June 2009 : Kruger National Park, South Africa

FIGHTING FOR LOVE

A father fighting for his daughters is a force to be reckoned with, fighting to the death if need be. In zebra society, a male needs to abduct a filly from the stallions’ harem, without the stallion noticing. What happens when he does finally notice is depicted in these photographs. They will bite at each others haunches whilst spinning around in circles. Rearing up and biting in the neck is also common. Male zebra have large pronounced canines specially designed for these types of clashes. Interestingly, if a stallion is in good condition, very few males will challenge him. The fight ended in favor of the experienced father, and the young colt had to walk away, tail between the legs.

 

FIGHTING FOR NEED

Loud roars can be heard all across the bushveld. These are not from elephants, and definitely not from lions, they are coming from the gentle impala. It is mating season, better known as “rutting season”. Male impala’s fight for dominance and territory,  day in and day out. During the month of May, and well into June most of the females will have been covered by the territorial males. It is a prestigious title to hold, since there are hundreds of males who would fight that position, and believe me they do. The territorial male is kept so busy fighting for his territory that he hardly eats or sleeps. This causes him to lose condition.

If he is weak, he cannot fight and most territories change hands before the end of the rutting season for exactly that reason. Predators also play a large role during this time. Some, like the leopard,  focus most of their hunting time on the males who are so busy fighting that they hardly notice a stalking leopard. The rut is coming to an end now, so we can finally sleep in peace again. Seven months from now there will be an influx of baby impala due to the females all mating in such close succession.

SOME GOOD OLD FASHIONED FUN

It was hot morning and a bath was exactly what was needed! The young bull lunged into the water with childish enthusiasm and he splashed and he sloshed. Then all of a sudden he noticed tree hippos behind him. The hippos were rather confused - their peaceful little world was rudely interrupted by this giant,  intent on having some fun. The elephant did not take well to their sour faces, and ran towards them with trunk swaying in and out of the water. With no second thought the hippos were gone! Then, as if on cue, two more elephants joined in. This was simply fuel to the fire, and the three of them almost churned this waterhole into a muddy pool. If elephants could express joy, this would have been a triple helping of it. They had the time of their lives.

Once the other two joined in, they had a whale of a time, or should I say an “elephant” of a time! They even clambered on one another’s backs. This fun and action carried on for almost thirty minutes. What entertainment! The two late comers were the first to leave, but the first bull was reluctant. It was almost as if he got annoyed with his friends for leaving so soon. He was having such a good time. He then ran out of the water, and started wrestling with the closest bull.

IMPALA THE MOST NUMEROUS? THINK AGAIN

Giraffe are to be seen around every corner. I could only fit thirteen out of twenty two into this picture. Groups of giraffe are known as “journeys”. Beautiful. Elegant. Graceful.

NEWS FROM THE UNDERGROUND

I am proud to say that we now have two hyena den sites and we are very fortunate to be able to see how these amazing animals nurture their cubs. The cubs at the northern den are growing fast. Hyena cubs are only weaned at a year of age, but they will join hunts very soon, maybe within the next two months. The cubs are already growing very bold, and confidently approach the vehicle, even in the mothers’ absence. The southern den will be documented in next months journal. It is in the heart of the Lebombo Mountains in a spectacular setting.

SPOTTED CATS

Cheetahs are occasional visitors to our area, so when this male made his way in to the heart of the concession we were all blown away. What a beautiful animal! Cheetahs prefer open spaces where they can get up to top speed when chasing after prey. Obstacles like trees and roots hidden away behind tall grass can cause serious damage to an animal running at 60m/h. We have a high lion density here at Lebombo and Sweni, but with the boldness we saw in this cheetah; hopefully we will be seeing more of him in the near future.

We have had a number of leopard sightings this month. It is getting drier now and the bush is not as dense which makes it easier to spot these masters of camouflage. The picture of the leopard in the tree was of a female that was chased up a tree by the Mountain pride. They soon lost interest in the leopard and moved off, but the leopard remained suspicious in her uncomfortable perch. She eventually made her way down and slunk away though the rivers reeds. The leopard in the dark was soaking up the heat from the rocky Granophyres. The rocks retain heat from the sunny afternoon well in to the chilly evenings, and make for an ideal lounging spot before setting off on a night hunt.

MOUNTAIN PRIDE FIGHTING A GIANT

All of sudden the nine lionesses jumped to their feet, and made their way towards the river. On the opposite bank we spotted the reason for their excitement, a fully grown giraffe, the ultimate kill. They wasted no time in surrounding the giant. They would rush in at him hoping to startle him into a run, but he would have none of it. This giraffe was as wise as he was bold. He simply stood his ground, and as soon as the lions tried to jump up onto him, he would kick at them with fearful intent. Three times he hit his mark, and three times was enough. The lions eventually lost courage, and one by one they gave up. A single kick from a giraffe this size could easily kill a lion, or at least break its jaw spelling doom for the big cat.

 

This was clearly not the first time that this giraffe had dealt with lions because he did so with confidence. After an hour only the young inexperienced females still persisted, but even they knew they had been beaten and had to settle for something smaller. A week later we can upon this scene. It appears they finally managed to subdue an adult female. Some of the young males were present, and I am sure their added strength would have helped them pull down the giraffe. They fed on the carcass for four days, a great reward for their hard effort.

 

ULTIMATE OPPORTUNIST

The beautiful Southern pride male made a surprise appearance this month. Even if it was only for a couple of days, he managed to snatch up a golden opportunity. We noticed a female waterbuck in bad shape. She stood motionless in the Nwanetsi River for hours, and she was deteriorated and skinny. We knew her days were numbered, but little did we know the end for her would come within hours. That night the big old male found her, and effortlessly ended her suffering life. He is getting very old now but despite possible pressure from his growing sons, the Mountain pride males he still manages to rule over his territory.

EXCITING BIRDING

A Lilac-breasted Roller with a grasshopper it had just caught. A Southern White-faced Scops Owl and a Spotted Eagle Owl. An immature Martial Eagle soaking up the early morning sun.

These pictures depict some of the features and characteristics that make these animals who they are. They have soft, padded paws giving them the ability to almost silently stalk prey. They have exceptional hearing opening up a world to them way beyond our natural senses. Their eyesight allows them not only brilliant vision during the day, but also at night. The social nature of these cats allows for co-operative hunting, and they form an impressive unit doing so.

All text by Marlon du Toit All photographs shot on location by Marlon du Toit 30 June 2009