October 2009 : Kruger National Park, South Africa

SIGNS OF COLOUR….SIGNS OF SUMMER

What an amazing month it has been. We have had plenty of lion sightings and leopard hunting, mostly around the waterholes - a magnet for game. Many animals need to drink daily and predators use this to their advantage, often spending day after day running at game. We had our first taste of rain only a couple of days ago, not much, but it does bring signs of hope. It is still very dry so any moisture helps.

At the moment there is a lot of movement of the game around the concession with most of the animals congregating in the north. As a result of this, we have focused more on these areas and had amassing sightings of Sable and Black Rhino. Overall things are still positive when the rains come we will have a beautiful summer filled with baby animals and beautiful visiting birds. Watch this space…

 

FIGHTING GIANTS

When territorial hippo’s clash for ownership of a small pool of water you know that blood will flow. They are equipped with jaws that can open up to 170 degrees, have canines that can measure in at over half a meter in length and they have two forward pointing teeth designed for stabbing.  Weighing in at roughly two tons they have considerable amount of force behind those jaws and they know how to use them.

Even though hippos have extremely thick skin around the face and neck, injuries are inevitable as they bite and slash at each other. All of this is accompanied by eerie growls and bellows that can be heard from kilometers away as they fight throughout the night. If evenly matched,  bulls can fight for hours on end with result often being death, for one or both.

This is one of two large bodies of water on the concession. It is littered with crocodiles of all sizes and is a death trap for all who drink from it. There are at least forty hippos congregating here with barely enough water to cover their backs so stress levels are extremely high. This is the largest pool in the N’wanetsi River, and also the largest body of water on the concession. Excessive grazing around the water has driven animals away from this area, with most of the general game moving north. This has left the hippo in a bad predicament. They now have to cover vast distances in search of food, travelling up to 15km or more each night. They have to return early in the morning or else their skin will be badly burnt by the summer sun.

 

ABSOLUTE ELEGANCE

Beauty. Grace. Elegance. Silence.

. These are only some of the terms that one can use to describe a leopard. This particular male is one we often come across on drives – he is the King of this area. His confidence overflows as he struts around. He leaves his scent wherever he goes. He is a supreme hunter, often felling prey much heavier than he is. Picture here you can see him hunting at a pool in the river. When he sets his gaze on the quarry, few will be able to escape.

 

This is the same male here. He made his way into the Northern section of his territory after hunting at the pools. Here he came across a female with an impala kill. He simply chased her from the kill and claimed it for himself. He does not mean her any harm and she will not fight against him. This is the price she has to pay for protection from outside males. His territory will overlap the territories of several females. This is done on purpose to secure efficient mating opportunities.

Once he had claimed the kill he characteristically hoisted it into the higher branches of a Knob Thorn, pictured here.  He fed for sometime, rather uncomfortably I might say, before dropping the kill to the ground and continued feeding. Leopards need to be very carefully whilst feeding on ground as the smell of fresh blood attracts not only hyenas, but also lion, a deadly adversary of leopard.

 

LIONS & BUFFALO

What a brutal battle this must have been! Seven male lion versus one adult buffalo bull. The stage was set right next to a waterhole in some dense brush. The buffalo must have initially had the upper hand, perhaps propping his rear end up against some thick vegetation whilst fighting off the marauding lions with his very able horns. It is almost suicidal for a lion to risk a frontal attack. One blow from those horns will do deadly damage.

Perhaps a momentarily lapse in concentration gave the lions a glance at his rear quarters - exactly what they were waiting for. They had him. As a unit seven males started tearing into his body, chewing away at his spine and eventually collapsing the colossal beast. In a situation like this, a lion would typically rush at the head of the buffalo and secure his jaws around its muzzle. The buffalo has fought off many lions in his life but tonight would be different. The power of the coalition would prove to be too strong and he took his last breath straight into the bloodied jaws of his adversary.

 

LIONS AND ANOTHER BUFFALO…

With eyes blazing and a warrior like posture he towers over his kill. Whilst feeding lions are very aggressive, especially towards each other - it is a means of securing food, not knowing when the next feeding opportunity may come around.

Lions calculate most of their kills very carefully. Given the choice they would almost always go for a larger animal. The amount of effort put into killing needs to be reflected in the amount of food provided. Killing a buffalo is the ultimate.

It is a dangerous kill but the reward is three to four days worth of food. If seven lions killed an impala there would hardly be enough to satisfy the smallest of hunger pangs. The fact that they have numbers on their side contributes greatly to their success at killing animals up to the size of sub-adult elephants. Ninety percent of predators kill prey smaller than themselves.

 

TRAVELING GIANTS…

We have been seeing less of the large herds of elephant in the last couple of months as they go in search of more consistent water resources. So the sight of at least sixty elephants travelling around the North of the concession was a welcome surprise. There were calves of all ages playing together; young males wrestled one another - unknowingly establishing a ladder of dominance for future encounters.

With the constant travel between water in the West and feeding pastures in the North East of the concession, they play an important role in ensuring food for others during this time of year. Browse is almost impossible to come by, but elephants make this accessible by pushing over trees that have started producing leaves earlier than the rest. They do not eat it all, and any browsing antelope from kudu to steenbok relish the fresh leaves.

 

 

GENERAL SIGHTINGS…

Nyala belong to the same family as the kudu. They prefer forested areas and the males look very different to the females, both in size and in color Sable antelope are arguably the most beautiful antelope. They frequent dry areas, and walk large distances for water. The black with white colors are diagnostic. The king of antelope, a male kudu. The large ears are perfectly designed for hearing. They are often overlooked as the hide in the thickets. Cape buffalo have made several appearances this month. They move around in large herds of up to 400 in the North of the concession. As they are very water dependant, their movements are seasonal.

 

It is almost that time of the year again – Impala Lambing Season! Female impala are heavily pregnant at the moment and the fact that they are skinny makes it seem even more pronounced. They try to plan the birth of their youngsters just after the first rains have fallen. This provides them with lots of cover for hiding, green grass and an abundance of water. Closer towards the end of November we should start seeing the first of the new born impalas.

White-backed vultures patiently waiting for lions to leave a buffalo kill made for some entertaining viewing. It was a hot day, and all the lions wanted to do after a night of eating was to find a shady spot and sleep. Every time the lions moved away from the carcass the vultures would ascend en mass from every tree. This stirred hatred in the lions like you have never seen before. They will not share their kill with these scavengers. One of the lions mustered the energy to chase them and no sooner would he return to his place of comfort in the shade, and exactly the same would happen, over and over again!

 

BIRD OF THE MONTH

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

For anyone who has ever been on safari in these parts of Africa this bird is a very familiar sight. Unmistakable thanks to that massive yellow bill, the call of this bird will often be the first thing you hear as you arrive, and once on safari they float by on large black and white wings. Hornbills are divided into two ‘groups’. The yellow-billed belongs to a group known as Tockus, derived from the ‘tocking’ call made by them. Pairs will sit in an exposed position, with head and bill lowered to the chest, wings spread and lifted will use their ‘tocking’ call incessantly.

These birds are seasonally monogamous and are unique in that the female voluntarily incarcerates herself within the nesting cavity in a tree hollow. The hole is sealed with mud, plant material and faeces, leaving only a narrow slit for the bill to fit through. Females break out after the chicks hatch and the oldest of the chicks then seals up the hole again. Chicks are fed primarily by one adult, usually the female. Often only the strongest of chicks are fed as they power their way to the hole, leaving the others to starve. This in known as brood reduction, with only the fittest surviving.

Singita Kruger National Park All text by Marlon du Toit All photographs shot on location by Marlon du Toit 31 October 2009