Photo by Adas Anthony WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA GRUMETI, TANZANIA For the month of January, Two Thousand and Sixteen Temperature Rainfall Recorded Sunset & Sunrise Average maximum: 27.8 C (82 F) Sasakwa: 150.6 mm Sunrise: 6:44 Average minimum: 17.7 C (64 F) Faru Faru: 81 mm Sunset: 18:57 Sabora: 100.9 mm Samaki: 102 mm Risiriba: 121.5 mm 2016 is an el Niño year, and for East Africa this means lots more rain than usual. January is typically a dryseason month, with the short rains ending at the very beginning of the month and the sun coming out for the remainder. January 2016 was far from typical. Almost every afternoon the rain came down, varying from short ten-minute sprinkles on some days to longer heavy thunderstorms on others. The conditions that resulted were lush green landscapes and cooler temperatures. Here's a look at some of our sighting highlights:
Lions: Almost all of the lion sightings in January took place out west, mainly in the Sabora area. The seemingly increasing numbers of lions in the area has made it difficult for the team to keep track of which pride is which! The Butamtam Pride lionesses stayed mostly in the central areas of the concession. In addition to the two cubs first spotted late in 2015, two more Butamtam cubs were seen with some of the females in January. Leopards: Leopard sightings were stable in January. While most predator sightings this month took place in the western part of the concession, leopard sightings were mainly in the eastern and central sections. Special sightings included a mother and a cub east of Sasakwa airstrip and a male and a female together on Sasakwa Hill. About 70% of the sightings were of female leopards, which is also very unusual and exciting. Female leopards tend to be shyer than males and therefore are generally seen less. The fact that the majority of the sightings were of females means that the leopard population in the area is growing continuously more confident and comfortable with the safari vehicles. (Photos by Adas Anthony) Cheetahs: The two mother cheetahs each with two cubs once again dominated cheetah sightings in January. The mother with the two younger cubs made the immediate Sabora area their home for the month. It was a good place to be, and the family was seen on many different occasions with gazelle kills. The mother with the two older cubs also spent most of the month in the western section of the concession, but further west of Sabora. They were mainly in the Nyasirori and Explore west camp areas.
Elephants: Elephant sightings were steady in January. We saw less of the large hundred-strong breeding herds that are seen during the dryer months. Due to it being an el Niño year, this January was unseasonably rainy. With more rain comes more water sources, and therefore elephants tend to disperse into smaller immediate family groups. Photo by Ryan Schmitt Wild Dogs: There was one sighting of wild dogs in January. The pack of six-strong was seen west of Sabora on New Grumeti Airstrip Road, with a gazelle kill. Photo by Eugen Shao Special sightings: Specials in January were some small predators: an aardwolf, a serval and a pair of side striped jackals.
West is the best The majority of the game in January was based in the western areas of the concession. Large herds of mainly topi and zebra dominated the Sabora and Nyasirori plains. Eland and Thomson s gazelles were also present in good numbers. Because of the large concentration of game, most of the lion and cheetah sightings occurred in these areas. Photos by Ryan Schmitt
Guide Ed Kaaya had a particularly exciting sighting out west when he and his guests were driving south of Sabora Camp. They came across three of the five young nomadic Butamtam males, a zebra carcass, and 25 hyenas. The males had clearly killed the zebra prior to Ed and his guests' arrival, and now the hyenas were moving in, attempting to get their piece of the pie. Photos from different seasons of zebra kills
Two of the males had already eaten and were lazing a substantial distance away from the zebra carcass, too full and tired to pay much attention to what was going on. The third male was still busy eating and, with his brothers disinterested, was forced to manage the situation on his own. The lion had a real -life course in multi-tasking, trying to get his fill and feed on the carcass while at the same time keeping 25 hungry hyenas at bay! Of course, one lion versus 25 hyenas is not exactly a balanced fight. Whenever some of the hyenas would manage to get close enough to the carcass, the lion would chase them away, but while he was chasing, the other members of the group would move in. He would then chase those hyenas away, but then the ones he was no longer chasing would move in. The vicious circle continued: each time he chased some away the others would try to grab the kill. This back and forth went on for a few hours until eventually the hyenas were victorious. By Elizabeth Hamrick Singita Grumeti Serengeti Tanzania Thirty-first of January 2016