February 2009 : Sabi Sand Reserve, South Africa

With the rainfall being very high this month, everthing is so lush and green. Mud wallows and pans are full of water offering cool respite to warthogs, rhino, buffalo and elephant – the ‘mud-kings’!

The coalition of male lion have been roaming through the property on most nights, giving us superb displays of powerful vocalizations. With the river so full we haven’t been able to cross over to where the Othawa Pride reside, but never the less from time to time they have shown themselves.

Unfortunately a further two Wild Dogs/ “Painted Hunting Dogs” (Lycaon pictus)  pups were killed by predators, leaving the pack with only back the original four adults. Hopefully they will find a den in the next few months,with winter being the preferred denning period), away from the lions to start over once again.

Marula trees (Sclerocarya birrea caffra) have provided their bounty of delicious fruit for many herds of elephant as well as a host of other creatures: monkeys, baboons, even a Speke’s Hinge-backed Tortoise! Guests have tried the locally brewed marula beer and nuts on trips into the Justicia Village.

The migratory birds, plains game and plenty of other creatures survive from one day to the next, always providing something extraordinary to discover and learn about, if you know where to look….!

Just in Time for the Final Breath!
The cheetah sightings (Acinonyx jubatus) have been more scarce than usual over the last few months, although one of the dominant older males has found paradise in the Southern section of the reserve. For the time being the area seems to be a lion (Panthera leo) free zone,
with an abundance of suitable prey to keep him in excellent condition. He managed to successfully catch this impala in the clearings. With some
luck on our side we found him moments after the kill. After a few minutes to catch his breath again he began to feed, the impala lasted two days luckily not being stolen by hyenas (Crocuta crocuta ) or any other predators.

The cheetah’s small canine teeth are well suited to apply an asphyxiating throat hold to the narrow neck of an impala. Neat suffocation is actually a fairly prolonged process that can take up to 10 minutes.

An Incredible Morning
While in the North, looking for tracks of the Othawa Pride of Lions, we managed to find some signs of a female leopard and what appeared to be a cub. We followed the leopard tracks and to our surprise we came across the Shangwa female leopard in a Jackalberry tree (Diospyros mespiliformis). We decided to keep our distance for a while as we suspected there could be little leopard cubs around. After about 15 minutes, to our joy, we spotted a little face peering at us from the base of the tree. We are not sure how many cubs there are as we only saw one, in the thick bush, which was about 2 months old.

After watching the cub, we followed the female as she came down the tree and walked through the bushes, Themba, my tracker noticed a dead impala that the leopard had killed and was feeding upon.

Not far from the area was also a wounded buffalo, which had broken its front right leg, a sure possibility that the lions were about. During this time of the cub’s life they are extremely vulnerable, so we wish it /them the best of luck.  After continuing to follow the lion tracks, we found them feeding on an impala only about 100m north of the leopard and her cub. Three incredible sightings all within 100 meters.
by Lazarus Mahori - Field Guide

Mud Kings!
Mud wallows and pans are full of water offering cool respite to warthogs, rhino, buffalo and elephant. Most wallows start out as rain water collects in depressions, some as small as elephant tracks. These holes attract animals to drink and wallow, their activities increasing the depression. With subsequent cycles of filling and usage it becomes a fully-fledged wallow.

These wallows are vital for the well being of the environment. In summer they draw animals away from the rivers or permanent water zones that were utilized in the winter months. In so doing the vegetation is given time to recover from the effects of grazing.

I’ve Got my Eyes on You!
I noticed a journey of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) all persistently focused in one particular direction.  This is usually a sure sign that they have identified a ‘strange’ movement that they are trying to investigate. It is not necessarily a predator but often simply something they cannot be certain of in make-up. Often they all concentrate in that direction to assure themselves. Notice the tail standing perpendicular to the body, denoting that the giraffe is alert.

In this case after some careful scanning we came to the realisation that there was nothing potentially dangerous around. So I decided to lie in the grass and see if my presence would have the same effect. After a few minutes they saw me and slowly approached keeping their eyes fixed on me. Giraffe sometimes even approach predators such as lions to get a better look but never take their eyes off them.

I must say that lying on the ground surrounded by Africa’s tallest mammal has got to be one of the highlights of my life. Their curious and pleasant nature was amplified beyond imagination.

Tiger in Africa?

One of the most spectacular snakes in the region is the Eastern Tiger Snake (Telescopus semiannulatus), with its impressive orange-pink to dull salmon colours with dark brown/black crossbars on the body and tail. It is also mildly venomous, but not fatal to humans.

Being a nocturnal snake it spends most of the day concealed in rock crevices or under the bark of trees. Although a ground dweller, it often ventures into trees, and shrubs, where it hunts for food. The Eastern Tiger Snake feeds largely on lizards, especially geckos. If threatened, as you can clearly see in the image, the snake puts on an impressive display, raising its head off the ground and striking viciously.

