Singita Blog
Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category
September 27th, 2011
Watching out for Rhino
Controlling poaching in the Sabi Sand Reserve is one of the Singita environmental team’s prime responsibilities. World Rhino Day on the 22nd of September provided a valuable opportunity for staff at Singita to build awareness of the devastation that is caused by poaching which is slowly reducing the world population of rhino on a daily basis. To date this year in South Africa alone, a count of 290 rhinos have been poached – we take those statistics very seriously.
On the 22nd the team at Singita Sabi Sand put their full efforts behind supporting World Rhino Day – starting the day with the Guides and Trackers sporting red caps, branded with the World Rhino Day logo. Guests soon donned red caps for game drives to show their support. For the more energetic, twelve Singita staff took part in a cycling event – the ‘Ride for Rhinos’ 25 kilometre challenge through the Sabi Sand Reserve and into the local communities – with the goal to raise awareness of the misconception around rhino horn usage for medicinal purposes. Not only was it a fun and engaging activity in the community but it also helped to generate generous funding to be channeled directly to a rhino fund.
A sweet ending to the day – even the cupcakes at tea-time helped to nudge conversations toward the future of rhinos. Thanks to guests and staff for their enthusiasm and support for a day of awareness, well-celebrated.
To find out more about Singita’s conservation efforts, read about significant projects on Singita’s website.
April 16th, 2011
Sable Status
Written by Jenny Hishin – Singita Pamushana Lodge, Malilangwe Reserve
In Ernest Hemingway’s book, The Green Hills of Africa he describes the habits of sable antelope, which he used to hunt. Since those ‘glory days’ of teeming herds their story has not been one of good fortune in Zimbabwe. Trophy hunting as well as poaching for meat has led to their decline. Habitat loss has resulted in isolated populations and inbreeding, and increased predation and parasite loads have taken their toll.
However, here’s the good news: according to the IUCN List of Threatened Species, “any further decrease in the free-living population may be compensated by the continued growth of its numbers on private farms.” Here at Malilangwe’s Captive Breeding Centre we’ve recently brought in sable from other fragmented populations to complement our own herds, and are doing pioneering work regarding their health, diet and breeding. They are sensitive antelope but we are achieving encouraging results.
For more information about Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve and Singita Pamushana Lodge take a look at our website for further details.
January 5th, 2011
Wildlife – the News in Pictures
This morning we had an unbelievable morning following our dominant male leopard and watched him as he modeled for nearly two hours.
Singita Guide – Nicky Silberbauer
Tags: game drives, Leopard, Singita guide, Singita Sabi Sand, Wildlife
October 18th, 2010
Scouting for Art
Recently on a scouting trip around Nduna searching for lions for our guest, as we headed off road something caught my eye on one of the rock faces. I decided to go and investigate and found a small rock painting. Due to time restraints I was not able to scout the area for more paintings, nevertheless, I had a quick look around and found a second site about 300 metres from the initial site. In order to ascertain if these were unique sites I made certain to GPS both of them, made a recording and checked the data. They were not recorded in our data so I contacted Ben Smith at University of Witwatersrand and they did not have them recorded either.
This was amazing news meaning that we have increased the database of rock paintings now to 80 sites. These figures refer to painting sites only. So from the beginning of last year we had a record 56 rock painting sites; the guiding department has increased this record to date to 78 and now these 2 new ones total the sites to 80. There is no doubt that we will keep adding to this number – we’ll keep you updated.
Singita Guide – Brad Fouche, Singita Pamushana, Zimbabwe
Tags: Guide, Malilangwe, rock art, Safari, Singita, Singita Pamushana, Zimbabwe
June 30th, 2010
Have you lost your heart to a baobab lately?
The Shangaan believe that the baobab holds immense power. In fact it is a widely held Shangaan belief that when a person sits beneath a baobab tree it steals a piece of that person’s heart. This piece is only returned when they once again sit beneath that same baobab tree.
The baobab is the quintessential African tree and the Malilangwe Reserve is full of these beautiful giants.
The direct translation of the word baobab is tree of life, which is apt considering that every part of it can be used.
1. The white pulp, from the fruit of the baobab, is mixed with water and used as a treatment for fever, colds and flu.
2. The seeds, from the baobab fruit, are refreshing to suck on and – when roasted – they make an excellent coffee style hot beverage.
3. Over the years hollow baobab trunks have served as houses, prisons, storage barns and places of refuge from animals.
4. The leaves can be boiled and eaten just like spinach.
5. The bark makes excellent ropes and floor mats. It is also believed to have the power to help an individual secure respect, prestige and security in their job.
