WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA PAMUSHANA, ZIMBABWE For the month of May, Two Thousand and Sixteen

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1 WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA PAMUSHANA, ZIMBABWE For the month of May, Two Thousand and Sixteen Temperature Rainfall Recorded Sunrise & Sunset Average minimum: 15,2 C (72,6 F) For the month: 3 mm Sunrise: 06:23 Minimum recorded: 12,8 C (65,1 F) For the year to date: mm Sunset: 17:19 Average maximum: 26,8 C (91,9 F) Maximum recorded: 30,7 C (103,4 F) Winter is here! The early mornings are freezing! Well, that's possibly an exaggeration - our minimum recorded low was 12,8 C (65,1 F) which is a balmy day in many areas of the world, but for us in sunny southern Africa it means pulling on a fleece and a jacket when setting out on a sunrise safari. Here's what was happening in May: Lions One of a coalition of two male lions was seen mating with a lioness. One of the other coalitions of three male lions was seen biding their time - a story about them follows... Guests hopped off the game-viewer for morning coffee at Chikwete cliffs while their view included two lions drinking from the river below and retiring to the shade just below the cliffs.

2 Cheetahs We've had some good and always lucky cheetah sightings, especially of two males. A highlight was finding a young female cheetah that we have never seen before. She was very shy and did not stick around for long; but how wonderful it is that she's here. Leopards These sightings have been good by our standards - especially when a couple of game-viewers with guests were able to watch a male leopard for quite some time as he drank from a pan and relaxed near the water's edge. We were delighted to see a flash of a female leopard with a cub one evening - but she quickly hid herself and her little one. The male in this photo strolled along, scent-marking the bushes and leaving his imposing claw marks on the trees' trunks that lined the road, warning any other male leopards that this territory was his. Wild dogs The alpha female of the wild dog pack that's currently on the reserve couldn't look more pregnant - see the photo of her alongside. She will be giving birth to her pups at any second if she hasn't already. This is tremendously exciting for us, especially because we've seen the pack hunting in our heartland. Hopefully she will den nearby and we can enjoy regular sightings of these awesome, yet highly endangered carnivores. Photo by Mark Saunders Hyenas We've had good sightings of hyenas coming and going on our access road, so they too must have a den nearby. A highlight, especially for the hyena, was when it stole an impala carcass from a male leopard and gobbled it up while the leopard watched from a distance, in bristling yet contained fury.

3 Rhinos One morning's sightings report states, It was a rhino day with a total of eleven white rhinos feeding along the river loop." Other highlights were six white rhinos drinking together from a pan. If white rhinos are spotted a 'walkable' distance from the road our guides will often invite guests to do an approach on foot. This not only preserves the vegetation by unnecessarily driving over it and possibly damaging saplings and squashing insects, but it gives safari-goers a far more intimate and natural experience. The ideal outcome is to approach within a distance that you have a good view, but the animal is unaware of your presence and therefore not disturbed in any way. Elephants Excellent sightings of breeding herds and bulls - especially of bulls swimming at Sosigi Dam. Photos of one such joyous event follow... Buffalo Thanks to the good grass at the moment we are seeing massive congregations of buffaloes. In some cases we've estimated up to 600 hundred together. One group of guests went for a picnic lunch on our platform that overlooks Nduna Dam. In due course a herd of around 400 buffalo came to drink there, while hippos and crocodiles lazed in the sun. Plains game Brilliant sightings of plains game - especially on the open grasslands. At times you can look all around, from the same spot, and see buffaloes, elephants, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest and impala. Elusive highlights that have been seen this month include a large sable bull and some hartebeest. Specials It's not part of our ethos to chase after the "Big 5" on a drive, but when it naturally works out that way it's worthy of a few high-fives between guides and trackers. Here's the logged report: "Epic afternoon, Big 5 in one drive - we started with an elephant bull close to the range, then six lions east of the bridge, a crash of four

4 white rhinos followed, then a breeding herd of over 200 buffalo in the Banyini, and finally a relaxed female leopard at the junction." Sometimes our specials come from outer space! Guests got to one of our photo hides at a pan and all was quiet. Drinks were poured and a black rhino appeared from the thickets, followed by two elephant bulls, three white rhinos and a hyena. As they were about to leave the sky lit up in a meteoric crescendo. Some birding highlights include a malachite kingfisher and a bat hawk. Fishing and boat cruises There have been some good fishing days - one outing's tally was six tigerfish. The sunset cruises have been lovely too with excellent birding guaranteed. Activities There've been several visits to the community as well as to Kambako where guests learn about ancient bushcraft and participate in the demonstrations. Bush walks have also been popular. It's wonderful to explore hidden areas between the rocky outcrops, see the rock art, find springs bubbling from the ground and observe all the finer details of wildlife. Masses of fun For some reason we often try and describe the behavioural motivational for something we might perceive as fun in animals - we ascribe it to learning hunting techniques, establishing dominance or strengthening muscles and so on, but I can assure you, with utmost certainty, that these two elephant bulls were having pure simple fun. A 'whale of a time' you might say! It was an absolute delight to watch! The sun was slipping below the treeline, we were parked on the bridge of Sosigi Dam, and the rest of the bulls were grazing in the riverbed. Knowing we were the only safari vehicle out we settled in for a good hour to enjoy the scene. They splashed, sploshed, sprayed and snorkelled. The game was clear - the aim was to wrestle, then get behind your opponent and jump on his hindquarters, effectively dunking him. A lone hippo in the background looked, rather nonplussed!

