Lions on a Zebra Kill

With my last guests for the cycle all packed on the vehicle and ready for their first drive of their stay, we headed out on evening safari with the idea to try see elephant and lion. The drive started off slow on the animal front but my guests seemed to really enjoy the small things and were asking plenty of questions about grasses, birds and the like. We were heading to an area where a small herd of elephant had been seen and after a little while we had found them and watched them as they approached our vehicle, slowly feeding along the way.

After the elephants we headed for our sundowner session which my thirsty travellers were really looking forward to. As it got dark we started to pack up and were headed in the direction of home. Along the way, Solly spotted a boomslang in a tree not far off the road and immediately got out to have a closer look. Once I had reached the snake I heard a small stampede as a herd of zebra ran panicked past me and with a little bit of haste I headed back to vehicle with no idea what was pursuing them. For all I knew there were lions right on their tails and now possibly on mine. Funny that, because the call came over the radio 2 minutes later that the lions had killed a baby zebra not all that far from where we were.

We started heading that way and all enjoyed as the lions ate what remained of the zebra. There was very little left as it had been killed about 30 minutes earlier and this provided us with a few heated exchanges between the cats as they tried to get what was left for themselves. After about half an hour with the lions I heard some cracking behind me and the next thing a herd of elephants came out of nowhere and left the lions running with scraps in their mouth. What a way to finish off a perfect evening.

This morning’s drive was also amazing with sightings of leopard, elephant and rhino. What a way to finish off the cycle. Two more drives then its time for holidays and I hope the next two drives follow in the footsteps of the last two.

Tip top Training

The last 2 days have been spent expanding my mind and it amazes me how much one can learn about this amazing place. After our big birding day I decided to head to Bush lodge a little earlier than necessary to see if I could go past the cubs and get a couple of photos of them without the pressure of guests or other vehicles wanting to see them. Unfortunately they had gone down into the river and there was no visual. With another hour before I had to be at bush lodge for lectures, I decided to relax out there just in case they showed some face...all that showed though was a big storm. At first a few drops started and when I looked back I could see a wall of water approaching, so I put foot to try beat the storm back to the lodge and made it with seconds to spare and en route managed to get a photo of the on coming storm.

We then enjoyed a lecture on the smaller things in the bush and all sat gob smacked by some of the info that Andre shared with us. 

Yesterday afternoon was another great day as we headed out just myself and Andre as well as some of the spa girls to find some big game to walk into. A herd of elephants had been called in and after all the vehicles had left the sighting we headed in to see if we could make an approach on foot. However there was a 3 week old calf in the herd and this just made it too dangerous to walk so we watched them for a while before making an approach on a rhino bull that seemed to be patrolling his territory. This went well, the rhino didn't even know we were there and he moved off and we headed back to vehicle to see if anything else had been spotted that we could walk into.

As we drove away, we bumped into 4 more rhino and decided to make an approach on them. We got as close as 30 metres without being detected and were enjoying the sighting until two of the rhino rounded the termite mound and picked up our scent immediately. This  initiated an immediate retreat by us to a termite mound behind us...the rhino snorting and trying to move downwind of us so they could get a better idea of who we were led to me keeping myself and the rifle between the rhino and the girls. Once we got to the termite mound the mood calmed and we enjoyed the view from the the safety of our perch. What a treat!

This morning was far more relaxed for me as it was one of my friends Level 3 assessments and I was tagging along to pick up some new information and to help him by being his tracker. Whilst we were out, we were following some lions hunting and while waiting for them to come out of the thick bush we could hear the lioness make a kill...the low level growls were followed by a prolonged silence. We were unable to enter the bush to go see the action because of all the rain that we have had and we pulled out shortly after.

I also backed Ben up on his assessment walk which was fantastic...we even saw a spider kill a beetle...HOW COOL? :-) What a great morning and now I am ready for the great afternoon ahead as I have new guests for the first time in 3 nights and looking forward to using some of the new information I picked up over the last couple days to blow their minds...

Big birding morning

We all need a break from guests every now and again and a bit of time to ourselves and I am now enjoying a couple days of off time. But off time doesn't mean sitting on your butt doing nothing. Most of the time these off days would be spent helping with chores around the lodge like varnishing chairs, pick ups, drop offs, etc. Fortunately for me, our new trainer, Andre, has started and off days means time for learning. This being my passion, learning is what I want to be doing all the time but is often limited to the guests level of experience and their interests. If I have new guests often further learning is very difficult and these opportunities to spend time with a mentor, that has spent many years in the bush, can just open your mind right up.

