WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA PAMUSHANA, ZIMBABWE For the month of June, Two Thousand and Seventeen

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1 WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA PAMUSHANA, ZIMBABWE For the month of June, Two Thousand and Seventeen Temperature Rainfall Recorded Sunrise & Sunset Average minimum: 12,4 C (54,3 F) For the month: 0 mm Sunrise: 06:31 Minimum recorded: 09,5 C (49,1 F) For the year to date: 620 mm Sunset: 17:24 Average maximum: 25,6 C (78,0 F) Maximum recorded: 29,7 C (85,4 F) The month of June has always been one of the best for game viewing, and this month lived up to its reputation. We leave the lodge in the early hours like snug bugs in rugs, beanies, jackets and gloves, and shed these as the morning warms up. We ve long ago perfected the art of the morning game-drive cup of coffee which all our guests agree is just as important and enjoyable as a great sighting! Here s our wildlife overview for June: Lions There seemed to be a buy-in-bulk buffalo special going on this month, as two prides of lions fed on buffalo kills not too far apart from one another. You could go and check on the four lions (two males and two females) on their buffalo carcass south of Chimize Pan, and then drive 20 minutes or so away to where the Southern Pride were still enjoying their buffalo kill below the Malevula Hills.

2 Another highlight was the mating pair of lions on the open Banyini area. Guests got to see all the action out in the open a couple of times! Here a bloated male lion lugs himself along a shady stretch of the airstrip, while a herd of aghast wildebeest skitter about nearby. Leopards There ve been a few sightings this month such as a skittish female who made a quick exit, unlike another beautiful female beautiful who made her appearance just as guests were ending their safari, and waited on the side of the road giving them the time to see her clearly and end their holiday on a high. Cheetah We ve been lucky enough to view cheetahs too this month. This male came down to the water s edge, after carefully looking around for danger, before taking a long drink. See how he goes to the effort of not getting his claws or tail tip muddy!

3 Rhinos Some of the highlights included seeing eight white rhinos with a tiny newborn calf, and finding a bull white rhino having a long mud bath before proceeding to have a good scratch on anything he could find. Some black rhinos made their presence known too story to follow. Here a herd of impala calmly sun themselves as a huge bull white rhino grazes a metre away. Wild dogs and hyenas A very distressing occurrence took place one night at the beginning of the month. The Executive Director of the Malilangwe Trust saw a clan of hyenas and a pack of wild dogs in a huge fight, right at the Head Quarter offices. The hyenas caught, killed and ripped apart a wild dog. It was very gruesome and the noise of it all was just as spine-chilling. Elephants We ve had fantastic elephant sightings of bulls and breeding herds. A way to safely get within two armlengths to an elephant, on foot, is to go and wait in the custom-built photographic hide. Guests did just that and were rewarded with two warthogs, some zebra and a large bull elephant. Top viewing was had of a family of about 25 elephants including some little calves feeding on the side of the road. Guests also thoroughly enjoyed some up close and personal time with a huge bull elephant and his four mates when they finished having a mud bath they came right up to the front of the vehicle seemingly wanting to say a friendly yet muddy hello to all. Buffalos There ve been excellent buffalo sightings too, such as when a herd of about six hundred buffalo crossed the Chiredzi River; as well as watching a large herd when three white rhinos came and joined as two elephant bulls scrummed with one another in the distance.

4 Plains game Plains game sightings of giraffe, wildebeest, zebra and impala are guaranteed, but we ve also had good sightings of sable and eland this month. Unusual sightings You often catch such interesting glimpses of wildlife on a night drive here the green spotlight highlights a chameleon that was fast asleep. This porcupine bustled off into the bushes making a rather funny series of disgruntled grunts and grumbles. I absolutely do not like these armoured crickets and can find nothing redeeming to say about them. Here one devours another that has been squashed in the road. Fishing & boat cruises With the water quite cold at the moment we ve been doing more sundowner cruises than fishing. We even did a dawn cruise which cast such beautiful light across the water see the photo of the hippos at the end of this report. Rock art All our guests have shown great interest in the rock paintings on the cave walls of the reserve. They have marveled at the sights and often it is these humbling encounters in the stone homes of our human ancestors that are the highlight of a morning drive.

5 Sunset moonrise swimming This was the most beautiful sighting of the month for me two elephant bulls swimming and playing in Nduna Dam, surrounded by an amphitheatre of sandstone cliffs and forest. We left the vehicle, climbed the rocks that overlook the scene and sat there watching them for over an hour. The sunset threw soft warm light on to the rocks, and as the moon rose the scene was lit in pinks, mauves and purple hues.

