May 2010 : Kruger National Park, South Africa

The days are cooling rapidly, a clear sign that winter is at our doorstep. Mornings are crisp and mist covers the rivers and deep valleys. Impalas huddle together tightly to avoid the morning chill, and baboons are not foraging as early as normal, preferring to soak up the first rays of sunlight. This is a beautiful time of year. We have been very fortunate regarding rain. All of the large waterholes are full, and so are the two rivers. This means that we will have enough water to sustain us through winter. Water is a precious commodity and very sought after in the dry winter months. We have not sighted the leopard cubs again but are hoping for the best. We know of at least one lioness with cubs, and suspect another two. It is exciting times for us, and I am sure the next few journals will be action packed.

Introducing the newest members of the Singita family… 

These two cubs are a priceless new addition to Singita Lebombo & Sweni. This was the first sighting of them, and they are still very young. The mom is a female that we see on a regular basis, and she is very relaxed with the vehicles. She was keeping them in the Lebombo Mountains, and was very secretive. To have gained this glimpse of the cubs is a feat in itself. In the meantime she has moved the cubs to another hide out. We are not sure where exactly she is keeping them, but we can only assume it is still within the safety of the rocky out crops. We are watching out for her on every drive, and will keep you updated on the progress of our new family.

Boys from the South
Pictured to the right is a sight that makes your knees shake even from the “safety” of a game viewer. A fully grown male lion weighing possibly 220kg (+- 400 pounds). The fire in his eyes right up fear in the souls of even the bravest. He is part of the Southern coalition of five male lions, and they have one mission at the moment, and that is to acquire land and females. In the Kruger National Park, the average territory of lions would be between 230 and 280 km. The average coalition size in the park is roughly 1.7 lion and the Southern coalition numbers 5. This gives them a huge advantage, as their territory would be much larger than that of a coalition of 2 males, and also by their sheer power they will be able to oust any small male coalitions. The downside is that the larger their territory becomes, the more difficult it will be to protect it against interloping males. These interlopers could potentially kill cubs that are not under surveillance of the pride males.

Time is of the essence for these males. They are more than likely around seven years old, are all related and from the same pride. Considering that they will reach their prime in about 2 year’s time, they need to acquire land and females as soon as possible. The fact that the coalition is so big helps them a great deal. Perhaps they will reign in the area for the next four or five years, three years longer than the average tenure by small coalitions in the park.
Crossing rivers is one part of a lions routine that they are not very fond of. They are cats, and as we all know most cats despise water and getting their paws wet. Here you can see a Southern coalition male showing us exactly how to deal with that “wet stuff”. A deft leap takes him to the other side without even touching the water.

Pictured here guide Collen Sibuyi with one of the coalition members walking past his vehicle. Navigating the concession at the moment requires some skill. We have had more than the average amount of rain this year.
Pictured here is one of the coalition males with the Cherombi pride. We have not seen these females together for a very long time, and the sight of them in the presence of the Southern coalition is extremely exciting for us. They are lying around the N’wanetsi River, within view of Singita Lebombo Lodge. They spend a large portion of their time in the south, suggesting that they have settled there. The fact that half of the females are missing whenever we do sight them could perhaps mean that they have cubs hidden somewhere. We watched some of the females actively mate with the Southern coalition in December and January. With a gestation period of around three and half months they could have cubs at this very time. This is all so exciting for us as both prides might soon have little lions running around all over the place.

How NOT to treat a lady: Scenario 1 by a Southern coalition male

So, this pretty lioness walks up to this big male. She is intrigued and very curious. She does not know him well, but she would like to get to know him.
Now with male lions there is a certain protocol in the way you need to approach them. They are all about power and strength, and they live as the kings of the land. Now when a lovely young lady approaches you, what do you do? You smile and are nice. No, definitely not what he did!

Perhaps she rushed him a little in her approach but he was not amused. Her curious tap in his face was met by one serious growl. She immediately knew that trouble was coming her way and let her teeth show in a way only a woman could. Trust me, an angry lioness and a woman scorned are not that much different. She backed up and was ready for whatever it was that he had for her. I think he was a little new to this lady thing and did not quite know what to do. He probably thought that his show of strength would “woo” her a little but I am not sure that was the effect. She rightly walked away from him and did not go up to him again for the rest of the morning. In fact, the three girls left him to his own devices soon afterwards and went on their own adventure.
The bottom line? This lions demonstrated to us how not to handle it. All she wanted was a little love and attention.

How NOT to treat a lady: Scenario 2 by a Northern coalition male

So, you are sitting in a bar with your mates when a beautiful lady brushes past you whilst giving you a flirtatious glimpse. She walks away and gives you another look, pouting those luscious lips. What do you do? Our younger Northern male had a gorgeous young girl do exactly that too him. In those situations you have to play the game, keep your cool, keep the girl guessing and keep her interested. Instead he took flirtatious behavior as an open invitation to mating rights. Big mistake. He walked right up to her and proceeded to mount her. She proceeded to slap him. He could not understand this. She had gone from flirty do downright vicious. She felt violated and he felt stupid and very confused. What can we learn from this boys? We need to be smooth, and we need to play the game. Lets learn from this male lion and perhaps your luck will change the next time you get a glance from a that bombshell across the room.