Training started early this morning and I had to be at bush lodge at 5.30am for a bush walk. The objective for the walk was birding and boy did we bird. We didn't cover all that much ground and I think that's what made the walk all that much more special. With regular stops to listen to bird calls and ID them you really get a sense of all that is going on around you. Unfortunately because of weather conditions being overcast and a little wet the birds were not out in prolific numbers but a lot was learnt and I am looking forward to our training session this afternoon and another walk tom...

Another tough day in Africa

Being the last drive for my remaining four guests and still in search of elephant, our safari plan had all but chosen itself. On the way out we saw some fresh tracks for a large male lion. We followed for a while before losing them into the bush, so we looped around to see if we could pick them up again…but the lion hadn’t gone all that far. We found him lying fifty metres from the last track and he very obligingly decided to walk straight past the car and pose for the guests. After about twenty minutes with him he walked away from the road and went to sleep under a bush and that’s where we left him.

Now, on our way down to the South to see if we can find the elephants that my guests so desperately wanted to see, we got stuck in some traffic waiting for a leopard to pop out onto the border of our property. Within 5 minutes he was out strutting his stuff. A few months after a big fight with another male and you can see the damage that was done...This magnificent male seemed to lose a lot of condition after the fight because of loss of depth perception. But now he seems to have gotten used to the injury and is looking as good as ever.

We then managed to find the elephants as well as enjoy sundowners with zebra, wildebeest and nine rhinos. What an amazing way to end off a crazy day or so we thought… We fortunately still had one more surprise in store and as we headed home and rounded the corner, there stood a huge bull hippo staring at us! Being summer and not having too many large water sources to house large numbers of hippos means we don’t get to see them very often.

Now it was time for a nice cold beer and some amazing dinner…and on the menu was tomato tartlets with feta cheese and basil pesto, then cheese and wine soup (OMG YUMMY) and rack of lamb for mains with crème caramel to add a little sweetness before a night of pleasant dreams.

Stormy Safari

You didnt have to be a meteorologist to figure out there was rain on the way...to our north east a HUGE thunderstorm was building and the ominous rumble of the coming storm filled the bush. The guests all gathered for afternoon tea and just before we decided to head out the rain started coming down, within seconds it was pouring. We all sat and enjoyed the storm and contemplated the idea of going out in that weather. After about half an hour the rain stopped and we decided to brave it.

We headed straight out to two lionesses hunting and got there just as the impala spotted the lions...there was a bit of panic and then the herd went stampeding away from the lions. We followed the lionesses for a little while and left them when they decided to lie down in the long grass reducing the visibility to zero! We then tried to find the lioness with the cubs but she had apparently seen the doom and gloom above in the form of the next storm and retreated to some shelter...unlucky for us, an open landrover does not have much shelter and when the heavens opened for the second time that afternoon we were left drenched from head to toe. With everyone giggling at the amount water falling, we headed back to lodge. Thirty minutes later we all got back...everyone still giggling and ready for a hot shower...

For the morning we planned a drive down to the river for some coffee and found a leopard and three rhinos along the way. On the way back up we had a little photo shoot with some carmine bee eaters that were perched next to the road in perfect light. 

It is now the final stretch to my 2 weeks leave and looking froward to a couple of days of well earned relaxation.

All the small things

Some days out here, you just have to enjoy all the intricacies in nature. With a great group of guest who are not afraid to chirp or get chirped, we headed out on what was to be a flowing drive. Everything just presented itself at the right time. We got to spend plenty of quality time with the animals we found and there were lots of great questions which always helps my explanations. 

We had rhinos feeding next to the vehicle, buffalo wallowing 5 metres from us and a host of little things that just seemed to jump out at us...first it was a grasshopper jumping into the vehicles, spiders being hooked onto the vehicles and me jumping out of the vehicle to get the next talking point. There were many unsuccessful attempts to photograph birds in flight and everyone seemed to be enjoying the avian abundance that day. We even found time to discuss some of the LBJ's (little brown jobs).

This morning started off with fresh lion tracks but after 30 minutes of tracking and last tracks heading into thick bush where the vehicle couldn't follow we pulled out and went in search of animals that wanted to be seen. We eventually got the opportunity to see our lioness but unfortunately her cubs were hidden in the deep bush and were a little shy. So the plan for the afternoon is to head out and see if the little ones decide to grace us with their presence...

The morning was finished off with a nice walk discussing all the things we normally drive past in the vehicles. Walking allows lots of time to look at flowers, butterflies and other small creatures and see how they interact with their environment. All par cooked from the sun we arrived back at the lodge for some breakfast and a little bit of high quality H2O!

Hide and seek

Since the floods the leopards on the property have found every far off corner on the property to hide in. The rains have made it hellishly difficult to find the cats because the bush is so thick. Yesterday was no different...3 night guests on their last drive and only one last animal to find...the ever elusive leopard.

