WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH AFRICA For the month of June, Two Thousand and Eighteen

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1 WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH AFRICA For the month of June, Two Thousand and Eighteen Photo by Margaux Le Roux Temperature Rainfall Recorded Sunrise & Sunset Average minimum: 14 C (57 F) For the period: 0 mm Sunrise: 06h39 Average maximum: 27 C (81 F) For the year to date: 252 mm Sunset: 17h18 Minimum recorded: 11 C (52 F) Maximum recorded: 33 C (91 F) Winter is here now and the temperatures are dropping in the nights and early mornings. With that, the Lebombo fireplace has become a popular area to sit around during the early mornings, watching the sunrise slowly lighting up the Lebombo Mountain s ridges, whilst enjoying a steamy cup of coffee. The grasses have changed to a rich golden-brown colour, and most of the trees have dropped their leaves, making the spotting of wildlife a bit easier than in the lush green summer months. Our wildlife review for the month of June is as follows: Buffalos True to the general pattern that we have experienced over the years on the N wanetsi Concession, the first half of the year has been rather quiet in term of regular buffalo sightings. The month of June

2 seems to have marked a turning point in that regard. Up until approximately the 15th of the month, we had to work very hard to find small groups of males, long left behind by the herds. They would often be very shy of the vehicles and would toss their heads in grumpy annoyance at being found. The character of these individuals is loved by all. The second half of the month brought more regular sightings, which we were all very thankful for. There were three buffalo bulls that would turn up every now and then in the southern section of the concession, who have so far managed to avoid the attentions of the lions in the area. There were also a few sightings of a herd of approximately 150 buffalo up on the central depression. It is fantastic to see the return of the herds. Two days after this herd made its way towards us, the entire Shish Pride were seen together for the first time in about three weeks, and its highly likely that their arrival was not a coincidence. Photo by Margaux le Roux Elephants The changing of the seasons brings a change in the diets of elephants, and that changes their movements. They are still eating grass, as the late rain this year has allowed for some greenery to prevail well into winter. The elephants have been seen pulling out the grass, biting out the middle bit and eating that, whilst allowing the dry tips and sandy roots to fall to the floor. They are also starting to push over trees to get to roots and shoots to supplement their diet. The main attraction for elephants to the N wanetsi Concession is water. As the winter winds dry the grass as they rustle through them, the massive thirst of the elephants becomes stronger, and more and more are coming to the N wanetsi River to drink as the sun beats down in the late morning. There is no better way to finish a morning game drive than to watch how they dig for water and jostle for position around the drinking holes where the cleaner water rises to the surface. The water cools them down and refreshes them, causing a new bout of playing amongst the young ones while

3 the adults contentedly begin to rest under the trees. They then move on in their endless quest for food. There have also been numerous sightings of elephant bulls in the grasslands below the ridges. There is always something special about being in the presence of a large male elephant. Our concession is one of the most beautiful places on earth and having an elephant bull standing alone amongst the winter palette is a sight that stays with one forever. Photo by Margaux le Roux Spotted hyenas We are pleased to say that there have been a great many sightings of spotted hyenas this month, even though, at the time of writing the Granophyre den seemed to no longer be in use. We have seen a mother with an older, but nevertheless suckling cub at the Nyokene den. The problem with that den is that it floods in summer and maybe now that it is drying up, we may seem more activity there. Photo by Brian Rode The Xinkelengane den seems to have been frequented again, which is always a worthwhile when one is up in the north. On one occasion, our guides came across a leopard interacting with a hyena over an impala kill that had not been hoisted yet. Oddly enough, after a few mouthfuls, the hyena did not make off with the carcass and the leopard was able to hoist it to safety. There were also two porcupines in that sighting!

4 On the morning of the 25th, a hyena carcass was discovered. After some investigation, the conclusion was reached that the animal had been killed by lions, possibly the Mountain Pride. It bore the trademark signs of a lion attack; a torn neck and open belly, indicating that it was possibly caught by more than one lion. Lions There are lots of lions here, and we do not suffer for sightings of the biggest of the African cats. However, the largest of our prides, the Shish Pride, were somewhat elusive. Only in the last few days of the month, did they set up camp not too far from our lodges. They were very full when they did this, and we think it must have been a buffalo that they had caught. The white lion has been a bit of an enigma, having been seen alone numerous times, then with part of the pride, and then with the entire pride. Unfortunately, most of these sightings have been from the staff bus, which comes in from approximately eight kilometres west of the concession. On one of these occasions he was looking terrible and had clearly been attacked, with deep red flows down the rich white of his body. He was eating grass and struggling to walk. Young lions are incredibly resilient as long as they have enough to eat, so it was a great relief to all of us seeing him back with the pride and with a full belly. At the time of writing he was well on the way to recovery. The Mountain Pride was our most regular pride this month, and we can happily say that the cubs are doing very well, and that all three are still alive. They seem to have been able to evade the Shish Male with the bad leg, even though he is often seen looking for them, as he likes to steal any kill that the lionesses make. Also, the sub-adult female is looking as good as any young lion can. Photo by Margaux Le Roux We have not had as many sightings of the other Shish Males as we would have liked, but they have been around. It was only towards the end of the month that the three coalition members were found around the Xinenene Poort, and on the morning of the 29 th, all three were trailing the