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7 Elephants are excellent swimmers as their massive bodies give them enough buoyancy to float easily. They use all four legs to paddle and use their trunk like a snorkel. Research suggests that elephants are great at swimming because they could have evolved from mammals like the sea cows - dugongs and manatees. This aquatic ancestry was revealed by the study of one embryo and six foetuses, ranging in age from 58 to 166 days old. All the elephant foetuses contained a physiological curiosity called a nephrostome. This is a funnel-shaped kidney duct found only in freshwater fish, frogs and egg-laying reptiles and mammals. The trunks appear extremely early on in foetal development, being shown in even the earliest embryo examined. Further embryonic evidence that elephants once swam is that, unlike other land-living mammals, they have internal testicles and always have done. Seals and whales also have internal testicles, but only acquired them when their land-living ancestors took to the seas 60 million years ago. Fossil evidence indicates that elephants left behind their aquatic life about 30 million years ago. Elephants in Africa have been recorded to travel a distance of 48 kilometres across water, and also swimming for six hours continuously. Experts believe that the elephants that live in Sri Lanka are the progeny of elephants that swam from Southern India across the sea. (Information from BBC News: Sci/Tech Early elephants used 'swimming trunks, 11 March 1999.) Pre-election race It seems we too have a pre-election situation here in the wild south. These three delegates have their teeth and claws set on the position of presidency. They way it works with lions is that males band together in what we call a coalition, and then try to take over the rule and mating rights of a pride of lionesses by fighting and driving off or killing the dominant males of the moment.

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9 Within a coalition there is a 'superdelegate' that's more dominant than the others. It's a winner-take-all situation as he should get the mating rights and the larger portion of kills - but it doesn't always work out like that and there is much tension and often conflict within these coalitions. From my observations of these lions I would say that the lion in the first photograph is the wiliest - he's big, strong, alert and not covered in too many scars. The second is the biggest, with the blackest mane (studies have shown black-maned lions are preferred over blonde-maned lions, by lionesses, possibly because they are stronger genetically). But he has many scars, wounds and injuries. He was limping badly here, and so while he may be the most aggressive he might not be the best at avoiding life-threatening violence. The third is handsome, blonde, hardly scarred and smaller in size and mane length. Who knows - he may end up being the smartest of the lot if the other two injure themselves too severely in a take-over bid. Their campaign has been a considered one - we've watched them grow, bond, become stronger and bolder in their movements. The days when they will run from the dominant males of the other prides are numbered and I suspect it won't be long before they rule. One of their prizes could be this lioness from the Hippo pride. She's a formidable hunter and in her prime. She would be the ideal mother to cubs and with a strong and stable coalition in place to protect the pride for a few years they d stand the best chance of survival. I would rather meet the three males on foot than her. Just look at her piercing-right-through-you stare! Lionesses seem far more aggressive than males, in general. They initiate more hunts and stand their ground or charge more readily than males. A lioness is most dangerous when she has cubs and will readily risk her life to protect and save them should she find man or beast is threatening them in any way.

10 Black and white and greens These two photos show the preferred habitat of black and white rhinos. Above the black rhino (Diceros bicornis) nimbly navigates rocky outcrops in search of the specific plants and leaves of bushes that form part of its diet. Below a white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) and her calf slowly wade through a sea of grass, mowing down large mouthfuls of it as they go.

11 Buffaloes en-masse We'd been travelling south for some time and all was rather quiet. We spotted this lone bull and decided to take a narrow side road to have a closer look. Continuing on this path after viewing him we rounded a bend and encountered what must have been a herd of about 600 buffaloes spread out in the mopane thickets. We heard them over the vehicle's engine well before we saw them, but among the general lowing of this vast herd was a repetitive and far more plaintive call that persisted. About half an hour later the mystery was resolved as the sound grew closer and, from the opposite direction, a calf came galloping through the masses and trotted up submissively, yet joyfully, to its mother. It must have got lost among the crowd and its mother searched frantically for it, calling all the while.

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13 Anything but plain Plains game is a general term for the range of antelope found on the plains of Africa. While they are found on plains they are anything but plain! It is so peaceful and tranquil to sit quietly and observe them feeding and interacting. The first photo shows the sunrise bursting through the trees and throwing shadows of wildebeest to the foreground. If you look closely at the zebra foal below you'll see he has a spot upon the stripes on his rump! The kudu cow soaked up her patch of sunlight.

14 Settle down We came upon this lone bull and he instantly reacted to our intrusion by picking up clods of earth with his trunk and hurling them in the air. We got the message. We settled down and sat quietly, and he then settled down and resumed feeding. He was making the most of the greenery, scooping trunkfuls of plants and flowers into his mouth. It's such a contrast to see fragile pink petals against his tough grey skin and ivory. Titanic battle Back at the lodge I nearly trod on these two rainbow skinks having an almighty battle. They would approach each other, wait, and then with astonishing speed launch an attack and try to toss the other in the air. It was too fast to capture but they sent leaves and soil flying each time. Interestingly it was a male and female in combat (the female has the blue tail) and I don't think it ended in success for the male because when I left them he had a wound at he base of his tail and she had his head firmly clamped in her jaws!

15 Written and photographed by Jenny Hishin Singita Pamushana Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve Zimbabwe 31 May 2016