We headed out straight away and started to track ghosts. One of the trackers had seen a leopard while on their way to one of the other lodges and we scoured the area looking for any sign that he was not hallucinating...after 30 minutes of searching we came to the conclusion that he must have been drinking on the job... 

We then headed to the next area where tracks had been spotted and started to track another ghost. Fortunately our tracking took us in front of Bush Lodge where there was a troop of baboons, a herd of impala, herd of elephants and a saddle billed stork. The evening sunlight bathed the scene and we all watched as the matriarch elephant chased all the other elephants away from the marula buffet, baby baboons sat playing and the stork started its evening grooming session.

With no luck on the leopard we headed back to the lodge and fortunately saw a african barred owlet, chameleons and to top it off, a lioness.

With the unlucky guests gone and a new morning safari to look forward to, we hoped that our luck would change. And then the call came in that there was a leopard sleeping in a tree...I bounced the guests around as I chased towards the sighting before she decided to climb down and disappear. Fortunately that did not happen and we got to watch as she looked so relaxed she might just have fallen out of the tree (below).

This made my day and she posed for a few snaps before we had to leave to let some of the others get a chance to see her... 

Rested and Ready

After a good nights rest and some fantastic new guests we got ready to head out on our first safari. It was a spectacular morning with the first real blue skies in a week and a promise from the weatherman that temperatures would soar to 35 degrees. 

The first real bit of action that we got were tracks for a small pride of lions heading straight down into the river bed. After a quick scout on the other side of the river to see if they had crossed out, Solly and I headed in, to see if we could find them. The bush was ridiculously thick and we headed round to another side to enter where we had a bit of better visibility,. Once we got down into the river we walked a few metres, then heard a few branches cracking and noticed that the four lions had fled out of the river bed and were now all around us... Without hesitation I cocked the rifle and was now ready for any eventuality. Solly and I slowly started backing up down the river as the lions eyes were firmly fixed on us with their tails twitching in irritation. We made it back up to vehicle in one piece and with a bit of adrenalin pumping but unfortunately there was no way into the bush to see the lions. The only thing we could so was come back in the afternoon when they start moving again. 

The rest of the drive was enjoyable as we watched a small herd of elephants with a week old calf moving from marula tree to marula tree enjoying the new bounty of fruit that have begun falling. We then found a crash of rhino lying in the shade of a big tree and watched as they continued to sleep as if we were not even there.

We were fortunate in the afternoon, as the lions had decided to come out onto an open area and continue their rest there. This meant ample chance to watch four of our adolescent pride just lounging before the evening hunt. The one young male is just starting to come into puberty and was practising mating with the female...unfortunately for him this only led to her yawning...below you can see how much she cared for his actions.

By far the highlight of the day was finding a Verreaux's eagle owl that had just caught an african barred owlet. The owlet, full grown, was still kicking and squealing and we watched as the larger owl killed it and then flew off with dinner... 

It amazes me how out here, nothing can be taken for granted nor can anything be predicted... 

On the way back to the lodge we watched as the full moon rose over the bush and also got to witness a bark spider building his web for the evening. 

Animal of the Month: SPOTTED HYAENA

This is a new theme and there will be a new animal showcased once a month. I hope to provide you with some of the more interesting points in behaviour that all these animals portray beyond the normal understanding of the animal.

The hyaena, commonly seen as one of the less fortunate creatures when it comes to the beauty department, is true to nature and its form follows function. From its large head which allows for more space for bigger jaw muscles and even a ridge along the top of the skull for the jaw muscles to attach to. This makes sure the hyaena has one of the most powerful bites in the bush and allows for the crushing power needed to consume bones. Their strong stomach acids have the task of digesting the bone into a nutritional food source.

The longer front legs and large powerful neck allow for the ability to pick up heavy objects clear of the ground and run away from whatever they have stolen it from. The other reason for the long forelimbs is for long distance high speed running. Much like a pogo stick, the hyaena uses stored energy in the tendons in the legs to propel itself forward in a rocking motion from the front legs to back legs. This propels the hyaena to speeds up to 60 km/h which it can maintain for up to 3km. The question you may ask is ‘why have stamina like this?’ The main reason is for hunting. These incredible hunters use a different strategy to that of the cats, instead of ambushing their prey, they choose to run down prey over long distances. These types of hunters are known as coursers and they share this strategy with the most successful hunter of all, the wild dog. When chasing their prey over long distances the weaker animals will begin to fall behind as they tire and then become easy targets for the hunters. The prey is then killed by disembowelling and attacking major vessels. They are even more successful hunters than lions but would prefer to steal food that catch it themselves as this is far more energy efficient.

Their staple diet consists of medium sized and large ungulates such as blue wildebeest, zebra and impala but have also been recorded eating mice, birds, reptiles even fruit, eggs and garbage. In all, 43 different foods are recorded.