6 On the prowl welcome in the area, and he beat a hasty retreat, running in the direction from which he came. It took quite some time for these two larger males, with full bellies from their recent hunting exploits, to settle down again and relax in the sunshine. Two territorial male lions were trying to warm up in a patch of dawn light, when a third male somewhere nearby started to contact roar. The two leapt up, spun about and started to search for him, roaring ferociously as they did. We often see all three of these males together, so it seemed that something had changed in the dynamic. The third male quickly got the message and interpreted it as he was not A slender mongoose (Galerella sanguinea) is a fantastic little animal that takes no nonsense from most animals far greater in size than its feisty +/-35cm (tail excluded)! You can identify them by the prominent black tip on their tails. They generally live either alone or in pairs. They are primarily diurnal, although are sometimes active on warm, moonlit nights. This one was bustling down the track towards us with a sense of purpose. It paused for a moment to assess us, came a little closer, and then decided we were of no benefit so it went on its way. I noticed that it had slight discolouration to one of its eyes no doubt gained in a scrap with an unfortunate opponent, possibly even a venom-spitting snake. Slender mongooses are mostly carnivorous, though they are opportunistic omnivores. Insects make up the bulk of their diet, but lizards, rodents, snakes, birds, amphibians, and the occasional fruit are eaten when available. They will also eat carrion and eggs. As befits the popular image of mongooses, they are capable of killing and eating venomous snakes, but such snakes do not constitute a significant portion of their diet.

7 Black rhino encounter accelerating our heart rates and filling far too much of my fixed 400mm lens s frame. He stood spitting distance away, for what seemed like an eternity but was probably only a few seconds, and then galloped away in disgust. We d been on a mission to find a black rhino for a couple of days when all of a sudden one erupted out of a thicket and thundered towards us. He stopped short, sized us up, and then seemingly smiled for the camera while emphasizing his massive grey tank-like form against some delicate grass and soft pastel foliage. But no sooner was this pose struck than he charged again, Adult male black rhinos, like this mature bull, tend to live on their own, except when courting females. Black rhinos can move extremely quickly, and have been recorded at highs of 55 km/h. This is even more alarming when you are in a stationary vehicle or worse, on foot! They can turn on a dime and will run right through scrub and bushes. Black rhinos are quite predictable in their unpredictability! They ll often charge a disturbing sound, smell or vehicle and when a black rhino catches the scent of humans it usually runs away, sometimes for quite a distance before stopping.

8 Conservation in action Black and white rhino are at their peak condition at the end of the rainy season, and that makes it the best time for the Malilangwe Trust to perform their annual rhino ear-notching programme. A system of ear-notches is used to uniquely identify each individual rhino. The notches can be seen from afar which allows the security team to monitor the rhinos without disturbing or stressing them. Members of the wildlife management team take to the sky in a helicopter to search out mother rhinos that have un-notched calves. Once spotted they fly in close and dart the calf. Via radio communication with an expert ground team, consisting of vets, ecologists, scouts and assistants, they direct them to the spot where the anesthetized calf is lying. The ground team jump to work by clearing any impeding vegetation around the calf, supplying it with oxygen, spraying water to keep it cool, monitoring its temperature, breathing and heart rate, as well as taking research data from it. The operation is carried out quickly yet calmly to eliminate as much stress as possible for the calf even its ears and eyes are blocked and covered during the procedure. Surgical clamps (they look similar to scissors - see the photo) are placed on the ears in the predetermined specific notch pattern. These stop the blood flow and allow the notch to be cut from the ear. Once bleeding has stopped and any minor wounds are treated the area is cleared and the vet administers a reversal drug. This reversal acts quickly and the calf can be on its feet again and reunited with its mother within seconds. (The un-darted mother stays in the area but usually doesn t approach the scene of the operation.) Daily sightings of individual rhinos, identified by their notches, are recorded and collated by research technicians who capture the data into an animal population database. The data is queried to produce reports that guide management decisions. The Malilangwe Trust s rhino range expansion programme has been very successful, with numbers of both species growing substantially from their founder populations. The programme s goal was to repopulate the reserve with rhinos, and contribute further to conservation by using rhinos that would extend the reserve's ideal carrying capacity, to start new populations elsewhere. For the first time, in 2015, the opportunity arose to move a small number of black rhinos off the reserve to restock a reserve in Botswana. Singita Pamushana, the Malilangwe Trust s tourism partner, is one of the few places in the world able to offer guests the opportunity of seeing the full spectrum of African wildlife, including black and white rhinos, in a well-protected, balanced, wild and natural ecosystem.

9 All a twitter This adult bateleur s red face caught the morning light beautifully. A juvenile s face is a muted turquoise colour. This lappet-faced vulture may not be considered beautiful, but it is certainly impressive measuring cm in body length, with a wingspan of m. The pretty lilac-breasted roller, by comparison, is only 36 to 38 cm, with a wingspan of 50 to 58 cm.

10 Which way? On our way back to the lodge during a night drive we came across this spotted eagle owl debating whether he should go hunting at camp Kwali, Head Quarters or Simbiri These hippos weren t going anywhere for a while they d just returned to the water after a night s grazing. Written and photographed by Jenny Hishin, unless otherwise indicated Singita Pamushana Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve Zimbabwe Thirtieth of June 2017