An Audio Feast
After some serious tracking work, Head Field Guide, Mark managed to locate a mating pair of leopards in some very thick vegetation along a river tributary. Unfortunately they didn’t manage to see them in the act. Later that afternoon my tracker and I went out on foot and were captivated by the noises that came from a bush not far from where we were standing. Trying to bring the vehicle closer was a challenge in the riverine vegetation so we decided to listen again… wow… they were right there, shadowed by the tall grass. The act was so intense all on the vehicle had their blood flowing a whole lot faster than normal. Luckily a number of others where privileged to also witness this moment.  We are not sure which leopards they were as they were rather nervous of the vehicles and moved off to find some privacy.

Who’s Spots are Those?

On a recent adventurous morning drive into an area of the reserve where the grass was as tall as my tracker and the colourful banded-legged golden orb web spiders had stretched many a golden web over the dirt roads, we discovered not just one but two spotted cats in a young Leadwood tree (Combretum imberbe).

Now, my automatic reaction to Phanuel Masinga, my tracker’s, triumphant arms being thrown wide in a signal to ‘stop’ whilst beaming a smile from cheek to cheek, was to excitedly scan for what I imagined must have been a leopard he’d seen. In the distance I made out a slender, spotted, long-legged feline sitting in the ‘V’ of a tree and thought ooh, maybe we are even more fortunate here as this resembles something like the shape of a cheetah who could have jumped in to the low part of this tree. Upon closer investigation with my binoculars and pointing the direction out to my guests, we confirmed that we were not looking at a rosetted leopard or spotted cheetah but in fact an incredibly rare “small” cat called a serval (Leptailurus serval). I didn’t dare drive any closer at this stage as generally these cats are secretive, shy, most active at night and early morning and therefore seldom seen by vehicles. It seemed quite content perched in the tree scanning the surrounding area with us cheerfully gazing at it.

We could admire the serval’s large ears and long legs of which in fact, relative to its body size, are the biggest in all of the cat family. This serval was quite large and we presumed it to be a male though their weight ranges between 8 and 20 kilograms, their head-body length averaging 85 centimetres, and their shoulder height ranging from 40 to 65 centimetres. The male serval was really not concerned in the slightest about us being around so I attempted to drive quietly closer to the side of the leadwood tree. What a reward to be 20 metres from such a rare and beautiful cat in broad daylight. We could clearly see its pale gold body with round black spots that also merged into stripes on the back of the neck and back. Its petit face with dominating ears that just didn’t seem to fit, prove most necessary in pin-pointing the movements of rodents even underground. Mice and rats are a serval’s specialty with other mammalian prey such as hares, hyraxes and mole rats together making up 89% or their diet. Any opportunity to catch lizards, frogs, insects, fish and birds are also taken and occasionally even small antelope will become a satisfying meal.

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Who’s Spots are Those?

The long legs are vital in the well-watered savanna habitat they prefer in order to stand tall and see over long grass and to give them the amazing ability to leap high into the air and come down with both front feet on its victim. Sometimes it takes a whole series of spectacular jumps and pounces chasing after its prey but won’t keep this up for long. Its actions and reactions are so quick that it can pluck birds from the air or snag an agama lizard from a tree.

Another surprise was in store for us as while we were busy watching this male, Phanuel noticed movement much higher up the tree amongst the leaf foliage. Sure enough a second serval was standing awkwardly and hissing at the male below. It is quite possible that this was a female. Like most cats the serval are generally solitary and only associate with others when it comes to mating or if a mother is raising kittens. In this circumstance she may have been coming in to heat which attracted the male to her or he was after the other sort of goods she could provide in the way of food for his stomach. Perhaps she had caught something to eat and he hoped to get some of it. Either way, we did not notice any food with the female and the male looked ready to stick it out for as long as it took her to come closer. So perhaps after several more days courtship a litter of 2-3 kittens could result in 65 – 75 days time?

Serval have only recently become a focus as more and more information is being learnt about them. They are a part of the sub-Saharan Africa smaller felids which also includes the black-footed cat (Felis nigripes), African wild cat (Felis sylvestris lybica) and the caracal (Caracal caracal). All are threatened to some extent due to lose of habitat and extermination though for the African wild cat it risks widespread hybridisation with the domestic cat.

CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora) lists the serval, African wild cat and caracal on Appendix II meaning ‘not necessarily threatened with extinction, but may become so unless trade is strictly regulated’, though the black-footed cat is on Appendix I and the most vulnerable being the smallest of the four weighing between 1 and 2.5 kilograms.

Given that serval live the longest of these small cats I hope we will be spotting more of these two servals’ spots over the next 20 years of their lives.

By Shelley Pope - Field Guide

Want to Play like a Porcupine?

