to mate with her once again.  Sand River still looks as if he is blind in one eye but is still in great shape and oozed confidence as he walked past our land rover.

An intimidating walk past from the big guy

Sand River searching out the Little Bush female

Sand River's opaque right eyes seems not to be hampering his hunting ability

                A large herd of elephants was also seen in front of Selati camp the other day and we watched them at sunset as they strode over to the water to drink.  During the winter, these giants need about 120 litres of water a day and will be a regular sighting around the pans on the reserve.  We were looking into the sunset so photos were difficult and the only way to get an acceptable image was to give it a sepia finish.

Some of the large herd of elephant drinking in front of Selati 

                     In other news, a new male leopard has been spotted on our reserve and we watch with anticipation what his arrival will do to upset the already rather unstable apple cart.  One of our guides, Jonas, also witnessed 2 lesser bush babies mating one evening and there have been a few porcupine sightings of late.  It is rare to see these secretive nocturnal pin cushions but there have been about 4 or 5 sightings in the last week!  Not to mention a plethora of beautiful sunrises and sunsets!!

Sunrise in the lowveld - what more is there to say?



The undoubted biggest story of the last week came about when I was doing a mentored training walk.  The premise is simple – purposely walk into, view and extract from a sighting involving one of the big 5.  These approaches are an essential part of the on going training of the guides at Sabi Sabi as walking safaris are offered on a daily basis and the more experience we can gather, the better prepared we are to deal with a potentially dangerous situation.  I was leading the walk with Alistair as my back up as we headed out into the bush for a few hours.  Soon after leaving the lodge, we heard the trumpeting of elephants north of us so made a cautious approach to their approximate location.

                All went well and I spotted one of the females through a thicket of bushes about 50m from the road.  The wind direction was swirling and thus it was very difficult to decide on a safe approach.  While we were debating our next move, the herd suddenly changed direction and started making directly towards us on the road.  Swiftly we decided to head north of them and try to get to an open area where at least our surroundings could be monitored more safely.  Once there we were rewarded with a far safer view point to watch the herd as they milled about feeding.  We also spotted 2 rhino in the distance so decided to cross the drainage line to get another approach in the bag.  I left Alistair to look after the others while I went into the river bed to ensure that there were no surprises waiting for us inside.  After 5 minutes or so I returned to find the rest of the group hiding behind the bushes.  It seemed that in my absence, a mother and calf had ventured back and crossed the road about 30m from where I left them!

                In light of the still confusing wind and the erratic nature of the elephants’ movements we decided that discretion was the better part of valour and quickly made our way through the drainage line to the rhinos.  We were able to do a good approach on the 2 females and watched them from about 40m before deciding it was time to head back as the sun was now low in the sky.  As we extracted back towards the road the females broke into a run.  Fearing that they had been alerted to our presence, we took refuge behind a bush and waited to see what had spooked them.  Our initial thoughts that we were the cause of their flight were dashed when a huge male rhino strode into view.  We all recognized him instantly as he has only half a left ear and our adrenaline levels rose as one.  We know him well on Sabi Sabi – on his own, he is generally very placid and easily approachable but when females are placed in the mix, he becomes very aggressive and protective of his ladies.

                To make maters worse, the wind changed and so did his body language.  He checked his advance on the females and sniffed the air.  The sun was setting directly behind him and we were given a beautiful view of him on the crest of the open area but then the sun was soon blotted out by his massive figure as he made a beeline to where we were hiding. How dare some human intruders get in the way of his courtship?!  All of a sudden, the situation had become more serious.  Our escape route had been cut off, the light was fading and we now had a male rhino hot on our heels!  Having very little option left, we agreed to move fast.  Alistair was to lead the others back to the drainage line and I would bring up the rear as a last line of defense in case the rhino decided to charge.  We kept low as we half jogged across the 50m of open ground to the shelter of the riverbed with the rhino still quickly closing ground.  This was straight back towards the elephant herd, and we were all praying that we wouldn’t find them waiting for us.  Alistair slipped down the bank first, swiftly followed by the others and as I came down last, the rhino was now 20m and closing.  Thankfully, the riverbed was empty and we bid a very hasty exit away from the area, checking behind us every few steps to ensure our jealous bull didn’t decide to follow us down.  Thankfully he chose to remain on the bank, seemingly happy that he had scared off any competition.  Because of the failing light, we frog marched back to the lodge, arriving well after sunset, thankfully not encountering anything else on the way!  It was a scary situation but a good lesson that things can change at any time and to expect the unexpected!