May 2010 : Sabi Sand Reserve, South Africa

GLORIOUS DAYS IN MAY

The grasses have turned to shades of gold, giving the illusive cats the opportunity to remain undetected through their tawny camouflage. Winter is a dry season and animals are very concentrated at the perennial waterholes. The grass is also low which makes for less challenging game viewing. Mighty herds of elephant and buffalo have been seen from the lodges as they quench their thirst in the Sand River. Crisp and chilly mornings are welcomed by a cup of hot chocolate and Amarula.

The game viewing has been fabulous. The reserve seems to abound with lion, with five different prides spending significant periods on the reserve.
There has been some mayhem in May as a new coalition of five young male lions has started to roam the territory where the mighty brotherhood of six males have laid claim. This resulted in a brawl, which led to one of the new coalition members being killed by two of the older males. The new coalition retaliated, killing one of the older males who had recklessly temporarily disbanded and paid the ultimate price. It is interesting that these new coalition members come from the same gene pool and have been growing strong in the east of the reserve and through portions of the Kruger Park. It will be interesting to see if they will have such a huge impact on the prides of Singita. As it stands, there are currently five members of the older males and four of the younger coalition. It is going to be fascinating to see the outcome as the youth challenge their elders.

The Ravenscourt female leopard is still tolerating her older cub, which is now almost two and a half years old, as well as her two younger cubs, creating some of the most spectacular sightings as four big leopards move together. There has also been some pressure from the dominant males, which is detailed later on in this journal.

BABOONING ABOUT

I must admit, one of my favourite things in the bush is watching baboons. With their mannerisms that bear an uncanny resemblance to humans, it is hard not to be fascinated by them. It was great to run into these youngsters, having a wonderful time on the airstrip. Contrary to what you would expect, baboons do not live in trees and actually spend most of their time on the ground. The only time they go into trees is to escape predators, get food, or spend the night. They may also spend the night on high rocky outcrops. It is clear in these photographs that the life of a young baboon is nothing less than a good time. Baboon babies go up into trees to horse around and play with each other. Baboons eat mostly fruit from trees, roots, and an assortment of plants and, of course, bugs. Baboons inadvertently feed other creatures by dropping or leaving food behind when they eat. Other creatures scavenge these leftovers. Baboons are diurnal and are always on the move, ensuring that they don’t strip an environment of it vegetation.

Living in groups, known as troops, their social structure consists of a dominant male and female as well as other adult males and females together with their offspring. When they travel they have their own specific formation. The dominant male is in the front and the dominant female is behind him. The other males form a circle, with the rest of the females and the offspring in the centre.

Baboons have a very complicated social system, which is based on becoming and staying dominant. Baboons’ odd practices offer more than vicarious thrills for nature buffs. In the wild, these regal-looking, powerfully built primates behave in ways that raise intriguing questions about what goes on in their minds. Family groups of females and offspring are the core of a baboon troop. Females spend their whole lives in their natal troop and home range, unless the troop outgrows its resources and subdivides. At around 4 months, juveniles begin playing together in the subgroups formed by females with small young. Males transfer between troops, often repeatedly, beginning when they become sub adults at around the age of 4.

CLASH OF THE TITANS

Since my last story, ‘Winner takes all’, it seems that the Khashane male has come out on top. He has been seen frequently on our property, scent marking and covering great distances. This new dominance doesn’t come without its challenges - enter the Camp Pan male. This is a large male leopard who is well established along our eastern boundary, and whose lineage goes back to the Tavangumi female.

As if he’s sensing this new challenger, the Camp Pan male has begun to frequent the areas east of the lodges, along the river, which is also the area in which the Khashane male has been moving. Both males have been seen scent marking along the same road, trying to intimidate their rival. Both seem determined, so it’s only a matter of time before these to titans clash in a battle of youth against experience. There can only be one victor.

CARNAGE AT THE CROSSING

On a crisp winter morning at Singita, the bush telegraph had informed us of possible action in the North of our property.  To venture north we have to cross the Sand River at the serene ‘Western crossing’. On this specific morning, we were in for an unforgettable sighting. Two male hippos decided to battle it out in the golden morning sunlight. These two beasts were only at the start of their territorial battle when we arrived.  It was amazing to see and relatively harmless to start with. Each beast sized up the other, searching for weakness. It wasn’t long before blood was shed, with both animals bearing wounds that they will carry for life, still determined to overpower each another. A perfect reminder of how ruthless nature can be.