Amazing time with the Queen of the North
She is by far the most impressive rhino I have ever laid eyes on. Her horn is almost straight as an arrow and probably six or eight inches longer than that of the average rhino. What makes her so mystical is the fact that she is so shy. In over two years I have never been able to get close to her, at best, she keeps a distance of about 100 meters. That is why these pictures are so special. For the first time ever I managed to watch her and her calf within 10n meters of my vehicle. It took more than half an hour to get them this relaxed. It even got to a point where the calf lay down and fell asleep, the ultimate sign of trust. She is a symbol of Africa to me, untouched and wild. She is so shy that some of the guides here at Singita have never even seen her in the flesh. This is a moment that I will never forget my special meeting with the “Queen of the North”.

The Xinkelegane female in all her glory

We have not seen this female in the last couple of weeks, but this may be due to her new role as a mother of two. As we suspected she eventually gave birth and hid her offspring along the base of the Lebombo Mountains. Due to scent build up, which may attract other predators, it is possible that she has changed her den location. Reproduction in leopards is unseasonal with a female reaching sexual maturity between two and three years of age.  In the Kruger National Park only about 28% of all the female leopards produce cubs in a year. After a 106 day gestation period the cubs are born weighing in at a mere 50 grams, completely helpless. A female usually hides her cubs for the first six weeks, after this period they begin eating meat and are completely weaned as early as 100 days after birth.
At about 4 months the cubs may accompany their mother while she hunts and depending on how successful they are, they may make their first kill at only five months of age. Unfortunately the mortality rate for a cub in its first year is 50% but with age and time the percentage of the mortality rate starts to decline. Our hopes are high that we may manage to locate the new den site, otherwise if everything goes well she will introduce them to us in the near future.

Migrating Giants

For some time large herds of elephants were non-existent in the central regions of the park. They migrate to the south of the park and to the Sabi Sand early in summer to exploit the Marula trees in fruit, and then late summer they move into the north feeding on the abundant Mopani trees. Thanks to late summer rains in our central grasslands the herds are returning. Herds numbering 60-100 animals can now be seen roaming the lands again.

It is exciting o see elephants migrate within the boundaries of the six million acre Kruger National Park. Many people do not know that these giants migrate, but it is essential to their survival. They have massive dietary requirements and need to move to different areas of the park in order to feed their appetites. Migrating also gives the parks over utilized land time to heal. With fifteen thousand elephants roaming the park, migration is essential for a healthy
eco-system.

Opportunistic as always

It will scavenge wherever possible and as a predator will always select the most easily captured prey. This said, a lone hyena is capable of running down and killing an adult bull wildebeest. This is usually a last resort but it does give an idea of what they are capable of and disregards the notion that they are lazy good-for-nothing scavengers. In these photographs they show just how remarkable they are. This giraffe got trapped in the mud and was not able to stand up again, leading to a slow and painful death. These hyenas fed on this carcass even though it was more than three days old. The mud did not stop them as they ripped away at the rotting flesh. This is something few animals, if any, will do. It creates a unique niche for these animals, and enables them to survive, regardless of the conditions. They are very successful hunters, but at the same time are not afraid to get their feet dirty. Hyenas usually forage alone or in pairs. They try to locate young or incapacitated animals. The hunt starts by loping toward potential prey, making them run. They can then select straggling animals from the herd on which they then focus. For some unknown reason prey usually run 50 or 100 meters then stop and look back. They are not mindful of the hyenas’ incredible staying power. When hyenas finally do give chase they end up running prey down within a kilometer. Ultimately hyenas are one of Africa’s most successful hunters. In some areas of Africa they even replace lions at the top of the food chain, something most people did not know. This is something to think about next time you see this “lowly scavenger” walking down the road. This is definitely a case where there is more than meets the eye.

Beautiful Sights…
 
The young zebra looks as if it had just returned from the hair dressers with his reddish Mohawk. Whilst the impala pictured is on the verge of flight after spotting a lioness. A beautiful family portrait of a herd of waterbuck.

Secretive Cats
Imagine my surprise when on a cold morning I find one of Africa’s most beautiful cats in broad daylight. They are active mostly at night, but can be seen early morning and late afternoon, especially on overcast days. The Serval is the tallest of the small cats. It is beautifully marked with spots similar to that of a cheetah. In fact, at the shoulder it is the same height as a leopard. It can be seen walking though grasslands searching for mainly rodents. Thanks to very tall legs it’s able to see with vision in the tall grasslands. It also has amazing jumping capabilities. One of the first things you also notice is their massive ears. They aid in locating prey and pick up on even the slightest of noises, even from underground. They are very successful hunters, and one of the most beautiful creatures you will ever see. Pictured to the right is another secretive and nocturnal cat. It is an African Wildcat, busy hunting for small rodents. It looks almost exactly like a common house cat, but is no relation to them at all. In fact, it is thought that domestic cats descend from this species. In areas where they cross breed they lose their long legs and translucent unspotted ears.

The Mating Game
Pictured here is the more dominant of the two males from the Northern coalition with a young receptive lioness. Courtship may be initiated by either sex, in this case and most cases I have witnessed,  the female will display in front of the male walking, stopping and presenting herself right in front of the male.

Hungry Hippo
This picture indicates the sheer size of these animals. The hippo can open its mouth up to 160° - the large front teeth occlude against one another, keeping them razor sharp. On this occasion we were on foot walking along the N’wanetsi River, this territorial bull warned us that we were too close by gaping and defecating in the water, a warning that needs to be adhered to!