The South African Porcupine ( Hystrix africaeustralis ) has quills banded with black and white, some of which are nearly half a meter long.  If anything interferes with it, whether a lion or merely an inquisitive human, it will issue a series of warnings. First it erects its quills into a huge halo that doubles its apparent size and makes it look very fearsome indeed. Then it shakes a group of specialised hollow quills on the end of its tail, which make an ominous rattling noise. Finally, as an indication that it is getting very angry, it stamps its hind feet. If all this is not enough to deter a stranger, then the porcupine will suddenly spin round and rush backwards with such speed that its attacker may be seriously stabbed. Some of its quills are only loosely attached and may stay in the wounds they make. It is not uncommon to see a young lion with porcupine quills in their muzzles. They are unlikely to attack a porcupine again.

The effectiveness of the porcupine’s defenses, however, does raise the question of how male and female porcupine get close enough to one another in order to mate. Understanderably, each partner needs some considerable reassurance that the other is favourably inclined. They approach each other cautiously and begin to groom each other around the head where their hair, though course, is not spiny. This behaviour continues as they circle one another and call. Then the male moves behind the female and parts the long backward pointing quills on either side of her haunches. She erects her quills on her back and raises her tail. The male then stands on his hind legs and cautiously advances until the underside of her tail is supporting his belly, thus intromission is safely achieved.

Interestingly enough, once having successfully negotiated the hazards of such congress, a pair seems only too happy to repeat it. Although the female only becomes fertile every 35 days or so, the male mounts most evenings and actually copulates on most if not all of those occasions. Perhaps this consolidates their relationship with one another. If that is the case, then they are the only mammals to do so apart from dolphins and some of the primates.

Images courtesy of http://www.Africs.com

Interview with Field Guide Nicky Silberbauer
Q: What is your age and when is your birthday?
A: I’m 23 and my birthday is the 12th of July 1985. Cancer

Q: Where are you from?
A: I was born in Cape Town, and as I got older my family moved to Knysna which I call home. I went to school at Herschel in Cape Town.

Q: How long have you been a field guide for? And how long at Singita?
A: I’ve been a field guide for a little over two years now. I started the Singita training in September last year and since then I have been guiding in this area.

Q: If you could be an animal what would you choose to be and why?
A: A cheetah, unrivalled for its speed and athleticism, envied for its grace and beauty, esteemed for its hunting prowess.

Q: You win the lottery! How do you spend your millions?
A: I would invest and donate a fair share, with the rest, travel for months on end through Africa with my family and the best camera equipment possible,  capturing every moment.

Q: Do you have a specialist interest?
A: Yes, I am sure you have guessed - PHOTOGRAPHY

Q: If you could pick any four people in the world to take on a game drive at Singita Sabi Sand who would they be/have been?
A: David Attenborough; Thomas Marent; My brother and Daryl Dell
Q: What makes your heart beat a little faster?
A: Sitting with the male lions when they start vocalising. The intensity before the kill moment between any predator and prey, my heart is torn. Finding babies in the bush. Between 06h00 and 07h00 each day, the moment when the sun is on fire and everything looks so glamorous.

Q: The book on your bedside table is…?
A: The Life of Mammals by David Attenborough and The Art of Nature by Hienrick van den Berg

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Interview with Field Guide Nicky Silberbauer

Q: Your best 3 course meal?
A: Vegetarian Fashion sandwiches to start; Honey glazed chicken breasts as a main and chocolate, banana spring rolls to close.

Q: What’s your charity of choice
A: Endangered Wildlife Society, in particular the cheetah and wild dog projects

Q: You know you’re in Africa when?
A: I’m walking through the bush and I climb a tree to get an even more breathtaking look.

Q: If you weren’t a first-class field guide what would you have been?
A: I would be taking wildlife photography workshops

Q: Do you talk to animals?
A: Always.

Q: What are your hobbies and interests?
A: Photography, designing, birding, tree climbing, walking and wakeboarding.

Q: What was your worst subject at school and why?
A: Accounting, nothing ever balanced.

Q: Top 5 films?
A: Planet earth; Gardern State; Into the Wild; Blood Diamand and Pie

Q: What’s been your favourite sighting?
A: There are so many, it’s impossible to pinpoint my favourite each having being so unique. The one that stands out is when we were sitting at a waterhole in the south west of the reserve and there was a rhino wallowing on the left side, while a leopard lay on the right bank. As if things couldn’t get better while the sun was setting, the pack of wild dogs ran down for a drink. The leopard was quickly sent up a tiny tree while the wild dogs moved around at the base. The dogs eventually gave up and trotted off into the clearings, us in hot pursuit, they met up with four youngsters and fed them before trotting back to the waterhole. The leopard at this stage was still swaying in the tree when they returned.

Like this Spotted Eagle Owl, we will be keeping a sharp eye out for the happenings of March… till then.

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods;
There is rapture on the lonely shore;
There is society, where none intrudes.
By the deep sea, and music in it’s roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more.
- Lord Byron

This entry was submitted by Nicky Silberbauer
Unless indicated, all photographs were taken on location at Singita Sabi Sand
28 February 2009
Singita Sabi Sand