Wildlife Report. For the month of February, Two Thousand and Fifteen. Samaki 33 mm Risiriba 152 mm

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1 Singita Grumeti Sasakwa & Faru Faru Lodges Serengeti House & Sabora Tented Camp Explore Mobile Tented Camp Tanzania (Photo by Adas Anthony) Wildlife Report For the month of February, Two Thousand and Fifteen Temperature and Wind Average maximum 32.1 C Average minimum 17.6 C Average wind speed.26 m/s Rainfall Recorded Sasakwa mm Sabora 74.5 mm Faru Faru 65 mm Samaki 33 mm Risiriba 152 mm February was marked by a larger than expected amount of rain. Hard and heavy evening downpours took place two or three times a week, cooling down the temperature in one of the typically warmest months of the year. The Nyati Plains was the place to be as hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of topi and zebra spread across the expanse for kilometres, with small pockets of eland and gazelle dotted amongst them. The 32- strong Butamtam Pride of lions was also quick to figure out that this was where the food was and they made the Nyati area their home, dispersed among different locations in their respective immediate family groups.

2 (Photo by Ryan Schmitt) Hyena antics (Photos by Adas Anthony) Another predator that benefitted from the game on the plains was the spotted hyena. These clever carnivores provided plenty of game-viewing action and, as per usual, when there is wildlife action, it s almost certain Field Guide, Adas Anthony, will be there! Adas was with guests driving on the southern side of the plains. Large herds of topi antelope spanned the area, lots of which, feeling tired from the heat of the mid-day sun, were lying down and getting some rest. Adas soon saw a hyena running with purpose across the plains and it soon reached a sleeping topi. The hyena instantaneously punctured the side of the topi with its powerful jaws.

3 The topi sprung up in terror and managed to free itself from the hyena s grip. The topi did not miss a beat and when the hyena came around to go at him again, Adas and guests watched in amazement as the topi thrust its horns at the hyena, stabbing its flesh and flipping it up into the air. Unfortunately for the topi, by the time he had dealt the blow to the hyena, another hyena had caught up, and this time the topi was not quick enough to fight the second one off. The first hyena got to its feet and the topi s fate was becoming clear as a third hyena closed in. The topi didn t go down without a more of a fight though, and as one of the hyenas gripped its jaws around the topi s leg, the topi swung its head around and bit the hyena s thigh as hard as it could. The hyenas killed the topi soon after, but not without incurring some injuries of their own. Adas aptly describes the event, It wasn t an easy kill. Everyone got hurt that day.

4 Snake versus mongoose (Photos by Adas Anthony) The smaller sightings in the bush can often be more exciting than anything else, as they remind us just how diverse and interesting and the African wildlife actually is, and that there is a lot more to see and experience here than just the Big 5. Adas and his guests had a unique experience whilst on game drive along the Grumeti River. Adas, with his expert eyes, spotted a boomslang in the grass. He soon saw that the venomous green snake was interested in something and was looking and moving intently ahead. Adas and guests looked where the snake had focused its gaze and saw some adult dwarf mongooses with a group of babies. Clearly the snake was after the babies. Mongooses are feisty creatures and one of their special skills is killing snakes. The small dwarf mongooses (Helogale parvula) are adept at killing snakes but will normally avoid snakes as much as possible. Nevertheless, these mongooses weren t going to sacrifice their offspring without a fight. All of the adults, except for one, went after the boomslang giving it a hard time and trying their best to keep it at bay. In the meantime, the one adult mongoose that was not fighting the snake was on escape duty, and shuffled all the youngsters further away in the opposite direction until they disappeared out of sight. The other adults eventually succeeded in chasing the snake off. The tiny fighters were victorious, keeping their offspring safe for another day.

5 Dangerous games (Photos by Adas Anthony) The predators of Singita Grumeti are hardly ever lacking in food sources as our concession has good amounts of general game throughout the year. For this reason they have never really had to learn to adapt to hunting unusual or difficult prey. In other parts of Africa the massive and dangerous Cape buffalo is a staple part of a lion s diet, but not in Grumeti. In fact quite the opposite is true here, most of the time when the lions come across a Cape buffalo, even if the buffalo is completely unaware or the lions have the upper hand, the lions tend to avoid the buffalo at all costs. Adas was with guests watching the Sabora West Pride and was pretty amazed when the sub-adults and the females of the pride began slowly stalking in the direction of a buffalo bull some distance away. The lions reached the bull and he saw them surrounding him. The bull stood stunned, not sure what to do. The lions for some reason didn t attempt to kill the bovine beast. Most likely because with just one lioness and the rest being young sub-adults, they instinctively knew that they didn t have enough power or expertise as a unit to take him down without risking serious injury to themselves. They surrounded him multiple times, but the strong Cape buffalo continued to fight back. Eventually he saw a gap and ran, and the lions that were in his path also ran away from him! Who knows, maybe the sub-adults of the Sabora West Pride will eventually grow up to become our first pride of expert lion hunters.

6 Sightings update Lion: 68 Leopard: 19 Cheetah: 17 Elephant: 46 Buffalo: Multiple sightings daily (Photo by Adas Anthony) Special sightings: Single aardwolf west of Sabora. A sounder of bush pigs, 1 male, 1 female, and 6 piglets west of junction of River Road and Grumeti West. A few Coke s hartebeest off junction Faru Faru Access and Main Road. 2 porcupines off Twiga Road. A porcupine near to Sabora Camp. A porcupine northeast of OP7 and south of Fort Ikoma Main Road. African Rock Python on West Link Crossing. Male and female side-striped jackals east of Sabora Camp. Male and female side-striped jackals Nyati Plains. Single hippo bull grazing on northern side of Grumeti River Road, slightly west of Faru Faru. Breeding herd of about 100 elephant at Sasakwa Dam. Breeding herd of about 200 elephant in front of Faru Faru Lodge. By Lizzie Hamrick Singita Grumeti Serengeti Tanzania 28 th of February 2015