WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA PAMUSHANA, ZIMBABWE For the month of October, Two Thousand and Eighteen

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1 WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA PAMUSHANA, ZIMBABWE For the month of October, Two Thousand and Eighteen Temperature Rainfall Recorded Sunrise & Sunset Average minimum: 17,2 C (62,9 F) For the month: 2,5 mm Sunrise: 05:11 Minimum recorded: 13,5 C (56,3 F) For the year to date: mm Sunset: 18:03 Average maximum: 31,3 C (88,3 F) Maximum recorded: 37,3 C (99,1 F) October is an excellent month for safaris as it s nearing the end of the dry season and water sources are few and far between. All you need do is bide your time at a permanent waterhole and you are bound to see some action. On the 10th Tengwe Siabwanda s guests didn t have to wait long at all this is his report, We had our sundowners at Whata Pan and within ten minutes four of the Big Five came to drink: three elephant bulls, two lionesses, thirteen white rhinos, one black rhino and one leopard.

2 Here s a Sightings Snapshot for October: Rhinos Rhino sightings are as awesome as always. Guests spending the afternoon and evening in the hide saw more than 25 white rhinos come and drink at the pan. A most endearing sighting was of a white rhino calf, less than a week old, stumbling around under the watchful eye of the mother. An extremely lucky boat cruise notched up five different sightings of black rhinos on the shore. Lions The five members of the Southern Pride have added three little cubs to their team. They have been feasting on buffalos and killed six in less than six weeks! The 12 members of the River Pride are thriving. A member of the Northern Pride killed a buffalo but a lurking hyena called for reinforcements and in less than ten minutes there were over 20 hyenas surrounding the lion. They attacked and took over the kill. After viewing ten rhinos drinking in the dark guests and their guide were surprised to see three lions drinking at the pan too. They d snuck into the scene without a sound, and it was only the safari vehicle s lights that gave them away. Another highlight was watching two lionesses stalk a young waterbuck while guests were on a boat cruise. Leopards Leopard sightings have been good, including seeing a pair of leopards. A crowning moment was a leopard enjoying its meal up a tree and four hyenas at the bottom waiting for scraps to rain down.

3 Cheetah The two male cheetahs were spotted again this month, favouring the open hunting grounds of the airstrip. Hyenas The suspected hyena den-site along Hunter s Road was confirmed with the appearance of some very small cubs there. A clan of 16 hyenas were seen feeding on a wildebeest carcass. Hyenas were mating in the waters of a pan, with a third one trying to interfere, and while all this was going on an elephant bull was bathing in the mud! Wild dogs The pack of eight adults and seven puppies are still on the property. One action-packed sighting was of them chasing and killing a young nyala, while hyenas tried to muscle in on the action. Elephants There are good amounts of bulls around, and breeding herds of up to 70 have been seen along the river. A couple of the bulls are doing themselves no favours as they insist on pulverising some of the large mountain acacia trees. Buffalos The buffalo population is burgeoning. We have seen one breeding herd that has about 700 individuals in it. Plains game Excellent numbers of impala, zebra, and giraffe abound. We ve also had some very good sightings of the rare antelope such as sable and Lichtenstein hartebeest. A herd of 12 sable was seen at a pan and three Lichtenstein hartebeest with a very small calf were spotted.

4 Rare sightings An African wild cat and a Selous mongoose trying to catch a scrub hare. A Cape clawless otter walking on the Chiredzi River drainage line. Birds One of the highlights was a fish eagle taking a tigerfish. A detailed story titled Twitching follows herein. Fishing Good catches of bream and tiger are being had thanks to the warm waters. Boat cruises Sunset cruises have been so productive in terms of wildlife sightings thanks to the heat and dryness drawing many animals to drink along the shoreline. Rock art The rock art is easily accessible by foot at this time of year and many guests have taken the opportunity to see it. Walks in the wild Our guides love nothing more than taking guests on foot to see the tiny details of the landscape, as well as the large wildlife it supports. Day trips and community visits Guests have participated in day trips to Gonarezhou National Park as well as tours of Kambako the Living Museum of Bushcraft. Some exciting and informative Bush Stories follow, as well as an October Gallery of images.

5 Safely to the other side By Tyme Mutema During the afternoon game drive we headed west towards the Chiredzi River, hoping to catch up with the pack of wild dogs we had left there from that same morning s drive. As we drove along the river bank we were delighted to spot the whole pack of 15 dogs. They are eight adults and seven puppies, and all were relaxed and napping in the riverbed, under the shade of the Natal mahogany trees. We viewed them for close to an hour and, as the temperature cooled, the puppies started to become restless. The energetic youngsters played and begged for food from the adults and we knew that anytime soon the adults would be pressured into going to seek a meal. It looked as if the hunters wanted to cross the river and try their luck on the eastern side in an area where prey is more abundant. We worried if this was going to be safe for them and the pups as the river is infested with crocodiles. The adults, led by one of the alphas, in a spearhead formation, crossed the shallows to an island area. Suddenly an energetic game of tag erupted and they darted back and forth nipping each other playfully. This went on for about ten minutes until they crossed the deeper channel. All the while the pups watched and stayed in the riverbed with one of the adults who was on babysitting duty. Then tentatively, and again led in spearhead formation by the babysitter, they crossed the shallows and then the deeper channel, in a mad splashy dash, exactly where the rest of the pack had crossed. It was phenomenal to watch such a spectacular sighting and to see all the precious members of these critically endangered wild dogs reach the other side safely!

6 The adults enjoy a wild game of tag. This sort of play forms an excellent warm-up and stretching session for the hunting forays that follow. Tentatively, and in spearhead formation, they cross the shallows led by one of the alpha dogs.