5 Mountain Pride lionesses with the cubs. With the young Mountain Pride cubs around, and one of the lionesses in that pride possibly pregnant, we hope that the males are able to remain strong for the sake of the little ones, as two rogue males were also seen close to camp at Mbeki s Crossing. The mysterious Xhirombe Pride pop up every now and then, usually near the border with Mozambique. The female is very old now but seems to be in reasonable condition. The young male is getting to be quite large, and we are sure that, should he be found by dominant males, they will surely try to remove him as a threat by killing him. During a hosted stop at The Poort, right on the border with Mozambique, Ben s guests witnessed the Xhirombe Pride chasing a kudu right into the border fence, where they managed to kill the animal as the guests were trying to enjoy a peaceful sundowner with a gin and tonic in hand! That was definitely a memorable experience that neither guide nor guest will forget anytime soon. Near the end of the month, there was a sighting of the Northern Pride up on Cassia Road. Other than that, they seem to be keeping a lower profile than they have in the previous months. Photo by Margaux le Roux Cheetahs This month, there were at least 16 different sightings of cheetahs. All of these sightings were of a group of five sub-adult cheetahs that have been frequenting Rhino Skull and the N4 area close to the Gudzani Dam. (Read the article in Other interesting sightings to see what interaction the cheetahs had with a leopardess ) On the afternoon of the 16th, the five were found where they were resting in an open clearing, enjoying the last warming rays of the winter sun. As the golden light started to fall, the cats started to become more active. Big yawns, stretches and clawing of trees ensued, and with that, a blackbacked jackal spotted the cats.

6 Being an opportunistic scavenger, the jackal, quite brazenly walked up towards the cheetahs. It was quite obvious that the one cat was becoming annoyed with the canine s presence, as his tail started to swish and twitch ever so slightly from side to side. The jackal made the mistake of turning its back to the cats, and that is when the irritable cat seized the opportunity to chase after the jackal. Being chased by the fastest predator on land, the jackal tried his best to steer clear of the cat s fast approaching claws. It was rather comical watching how he tucked his tail and tried to swerve to get away from the rapidly approaching sprinter. Puffs of dust filled the air as he managed to barely get away from the cheetah, who eventually decided to give up on the chase and return to the rest of the coalition members. A loud bout of laughter filled the air from all guides and guests on the safari vehicles. Photo by Margaux Le Roux

7 Leopards Singita Lebombo is known to be The Land of the Lions, and consequently other predators such as leopards and cheetahs can be quite elusive and hard to find as lions don t like to share resources with other predators. With that being said however, we ve had a great month of leopard sightings, as for a big portion of the month the Shish Pride was found off of the concession, allowing the elusive leopards to move around in a more relaxed manner. A total of 30 sightings were recorded. Photo by Brian Rode Photo by Margaux le Roux

8 The biggest stars of this month had to be the young Dumbana male and his mother who were found on numerous occasions. The Dumbana female was found by Jacques close to Shidulu pan after she had killed an impala ram. The commotion attracted the unwanted attention of a nearby hyena who managed to steal the kill from her. She sat at a distance staring as her hard-earned kill was being devoured, but fortunately for her the hyena had dropped his guard, and she managed to storm in and grab the kill back before hoisting it up a leadwood tree out of the hyena s reach. There she managed to enjoy her meal in peace and quiet. Towards the end of the month her son, the young Dumbana male, was found in front of Lebombo lodge as he casually strolled past the suites. He was also found around the Granophyre Link where he was stalking some giraffe. Obviously, his eyes were bigger than his stomach and he eventually gave up on the idea. Other interesting sightings On the seventh of this month, a shy leopardess was found close to Pony Pan, and after following her for a while it became apparent that she was hungry as she was attempting to hunt. She would set up the stalk and get to within a couple of feet of the potential kill when the wind direction would suddenly change and the prey animals would move off, just out of harm s way. In anticipation of her movements, Jacques moved further ahead and that is when he found five cheetahs on a freshly killed impala carcass. The cats must have killed it only minutes before, as they were still trying to catch their breath from the chase. Some of the individuals started to feed on the kill as some tawny eagles and vultures started to circle the scene. These scavengers often alert other predators to the potential free meal, and the leopardess must have also seen the sign as she slowly started to move into the area. The cheetahs still fed, completely unaware of the presence of the small leopardess. Suddenly, one of the cheetahs stood up and started to growl, the remaining members of the group also became anxious and stared to look around in an uneasy manner. That is when all hell broke loose, as the leopardess came in with a stiff-legged charge and deep growls and snarls. The cheetahs scattered in all directions, still quite unaware of where the danger was coming from. The leopardess kept on chasing the defenceless cheetahs, who could not afford to protect their kill and potentially get injured in the process. With all of this commotion taking place, the vultures decided to seize the opportunity, and they came swooping down on the carcass. Within minutes, more than thirty birds were on top of the carcass, cleaning up the remainder of the flesh. By the time the leopardess came back there was not even a morsel left. As the cat looked seriously upset with the whole ordeal, a pied crow even started to dive bomb and attack the leopard, causing her to flee from the scene, tail between her legs. Poor girl, she was really having a bad day!

