October 2008 : Grumeti Reserves

The Elephants of Sasakwa

Most memorable have been the huge herds of elephants, seen in numbers of 100 plus, that have frequented the hill at Sasakwa Lodge.

When the worlds largest land animal arrives on your doorstop you cannot help but feel a little claustrophobic. When 5 tons of elephant bull tries to push its way into the lodge you do begin to panic a little. The ellies confidently invade your home, eat your pot plants and drink straight from the hose pipe -  not a horse in sight! These images were taken by Martin Dodwell at the stables at Sasakwa.

The Death of a Leopard Cub

Competition amongst the large predators in Africa is fierce and competing for a common food source has seen these carnivores in frequent head-to-head encounters.
Usually size and numbers ensure that the leopard is second to the bottom of the predator hierarchy, only one place ahead of the cheetah.

The killing of one another’s cubs, or infanticide, is basically an instinctual reaction where the adults, usually of the more dominant species, kill cubs they come across. Seldom is the dead cub fed upon. These brutal and seldom seen interactions are basically behavior imprinted into the psyche of the carnivore – reduce potential future competition.

Ryan Schmitt was on drive west of Sabora in the late afternoon when he and his guests were witness to this dramatic and rare event. It was only 3 short months ago that a similar event occurred out on the plains – another leopard cub killed, this time by hyenas. Thanks to Ryan for the pictures.

The Sasakwa Plains Hotspot!

In any wilderness area in Africa there are hotspots - places where, for various reasons, good numbers of animals gather in small areas.

In the dry season when waterholes and pans are hotspots, hides can be a spectacular way to watch as streams of animals come down to slake their thirst. However, the green grass and plentiful water this month did not stop the animals from gathering on the plains in front of Sasakwa. We were fortunate to see superb sightings right on front of the lodge.

The Night of the Hyenas

In 20 years time I will still remember the night of the hyenas down at Sabora – one of those magical few hours that I know I’ll wait ages to better.

I apologize in advance for the poor quality of the following pictures, taken at night in the rain.

Down on the plains at Sabora, a stones throw from Tent 1, we watched in amazement one late rainy afternoon as no fewer than 25 hyenas chased, exhausted, ripped apart and fed on a fully grown healthy wildebeest bull.

The chase had started about 2 hours previously as a lone sub-adult hyena, from a nearby densite, energetically or rather stupidly began pursuing, on his own, the large concentration of zebra and wildebeest in camp. We watched with delight from the deck as he doggedly chased and chased, attempting to wear out his prey. He was missing one vital tactic though – pick one animal and concentrate only on that one.

He was simply spoilt for choice – too many cooks spoil the broth – he could not isolate one animal! We watched as on at least one occasion this brazen youngster got too close to the back end of a zebra and was unceremoniously kicked – he tumbled head over heals but this hardly broke his stride and he was back in hot pursuit seconds later. As darkness approached he was joined by the rest of his clan and soon there were hyenas everywhere – petrified wildebeest and zebra scattered. Watching these chattering and whooping carnivores surround and doggedly bring the bull down was dramatic. They tore into the wildebeest, after it repeatedly got to its feet in an attempt to chase off his pursuers.  Watching while it fought bravely was heart wrenching but after the long chase the wildebeest was already in a state of severe oxygen deprivation and shock and numb to the pain and trauma.

The next morning a few vultures and 3 young hyenas picked at the remains. In a fitting finale to a grand 12 hours of top drawer hyena viewing we saw a mating pair of these spotted brutes later that morning on drive. I’ve only ever seen this once before – quite a hoot watching as neither party appear to be too concerned, let alone enjoying the close contact.

King of Beasts

One cannot help but have huge admiration for big male lions. The true King of Beasts, they are truly a highlight of any photographic safari. To me, they have such incredible presence, and you cannot ignore their big flowing manes, their thick set solid build, their unrivalled dominance, their stare – where the daggers cut right through you.

As a young boy I used to wish that I was a male lion. A great life I thought – sleep in the shade all day, let your lionesses hunt and kill for you at night - it sounded like the perfect life!

As a guide though, I realized that the life of a male lion is not all that grand. You are booted out of your natal pride between the age of 2-3, far too early for your liking.  You then have 2/3 lonely years as a nomad, basically keeping a very low profile until you are about 5/6, just reaching your prime. Then, once you’ve obtained a territory, you are the big cheese but it is short-lived. At about the age of 8 you begin to lose your mane hair and drop in weight. You’re only at the top of game for 2 to 4 years!

You are then chased out or killed by younger up and coming males. And even when you’re the boss though, you have to put up with cheeky lionesses. Truly a case of putting him in his place – can you believe this lioness? What a cheek!

The Freshwater Turtle

To conclude this month we’ll have a look at a freshwater turtle.

The terrapin is a relative of the sea going turtle and land dwelling tortoise. They are a member of the chelonian order of reptiles and frequent freshwater systems throughout Africa.  The most common species, the Helmeted or Marsh Terrapin is an interesting animal indeed.

The terrapin has a long neck and unlike tortoises, which pull their head backwards into the shell, they fold their head sideways, exposing their neck. The neck is long and powerful and they can right themselves when flipped over using their necks. They are far more commonly found in puddles, small streams, dams, pans, pools and even drinking troughs. They are not as common in big rivers and lakes as it is believed that their fairly soft shells make them vulnerable to crocodile predation.

They can often be found, as this little one was, miles from water out on the plains – walking to find some! They have an incredible sense of smell and can detect water a long way away. They are very good climbers and have even been found on top of hills inside concrete reservoirs.

They can be very smelly and bite and scratch if handled. They however domesticate very quickly and apparently make great pets. This little fellow did not seem to mind having a lens right in his face.

The Marsh Terrapin aestivates under the ground in the dry season and many of them emerge rather magically after rains. These big emergences led people to believe that they fell from the sky.

This entry was sumbitted by Lee Fuller
All the photographs were taken on location by Lee Fuller, Martin Dodwell & Ryan Schmitt
Singita Grumeti Reserves
31 October 2008