7 The adults play in the shallows, convincing the puppies that all is safe. The puppies follow the babysitting adult, in spearhead formation. The babysitter leads the pups in a mad dash across the deepest part.

8 The giants of Whata Pan By Tengwe Siabwanda A young bull quenches his thirst, but a larger bull soon approaches to muscle in.

9 Whata Pan has become a hot spot for every guide these days. Sitting inside the cool sunken photo hide or stopping nearby for sundowners is so rewarding. With the high temperature we are experiencing this month lots of animals like elephants, rhinos, buffalos, plains game and sometimes lions and other predators come to drink. By mid-morning and late afternoon Whata is pumping as we say, with different species of animals coming for a drink and mud bath. Animals like warthogs, impalas and black-backed jackals are nervous when they approach the waterhole - they are even spooked by flying birds. They sometimes walk in circles sniffing the air checking for scent from predators, they take ages before they drink, and if they are not comfortable they leave without drinking. Jackals will take a few licks and lift their heads checking for danger. Different species of beautiful birds come to drink and the small ones erupt in different directions when a hawk flies over. The heavyweights at the waterhole are undoubtedly the bull elephants, but a pecking order exists among them whereby the bigger older bulls hold more sway. As the larger bull arrives and starts to drink, the younger one tentatively reaches out to it with his trunk in a friendly submissive gesture. In return for his good manners he gets squirted with water!

10 The both leave the area as companions, escorted by turtle doves. Mother Nature s guidance By Jephat Diza As a guide you wake up each morning not knowing what Mother Nature has in store for you. We see the same species of animals every day but the secret surprise is in their different characteristics and behaviour. As a guide you rely heavily on instinct, and the route we choose for each drive is at Mother Nature s direction. I believe Mother Nature always wants to show us her power and glory, and by doing so we learn new things every day. It s the reason we never get tired of getting up every morning. One morning we took a drive north towards Manyuchi Pan, but before we get there we saw a hyena just standing in the bushes. We wondered what was happening, and as we got closer the number of hyenas increased. The first one we had seen remained at the same spot and suddenly made a loud call. Within seconds her adolescent cubs arrived and we were shocked to see the cubs excitedly start eating some meat that was covered up on the ground. The mother had been guarding the meat from the others for her cubs! As we were watching these hyenas we heard lion audio a short distance away but we ignored it because of the interesting interaction happening with the hyenas. A while later we carried on towards the lion calls and found two magnificent lionesses lying on a termite mound. A professional photographer was with us and we inched into the ideal position for photography. The weather and lighting was just perfect for shooting and there was silence in the vehicle except for the clicks of the camera. She gave us a few lessons on how to shoot in different light and with different exposures. The background of the lion sighting was so beautiful with the tall mopane woodland and rich metallic colours. When we left the lionesses were still contact calling, and we assume they were trying to relocate the other members of their pride. What a privilege it is to witness the endless cycle of life.

11 The hyena adolescent cubs relish the scraps of meat that had been kept for them. The golden lionesses on their throne, surveying their kingdom.

12 Twitching By Mark Friend I had the great pleasure of guiding keen birders, Carolyn and Christopher Griffith, recently. They left with seeing a total of 199 bird species. On their lifer list we notched up a Stierling s barred wren-warbler and a burnt-necked eremomela. It s amazing how much wildlife you see when birding. By just sitting quietly sightings seem to come to you! Apart from all the game we enjoyed excellent birds which included a white-throated robin-chat, swallow-tailed bee-eaters, lesser and greater honeyguides, a yellow-fronted tinkerbird, Arnot s chat, racket-tailed roller, nesting trumpeter hornbills, a crowned eagle, greater painted-snipes, nesting grey herons, yellow-throated longclaws, a Meyer s parrot, a bearded scrub robin, green pigeons, southern pied babblers, a secretary bird, purple herons, black-crowned night herons, common moorhens as well as a pale and ashy flycatcher. We got to see and photograph several different owl species which included the Pel s fishing owl, Verreaux s eagle-owl, scops owl, spotted eagle-owl, southern white-faced owl, barn owl, pearl-spotted owlet and barred owlet. The two Pel s fishing owls were calling right above us on the Chiredzi River. We even got to watch and photograph a giant eagle-owl swoop and kill a sleeping go-away-bird and later the barred owlet swooped down in front of us and killed a gecko. The barn owl turned out to be a meal for an African harrier hawk that had plucked it from a hollow in a tree. We did a fantastic all day trip to Gonarezhou National Park where the highlight sightings were of a kori bustard, capped wheatear, streaky-headed seedeater, rufous-cheeked nightjar and white-fronted plover. Birding is such a wonderful hobby. The big ticks are very exciting, but there is just as much joy in watching the common birds such as these doves and queleas coming to drink at a waterhole.

13 Carolyn and Christopher Griffith kindly shared the photographs on this page, that they took. They are (left to right, top to bottom): Spotted eagle-owl, Verreaux s eagle-owl Arnot s chat, Pel s fishing owls African barred owlet, yellow-throated longclaw

14 October Gallery A bull elephant tramps through the dry vegetation on well-padded feet. A female boomslang avoids being trampled by keeping a lookout for all forms of danger.

15 A bull buffalo cools his hooves as he drinks from a pan, while oxpeckers hang on for a quick drink and bath themselves. A white rhino can t resist the delights of a mud bath, and staggers out of the dam with a wavy watermark.

16 A young nyala lamb has its senses of sight, sound and smell on full alert. This cow rhino is instantly recognizable by her extraordinary horn. Her calf grazes besides her, and we suspect she ll have a new calf in the near future.

17 This mother was very protective of her new little calf and soon ushered it off into the cloak of grass. Written and photographed by Jenny Hishin, unless otherwise indicated Singita Pamushana Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve Zimbabwe Thirty-first of October 2018