January 2010 : Kruger National Park, South Africa

We have once again had fantastic sightings of all kinds. From baboons and pythons catching baby impala to the Mountain pride back together again and killing wildebeest. Birding has been superb with special sightings including a Great Painted Snipe and a Long-crested Eagle.

This place has no end to it. It reminds you of a good bottle of red wine, it only gets better and better. Experts have predicted that we will have hardly any rain this year, and it will be dry and desolate. Read through the pages to come, and you can be the judge of that.

A SILENT KILLER

The baboon is the fourth largest primate in Africa, these charismatic creatures are often found feeding on fruit, bulbs, flowers and seeds, but a baboon’s diet is diverse and it often turns into a killer. Baboons are omnivorous taking anything from vegetation to invertebrates, eggs, small birds, and even young or small antelope.  Both male and female will not hesitate to ambush very young antelope while still in hiding phase, but large adult males will often take larger prey. With the abundance of young antelope arriving with the rains most predators make the most of this bountiful season including the baboons, providing them with additional protein.

 

SPOTTED!!

The flick of her white-tipped tail alerts us to her presence. Her spotted coat perfectly melts into the dappled shade of the under scrub. Then, as if by magic, she steps into the late afternoon sunlight revealing those golden eyes. She is one of our resident female leopards and boy, is she beautiful!

She has been rather generous and graced us with her presence on a number of occasions. She is difficult to find and in true leopard fashion, if she does not want to be seen she can easily disappear into the waist-high grass.

The male pictured below is a resident territorial male who, up until now has gone unchallenged in this area. Also pictured here is a new interloper who seems to have shown a keen interest in not only this area, but also in the lovely lady above. This will not sit well with the resident mail and not long after the stranger came through we saw the resident male in the exact area.

The new male is still young and if caught trespassing by the larger male he might be in for a serious beating. Only time will tell what the end will be, but I am sure that the new male got the message and went looking for greener pastures.

 

MOUNTAIN PRIDE BACK TOGETHER

We almost completely gave up on the Mountain pride.

We’d had sightings of up to three of the females together over the past two months. They were all in estrous and busy courting and mating with the new males in the North and South. Then as if nothing had happened we found seven of the females together hunting wildebeest. Nothing had changed for them, and it was back to business as usual.

What a delight to drive alongside seven of natures most ferocious predators, watching and studying their every move. At no time interfering with any of their actions.

Splitting off whilst mating is typical for lions. The male and female leave the pride for up to a week and mate solidly for up to four days. The male guards her during this time ensuring no strangers try to sneak in and mate with his lionesses.

What happened in our instance was that practically all of our females came into estrous at the same time. It was a daunting time for the males, especially the dominant dark male in the North. He mated with no less than four females whilst his younger brother only mated once. Good news is that the Northern coalition seems to spend most of their time in our territory, meaning they will more than likely become our new pride males.

With the pride back together again they can start hunting serious prey. Pictured above right a lioness splits off to the right of her companions and stalks right up to the herd of zebra visible in the tree line. They managed to get away thanks to the daylight. The wildebeest pictured was not so lucky under the cover of darkness. Things are back to normal now with the pride and with a gestation period of three and a half months we should soon see many little lion cubs running around the concession. A time to look forward too…

 

WHO’S THE REAL KING OF THE JUNGLE?

Minding their own business and trying to get on with the task of mating, these two lions were rudely interrupted by some elephants. Being the King of the Jungle, surely chasing the pestering elephants away should have been no problem. Right? Wrong!

Out here all give way to these grey giants.

The lions had to put tail between legs and slip away. They lay down some distance away and just watched the grazing elephants. Being a male, he naturally wanted to get on with the business of loving, so he strolled up to the female expecting her to sit up and get ready, but instead was met by a paw lined with ridiculously sharp claws.

CURIOUS CATS

Bird hunting is not really a lion’s idea of fun. It requires too much work with almost no reward! That is, unless the birds are big and white and you are young and bored.

These three males tried over and over to sneak up on some white storks. The birds, from European decent, must have thought these lions are crazy.

As soon as the cats got too close for comfort they would simply take to the wing in a flurry of feathers leaving the lions puzzled. This experience of failure was way too much for the three boys to handle and reassurance was needed. They huddled together and comforted one another, promising that everything will be okay. Then they took off down the road with a lesson well learnt.

ELEPHANTS AS ALWAYS…

Elephants (Loxodonta africana) have been abundant on the Singita concession over the last two months. Attracted by valuable surface water, as well as species of palatable grasses.