They live in groups, known as clans, which vary in size from 4 individuals to anything as large as 50 depending on food availability and in some smaller reserves can be the most dominant of all the predators in the reserve. These clans are female dominated and the lowest ranking female outranking the highest ranking male. Males basic purpose is mating and forms no other major role within the clan and the higher the rank of the male the better his choice of females. Females are so dominant that they are larger and produce more testosterone than the males. This has caused their vagina to close and their clitoris to become extended to form a ‘pseudopenis’. This makes it very difficult to tell male apart from female by looking at their bits and pieces. She will mate, urinate and give birth through this clitoris and due to its size, their first birth very often leads to miscarriage as the clitoris is just too small for the cub to get through.

Due to the nature of their food attainment which can mean travelling up to 70 km in a night searching for food, they often have to leave their cubs for extended periods. For this reason they have developed the richest milk in the bush which can sustain their cubs for up to 3 days. A lioness, for example, would have to feed her cubs at least once a day to ensure their survival.

Hyaenas can smell carrion from up to 4,2km away and can hear predators feeding from up to 10km away. Usually they will not be able to displace lions off a kill if there is a male present but without the male, the lionesses must be outnumbered four to one in order to take over the kill.

 All in all a fascinating creature often not given the credit and respect owed to it. Hopefully next time you see one you will take the time to marvel at this super predator.

Bush breakfast

It was the morning of the last drive for our Italian guests and seeing as though they had a private vehicle and were on honeymoon we decided to do something a little special for them. We had also been fortunate enough to see 4 out of the Big 5 and were just in search of an elephant so there was no need to chase around for sightings. What we had planned was a bush breakfast at the Sabi River and it would be simple but elegant.

 On the way down we noticed that there were some fresh tracks for a big bull elephant and we followed them until we spotted him feeding far off in the bush. We went round to a road that was a little closer and that he was slowly moving toward and played the waiting game. After about 15 minutes we began to see the bushes moving as this colossal creature slowly ate his way nearer. He ended up 15 metres away from us and provided us all with some great views.

 After the elephant we headed to the river and set up breakfast…on the menu we had campots, which are basically layers of honey, muesli, fruit and yogurt topped with passion fruit, we also had muffins and panini’s. YUMMY!!

It was the perfect way to end their safari experience and they left with big smile and many thanks. Now it was time for some ranger down time. A rare night off for me meant a nice relax before the new guests arrive and the last 2 weeks of the cycle begin…

Preparation for the flood

The flood warnings were flying in and slight panic had hit the lodge...2 of my guests were leaving on a cruise and couldn't afford to be late so they ended up checking out early and we had to take some of the other guests vehicles off the property to ensure that they would be able to drive out the next morning. The wind was howling and it started to drizzle, ominous black skies loomed overhead and we were battening down the hatches but before we knew it the rain stopped. It never cleared up but the weather was just perfect for a game drive and possibly a chance to see a leopard (the first one in 4 days for me). 

As we drove out of the lodge we bumped into 3 massive male lions lying next to the road sleeping. It was our big male and his 2 brothers...this is the first time that I have seen the coalition together and this was a very exciting moment for me. Our main mission though was to find a leopard so we first went to follow up on tracks from this morning. The guys had lost them as they went off the road and there was no sign of him coming out of the bush. We then picked up tracks from the afternoon and followed them all the way to the next property :-( 

We then went to follow up on fresh female leopard tracks and after about a half an hour of tracking one of the guys found her and we enjoyed a short but sweet view of her as she strolled down the road and then disappeared into the bush. 

We also managed to find every single giraffe on the property and I think they enjoyed viewing us more than we enjoyed viewing them. The one male blatantly refused to leave the road even with a little pressure as I drove closer.

The other highlight today was that some of the other guys watched our pride of females pull down a wildebeest. One day I will have the fortune to watch a successful lion hunt....but for now that is some thing I can just hope to see.

The heavens open...

After all the rain the game viewing has been tough...in 2 drives a pair of my guests had seen only a few different types of general game and rhino...

Heavily frustrated and under some serious pressure to find some cats we headed out on our morning safari. The most frustrating part of the safari was knowing that we had lions 200 metres from the lodge on a wildebeest kill but they were too far off the road to see them and with the soil being saturated there was no chance of going off-road to get a view. 

As we drove out we got a very short and far off view of one of the lionesses close to where the kill was but then she lay down and disappeared from sight. So we went off searching for something a little closer. We picked up tracks of our dominant male lion and started our tracking mission. This led us, unexpctedly, all the way to our lioness with the 2 cubs... At first the visual of all of them was non existent but then after a bit of patience she brought the cubs out right past the car and walked down the road. What an amazing sighting!!!!