9 Borders of the wild: territory marking at Singita Kruger National Park By Blaine Moolman Photo by Margaux Le Roux For many animals, the struggle for territory forms a very large part of their lives. Without land to call their own, whether as an individual, a pair or a group, they will struggle to find food or mates. They will spend a vast amount of time patrolling their territories and marking their scent on prominent posts to keep rivals out. So how do they do it? Think of the five senses; sight, hearing, scent, touch and smell. Of those it is only the senses of touch and taste that are not directly used in the marking of territories. The other three senses are used in numerous inventive ways to make sure that all rival animals know that the land is taken. Marking by sight: Ever wondered why a usually secretive male leopard walks right down the middle of a riverbed where all can see him at times when he is on patrol? Why would he take the risk of making himself so conspicuous, when there may be lions or bigger leopards about? The answer is that he wants to be seen! The risk he is taking by doing this is outweighed and counter-balanced with his confidence and the benefit of other leopards knowing he is there. He is sending a message to both females and males that see him that the land he walks on is his. Many territorial animals and birds make themselves conspicuous by walking or standing in the open, by flying in specific patterns in a specific area, or in a variety of other ways. Visual marking is often used in combination with other forms of advertisement of the presence of an animal seeking to dominate a territory. An example of this would be a groundscraper thrush, which is usually a ground dwelling bird, sitting high up in a dead leadwood tree and calling at the top of its air sacs.

10 Photo by Brian Rode When animals scent mark, they often accompany it with a visual sign. Even though white rhinos have poor eyesight, the males still scrape their back legs before they spray urine. It is believed that when the scent is investigated, the visual sign is also seen. Auditory marking: The sounds of the bush are felt deep inside one who hears them. Behind the magic of it all lies a purpose; to let everyone know they are there! Whether it be the dawn chorus of birds, the whooping of a hyena or the deep roar of a lion, all these calls are an integral part of survival out in the bush. Just to be clear, only a small minority of animals are territorial, not all calls are used to defend a specific area. Some are to attract mates or merely to contact members of the same species. In general, one can hear things from further away than they can be seen. Therefore, calls are extremely effective for long distance communication. For example, the deep call of a male lion can be heard by the human ear from as much as five kilometres away. This distance will be affected by atmospheric conditions and noise inference, meaning that the animals will often call in the early mornings or at night when the sound is likely to carry the furthest. It s a great way of saving energy and letting rivals and potential mates know one is there without having to cover as much distance! Scent marking: Perhaps this is the most important form of territory marking out there and is used by the vast majority of animals that seek to defend a territory. The reason for this is that scent has a characteristic that the other forms of marking do not have: it is carried into the future. This means that large areas can be defended when the animal is not physically within sight or earshot. For example, male cheetahs have massive territories, the size of which is dependent on their surrounding environment. They do not roar, and therefore rely almost solely on scent marking to

11 advertise their presence. When following a cheetah on game drives, guides will often set the vehicle up near a prominent fallen over tree, or any object that stands out which is climbable for a cheetah to watch them scramble up it to scent mark. If another cheetah, male or female, moves through the same area, they will see the same object and move towards it to mark it themselves, and discover that another animal has been there before, and information can be gathered. Photo by Jani Lourens Some animals have scent glands under their tails, others between their hooves, some under their eyes and some just above their back feet. This means that scent marking can be done in numerous ways, and sometimes the results can be quite beautiful. Imagine a lone bull blue wildebeest kicking up plumes of red dust as he runs his internodal glad (between the front hooves) through the earth in a bid to hold that area for himself. He will pick an area he believes is enticing to females, mark it and defend it. The use of urine and faecal matter to mark is one of the most common ways in which animals leave signs of their presence. Also, it is an ingenious use of something that would otherwise be a useless by-product of living! Hyenas, white and black rhinos and hippos are animals that do this, just to name a few. Interestingly, various elements of animal scents have been incorporated into human perfumes. The fact that they are natural, evocative and long lasting make them highly attractive and they form a base for many of the top scents in the industry.

12 June moments: Photos by Margaux Le Roux and Brian Rode

13 Text by Blaine Moolman and Margaux Le Roux Photos by Margaux Le Roux, Jani Lourens and Brian Rode Singita Kruger National Park, South Africa June 2018