South of the Sahara, elephants used to abound! A catastrophic decline in numbers occurred during the 1970’s/1980’s due to ivory poaching. In the east and central countries of Africa the population decreased by 80% and by 1986, the continental population decreased from 1.3 million to just 750 000.

Since the moratorium on culling, we are now facing a different situation in the Kruger and populations have increased steadily since 1994. The population of elephants within the Kruger is now estimated around 14000.

Elephant’s hold a special place in any nature lover’s heart, their majestic size, temperament and endearing traits separates them from many species.

An elephant herd are an incredibly close-knit family, with members not only taking care of their offspring but also working as a unit to ensure the success of the next generation. A female and her daughter may maintain a bond for up to fifty years and youngsters stay by their mother’s side for up to six years after being weaned.

Without a doubt they are the most versatile herbivores with a varied diet which the may alter or change depending on the season. Sightings have been great; with the summer rains the concession becomes a haven for these beasts during this time.

BOYS WILL BE BOYS

Boys out in nature are no different than humans. They love to have fun, and if you spend a little time with them you will definitely see this.

Have a look at the two pictures to the right. The male on the right chomps down on the ear of the other one with classic results. Just look at the facial expression on the receiving male’s face. He shut his eyes and probably bit off half his tongue thanks to his friend’s antics. As you can see, the friend found this whole experience rather funny.

The other males also had a bit of fun. The male to the right pulled a sneaky manoeuvre on the left one by cleverly hooking his opponent’s leg with his horn, rendering him helpless. He did not think his plan through and once he had his leg hooked he himself had nowhere to go, so for a few minutes the two just stood there staring at us, as if waiting for us to advise them on what the next move should be.

AFRICAN ROCK PYTHON TAKES ON A YOUNG IMPALA

These young impala lambs unfortunately fall victim to many an eager predator. We came across this scene while driving north along the Lebombo Mountains.

A female impala was alarm calling and we tried to find what had disturbed her. As we approached the area, we saw the scene unfolding - a young impala being asphyxiated by a large Southern African python (Python natalensis).

In the picture, you can see blood around the bite wound on the right hind leg. This is where the snake managed to grip hold of the lamb with its razor sharp recurved teeth.

In the bottom image of a python skull, you can clearly see the four rows of teeth along the top jaw that are perfectly designed to hold onto prey. Once the snake had agrip, it would have started coiling up around its helpless victim and begun killing its prey. Once the impala was dead, the snake was exhausted and very vulnerable. When the snake begins to eat the prize it becomes even more vulnerable to predation and if forced, will regurgitate the meal to make a quick escape.

COMMON SUMMER SNAKES

This has got to be one of the most beautiful snakes in the area. With striking orange slit eyes, the Eastern Tiger Snake gets its name from the colours of its skin that are similar to that of a tiger. The vertical slit in the eye tell you something about this snakes habits - it is nocturnal.

They are most common after rains when they come out in search of prey which includes mainly lizards and geckos. They are of no danger to man since they are not venomous. They are however very aggressive and will not hesitate to strike at you.

Next we have the Puff Adder - a snake best left alone.

It is a deadly snake and responsible for most snake bite incidents in Africa. They are very well camouflaged and inconspicuous. It is a large, full-bodied snake that possess massive fangs that inject large quantities of cytotoxic, tissue destroying venom. They hiss when disturbed, and also inflate their bodies and they can strike faster than almost any snake.

The beautiful green snake to the right is a male Boomslang. They are day active snakes and spend most of their time in tree’s searching for prey like lizards, chameleons and birds. They have binocular vision different to most snakes and this allows them to judge distance and pursue prey through the trees at high speeds. They are venomous but are shy and do not strike easily but still a snake to try avoid.

QUELEAS BY THE MILLIONS

This little bird is more than just an ordinary little brown bird. They are the most numerous birds on earth and in the Kruger National Park you will find a population of over 35 million!

They are around mostly mid-summer to early winter when grasses are producing seed. They can be seen in flocks numbering tens of thousands as they feed in a ‘rolling-motion’ with the birds in the back flying to the front to feed. Interestingly they are also one of the fastest passerines (perching birds) in the world.

Studies in Kruger show that quelea colonies, which typically feed in a six kilometer radius from their nests, can consume up to 480 kilograms of plants and insects per hectare per day. That is a massive impact on the environment. In some instances, colonies can consist of up to a million birds.

The gathering of these birds in summer is a must-see phenomenon equivalent to that of the wildebeest migration in East Africa. They are a major food source for many predators, especially the nestlings. Birds such as Lesser-spotted aagles migrate all the way from Europe to prey on these birds. Local raptors will also take advantage as well as many snakes, small cats, monitor lizards, baboons and storks.