BATTLE TO THE DEATH

One of the joys of living in the bush is that the most amazing sightings tend to happen at the most unexpected times and often in the most unexpected places.  On the way back from breakfast, walking through the staff village, I noticed two birds rolling around on the ground. They were obviously having some sort of altercation, so, with a sense of amusement, I decided to stop and watch them for what I expected to be a couple of seconds of interaction before going their separate ways. What unfolded was much more serious than I could ever have expected and it turned out that the birds were engaged in mortal combat. What developed turned out to be the most gruesome scene I have witnessed in my time in the bush and, my sense of amusement quickly changed to one of astonishment.

As I moved closer I noticed that the birds were both Bearded Scrub-robins (Cercotrichas quadrivirgata), which are monogamous and are known to be territorial throughout the year. By definition, a territory will be defended against members of the same species, with the extent of the territoriality depending on factors such as the availability of food, population densities and habitat. Although there is no sexual dimorphism in this species, based on their behaviour, I concluded that this was a territorial battle between two males. I expected that at worst, the territorial male would have engaged the other male, shown him who is boss in the area being defended, and left him to lick his wounds in someone else’s territory. After all, these territorial disputes put both parties at risk as the aggressor also faces a risk of being injured during the course of the altercation, so it is in both parties’ interest to settle the dispute with as little physical interaction as possible. The dominant Bearded Scrub-Robin in this territory, however, had a different idea.

I’m not sure how long the fight had been going on for when I arrived, but at that stage, although one of the birds was clearly dominating, both were putting up a fight and, amidst a lot of wing flapping, they were rolling around on the floor. Both seemed to be trying to peck the other, but one of the birds had a good grip on the other’s leg, so was able to dominate him.

As time went by, I noticed that the dominant Scrub-Robin was making a distinct effort to peck the other, which by this stage almost seemed submissive, on his nape and crown. This continued for a couple of minutes, after which the other bird, clearly having sustained some injuries, was completely submissive. My expectation was that the dominant Scrub-Robin, clearly the victor, would now have left the scene and carried on with his daily foraging. This, however, was not to be.

By now a reasonable crowd had gathered, all with the same sense of astonishment, to witness this epic battle. Some suggested that one of the Scrub-Robins had obviously come home that morning to find the other in bed with his partner and was now teaching him a lesson. This anthropomorphic idea seems to be the only logical explanation for what was taking place. Just as we were discussing this, we noticed a third Bearded Scrub-Robin enter the fray. Our assumption was that this was the ‘offending’ female, as she stayed on the outskirts and watched for a couple of minutes, before hopping off to carry on with her daily activities.

All this time, without paying any attention to either the third Scrub-Robin or any of us, the dominant male continued to peck at the other bird’s head and, after a while, had pecked out the eyes and plucked off the majority of the feathers.  This took the scene to a new level and it was now obvious that the dominant male wouldn’t stop until the other bird was dead.

At this stage there was the odd whispered suggestion that we chase the Scrub-Robin away to give the other a chance of survival; however one needs to bear in mind that we are in nature and that this is a manifestation of the idea of the survival of the fittest.

We are in a world where there is more than enough human interference and although this may appear cruel and gory, it likely happens all around us without us even knowing. Being able to view this sort of interaction is a privilege and enables us to gain an invaluable insight into the behaviour of these animals. Although sometimes tempting and I must admit, it was a thought that went through my head early on in this battle, it is best not to interfere and let nature take its course. After about 45 minutes we were convinced that the targeted bird was on death’s doorstep, but miraculously, every couple of minutes he would writhe, bringing about more aggression from his attacker.The level of aggression was so pronounced that the attacker appeared to have blood splatter on his otherwise clean belly and chest.

Finally, in a dramatic scene, after a valiant defence, the injured bird extended its wings, raised its tail and took its last breath. This epic battle had lasted just over an hour. Amazingly, the victor continued to peck away at the deceased’s head for a couple of minutes, even though it was clearly dead. Eventually he decided he had achieved his goal. He lifted his head, had a look around, and hopped off as though nothing much had happened, carrying on with his foraging in the leaf litter surrounding the scene of the battle.

