July 2010 : Grumeti Reserves, Tanzania

As the large herds of migrating wildebeest gradually move off the concession and begin the trip to the Northern Serengeti and Maasai Mara, so begins the reappearance of all the species who prefer not to be around whilst the huge herds are in residence. Peace and tranquility replace the constant drone; disturbed occasionally by exhilarating chases across the open plains. A special thanks to Alfred for his many photos’s taken this month, in particular this amazing sequence captured of our two resident male cheetahs selecting, separating and then chasing down a young Wildebeest Calf. Not for the faint hearted, but nature at its best played out on the Sasakwa Plains.

Having selected a termite mound to survey the plains, one of the males waits patiently, allowing himself time to assess the lay of the land and strategize the hunt. The waiting period over, the two males working in tandem, the larger of the two brothers selects and then easily isolates a young calf from the rest of the herd, its mother included. The rest of the herd even has time to turn and watch as the cheetah bears down on the youngster.

The final few moments of the chase as the cheetah prepares for the pounce, perfectly poised, tail providing exact balance and intense concentration, always mindful of a backward kick from the youngster. Asphyxiation will be the very efficient means to an end for the calf, the male initially knocking the back legs from under the wildebeest and then heading straight for the jugular.

The cheetah’s skull is extensively modified to allow the jaws to clamp down on the jugular and maintain a tight hold for up to twenty minutes if necessary until the animal has died from suffocation. The nasal passages are exceptionally large to let the cheetah “pant” through the nose while maintaining its vice like grip. The clamping action is helped by a steepened angle to the face that has raised the top of the skull and eyes

On completion, the larger of the two is joined by his brother and the feeding begins immediately. After the huge herds have cropped the grasses to knee height, our chance of locating the mostly inactive (during the migration months) lion prides increases enormously. The long awaited reappearance, after approximately six months, of members of the Butamtam pride was evidence of this. Four members, all young adults have been sighted around the Sasakwa Lake and Komre Drainage Lines over the last few days.

The Sabora West pride have provided most of our Lion viewing over the last month, having spent a large portion of that time along the Rahu Drainage Line west of Sabora. Although completely habituated to the game viewers, they are often hard to find as they spend the majority of the day in dense Sansevieria thickets. A lioness and two youngsters were also seen for the first time in the area surrounding German Bridge. The Lioness also likes to hide the youngsters in the dense thickets in the river, here Alf capturing a quick shot when she brought them out into the open.

Hyaenas are never far from the action, the myth that they are pure scavengers soon dispelled after time at Singita Grumeti Reserves. They are exceptional predator s with all the skills and survival techniques entitling them the often acclaimed and deserved title as “the Ultimate Opportunist”.

Here a young adult female uses her immensely powerful jaws to grip and tear open the thick skin of a wildebeest.  Hyaena skulls are short, deep and wide to accommodate bulky chewing and neck muscles. The carnassial teeth are primarily adapted to slice and shear through large bones and thick hides. Hyaenas can also break down complex organic materials such as bone, chitin and semi – poisonous compounds. They have the ability to shatter, swallow and digest large mammal bones, but will regurgitate matted hair, bits of horn and other indigestible fragments. Their jaws, necks, shoulders and forelegs are adapted for sustained weight carrying.

As always, zebra and topi add plenty of colour to the plains, and hopefully after the rains in August, huge numbers will fill the concession. The last of the great herds continued moving steadily in a northerly direction. Vultures in their masses continue to feast on those that perished along the way. Once down on the Grumeti River, resident scavengers were left to clean up the pools of any decaying remains. As always, there are those creatures that are less photographed than others, but are as beautiful and as important in any ecosystem. Little Bee – eaters, common and widespread in Africa, found in pairs or family groups and in woodland or bushed areas. The sit on perches watching for insect movement before snapping them out of the sky

Family Agamidae include more than three hundred species, commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. They usually have well developed strong legs, and unlike geckoes, their tails cannot be regenerated. The species are capable of limited change of colour to regulate their body temperature, and in some species the males are more brightly coloured than the females. The colours play a part in signaling and reproductive behavior. Agama Lizards are generally diurnal with good vision and include a number of arboreal (tree), ground and rock dwelling species. They feed on insects and other arthropods such as spiders and even smaller mammals such as nesting birds, as well as flowers and other vegetable matter.

The Common Ostrich, Struthio camelus, seen here a very short distance from her nesting site located out on the open plains. They have a complex breeding system with one major hen and between five to six other hens laying an average of twenty five eggs in the same nest. The major hen then incubates during the day and the male at night. Chicks will hatch at about six weeks and will then leave the nest after about four days. They join other young chicks to form crèches that can number up to one hundred individuals.

This Black Mamaba (Dendroaspis polylepus) measuring approximately two meters was seen moving away from a colony of Driver Ants, or more commonly know in East Africa as Siafu. Siafu are rarely seen because of their secretive, subterranean ways, but suddenly they will appear in countless hordes moving in slow never ending streams. They disappear as fast as they come. They live in holes in the ground, termite mounds and even in walls of houses, anywhere to escape extreme temperature and humidity. They are entirely carnivorous and here were converging on a maimed grasshopper.

In Central and East Africa stories are told of armies invading houses driving everything before them as they swarm everywhere in search of prey. This can be exaggerated, but when they do arrive, the best option is to leave them completely unhindered, as they are ruthless if disturbed. Traditionally they can be used to rid a home of infestation of cockroaches; a calabash is left open, containing a piece of meat in the vicinity of an existing colony. The ants will swarm inside, the calabash closed, and then transferred into the home. The ants will then move into all the cracks of a home and clean out resident insects.
Limpopo resting out in the open. As the sun sets on another great month at Singita Grumeti Reserves, we eagerly await the August rains to provide optimum conditions for new growth of grasses, and encourage the many herbivores back onto the concession.