This interaction caused me to look at the Bearded Scrub-Robin with new eyes. What had always been, to me, a pretty bird, with a cheerful whistling call, has exposed a different side to its nature, one that rivals the most aggressive and savage I have seen in any animal of the African bushveld.

SUNDOWNERS IN STYLE

After what had been a magnificent game drive, walking with giraffe, following a female hyena back to a brand new den site, where we were afforded the privilege of meeting three tiny cubs and, last but not least, seeing no less than 24 White rhino in one afternoon, the mood was upbeat .As if things couldn’t get any better we were welcomed by this sundowner in style. The spread included African sushi, caviar and the finest South African bubbly.

AFRICAN HAWK-EAGLE SPLENDOUR

I’ve always believed that guest’s who enjoy taking the time to explore the many hidden treasures of the wild often experience more than anyone else. This particular morning provided evidence in support of my theory. It was a crisp winter morning in the South African Lowveld and we had just left the lodge when a guest noticed a beautiful male Nyala pushing his way through the dense vegetation that lines the Sand River.

We stopped the vehicle and spent some time viewing this extravagantly adorned antelope, giving ourselves a chance to absorb the plethora of sounds and smells that make up this winter wonderland. As is so often the case, this stop revealed something that would otherwise have gone unnoticed. In the distance we spotted a large eagle hopping around frantically on a fallen Knob thorn tree (Acacia nigrescens). With much excitement and curiosity we manoeuvred the vehicle to within photographic range of the excited raptor. Within seconds it became clear that we were viewing an African Hawk-Eagle, one of the most acrobatic aerial predators in Africa. African Hawk-Eagles prey upon other birds, pursuing them at incredibly high speeds through the air, twisting and turning through dense vegetation like a cheetah on the tail of an antelope. 

The Hawk-Eagle was straining from side to side, bobbing its head up and down, every sense honed in to the finest point. In the blink of an eye it leapt to the ground and in an equally swift movement managed to hop back up to the fallen tree. We sat in absolute silence, trying to figure out what we were actually witnessing. The second pounce ended our confusion. It emerged with a very young bird wrapped firmly in its vice-like talons. We watched in amazement as this master of the skies consumed its hard-won meal in front of us. The tiny chick was no match for this powerful raptor and within a minute all that remained was a scattering of feathers. A quick glance around followed by a few beats of its muscular wings sent the Hawk-Eagle soaring back into the maze of vegetation beyond the river, leaving a vehicle of breathless guests in its wake. A brief inspection in the grass around the fallen Knob thorn revealed the identity of the unfortunate prey. The cryptically coloured feathers belonged to the chicks of a Nightjar, a bird that nests on the ground and relies solely on camouflage for protection.

THE JUSTICA ORPHANAGE FEEDING CENTRE

In our rural areas, orphanage homes are not encouraged, but instead we have what are known as Dropping centres. This is where all village children who are classified as being vulnerable and poor, usually having lost their parents, are registered for support. Singita has purchased, among other things, swing balls, soccer & net balls, hula hoops and marbles for the children to use in this centre. We have care givers from the same village that are looking after these children and ensure that they are fed, help with their studies, offer them guidance and life skills training and ensure that they partake in sporting activities.

MONGOOSE BUSINESS

While on a night drive, one of the curious creatures you may come across is a White Tailed Mongoose. They are incredibly strange looking, but very interesting and rewarding to watch. A White Tailed mongoose is relatively large, in fact, they are the largest of eleven mongoose species found in Southern Africa. Their long, yellowish tan hair and long, black guard hairs make them appear out of proportion. The tail is bushy and is white on the terminal half. White Tailed mongooses are solitary and the incidence of pairs or groups almost always involves mothers with young or consorting individuals. Individuals do not migrate, except when moving away from the territory of the parent at independence.

They are rather vocal, as we witnessed when this mongoose made a rather unusual sound, which could be related to that of a dog like ‘yap’. The way they defend themselves is with a secretion from the anal scent glands. They are aggressive and will actively defend themselves against larger predators. They are likely to escape predation mainly through their secretive behaviour and cryptic appearance. Possible predators include large snakes, birds of prey, as well as jackals and leopards. They are, however, usually unappealing as a meal due to their putrid scent.

“In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it, our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia.” Charles. A. Lindbergh