Greetings from the Mluwati Concession,
As we bid farewell to a notably dry winter, we are excited to embrace the new season in the Kruger. Over the past few months, both our guides and guests have experienced numerous fascinating encounters that we are eager to share with you. In this newsletter, we will highlight some intriguing facts that you might find new and enlightening. Living and working in this remarkable environment is a privilege we cherish every day, and we invite you to join us in exploring its wonders.
LIONS UPDATE
This month has been a busy month for lion sightings on and off concession, although our vehicles have been doing a lot of exploring off the concession we have had some pretty amazing sightings within and outside Mluwati. 3 females from Hamiltons pride on S125, lions on a kill S36, lioness from Hamiltons pride with cubs Old S36 south close to Hamiltons, 3 May we got a female moving cubs this is done often when they are needing to mask the smell of newly born cubs away from their original birthplace to a new location, could be due to Hyena movement in the vicinity or the possibility of other lions being in the area, cubs are susceptible to predation from Leopard, Hyena, and other lions. 1 female with 4 cubs at Shumangwaneni dam this could be the latest offspring of the Skybed Males – this coalition is of impressive size and concession has in previous years seen the sons of the Skybed Males you may have heard of them in past newsletter when they killed a buffalo not to far from cutline generator – we called one of them crazy eyes due to the iridescent blue eyes which seemed to be able to make this particular male even more scary than normal. Another lioness was spotted close to Modzweni view point – 5 cubs between 2 – 3 months old lying in the road but moved off when vehicle approached. Females from Hamiltons pride have been spending a lot of time between southern cutline and old S36 south – 3 females which we presume are taking care of the cubs which were seen being moved. Females tend to form a nursery system with these lions where it is not unusual to find two or three females together. One male and one female lion seen on Hoyo Hoyo access female is part of the Imbali pride it is great to have sightings of this pride again – they tend to cover vast distances and are known to travel as far as Buffelshoek into the sabi sands. Towards the end of May 1 female and 1 male from Imbali pride were found together with 2 cubs what an amazing development we have not seen cubs with the Imbali pride for a while not so to see the pride increasing in size is very exciting.
CHEETAH UPDATE
This has been a good month for cheetahs with various sightings including a female with a sub adult. We saw a female at the S36 viewpoint where she spent a few days in the area between the viewpoint and old S36 north. Another cheetah was seen on the southern cutline around in the morning and was relocated in the same area for the afternoon drive which gave guests a great chance of seeing these rare carnivores. 1 cheetah seen close to Lugmag dam mobile further South away from the concession – one of our guides was lucky enough to find some cheetah on an impala kill although far from Concession it was still an amazing sighting for the guests. A couple of sightings of one cheetah on Bema plains southern cutline,
LEOPARD UPDATE
Leopard sightings have been extremely active throughout the month with 2 females and 1 male seen hanging around the area. A Female leopard was found mating with a male around Kumana Dam – this may be Nkhanye sister who was seen often close to the low level bridge on the S125 and also been seen a couple of time close to Hamiltons quarry.
This month showed guides and guests how nature must take its course, there has been a lot of information shared on social media of the Quarantine male leopard being pushed out of the Sabi Sands about 2 years ago and he moved into the area of Nlanguleni and the picnic site. We have since had confirmation that the Quaratine male has been relocated to the Mozambique corridor away from human inhabitants to live out the remainder of his life, leopards who come from the Sabi Sands are known for being more relaxed around humans and many have lost their natural fear of us. In this case when you have children and adults around a picnic site and a leopard freely roaming around it is a recipe for disaster. SAN Parks made the decision to rather relocate the individual into a wilderness area and out of harms way.
Guides found a leopard – young male hanging dead in a tree close to the picnic site this is in true fashion what happens when areas become smaller. In this case the we know if another resident male leopard in this area which is more likely the reason behind this young male dying.
No updates on Tiyasela – last month we thought she may be pregnant as she had been seen mating with a male on a couple of occasions however she may have either lost the cubs or the mating was unsuccessful – she is still being seen regularly but no visible suckle marks or any other identifying features found which may suggest she has had any cubs.
WILD DOGS UPDATE
In all of the past 8 years on the concession our dreams finally came true, the wild dogs came to den on Ridge road – in the past the dogs have always used this as a second den or third den but this year for the first time this was their actual den site. With strict protocols in place for vehicles and guides our guests were allowed the exciting opportunity of seeing new life as they emerged from their snug den these little pups are the beginning of a new generation of a carnivore which by far the rarest of them all in southern Africa. This was not the only sighting which we had through the month we have had some of the most amazing views of adults from both on and off the concession. First sighting for the month was 03 May they were seen on S36 south of Hamiltons, 06 May 2 dogs were seen north of the Pod Mahoganies – Western cutline,
GIRAFFE UPDATE
On the 28 November 1663 Peter van Meerhoff who accompanied Jonas de la Guerre on an expedition along the South African West Coast, recorded the sighting of two “camels” probably in the vicinity of the Olifants River.
Giraffe comes from the Arabic word zarafa which means “fast walker”. The Afrikaans name, kameelperd stems from an earlier Dutch name kameelpard which in turn originated from Latin camelopardus which means camel leopard because it resembles a camel with spots of a leopard. Earlier it was also called a wildeperd “wild horse”.
The unique patterning main purpose is camouflage, but it also plays a role in heat regulation. Beneath each patch is a highly sophisticated system of blood vessels, around the patch is a large vein branching off in finer veins. Blood circulates through these small veins to the centre of the patch and emits heat as it flows, thus each patch functions as a thermal window through which body heat is released.
Giraffes spend 15 – 20 hours a day feeding, this takes up approximately 75% of the day and 30% of the night. A further 3 – 5 hours are spent ruminating.
Baby giraffe are the only animals who are born with horns, the small horns are about 25mm in length, consisting of cartilage and are folded back. It will later move into position and harden. Calves are born with female in standing position, but she will bend her hind legs slightly this will reduce the dropping distance. At first the calf is very supple, the forelegs which are covered in a jelly like pads for protection are the first to emerge, shortly followed by the head, the flexible neck is folded back onto the shoulders so the head is actually resting on the forelegs. Should the calf be born head first the 90kg body falling on it would break its neck, should it be born head last, however, the body would be dangling from the neck which could cause sever damage to the spinal cord. The drop of 1.5 – 2m snaps the umbilical cord and the shock of the landing gets the lungs going.
If you get the opportunity to get to see a giraffe up close you will notice they are very clumsy when walking on tarred or smooth surfaces – in many places lions have come to learn over time that if they are hunting giraffe they will chase them onto tarred roads or smooth surfaces. Giraffes will generally slip on these surfaces and fall – being such a large animal it takes time for it to get back to its feet, by which time the lions make quick work of grabbing the throat.
SABLE ANTELOPE UPDATE
With the arrival of the drier months these magnificent antelope are being seen on the concessions again. Sable favour open veld with trees and enough tall grass. Clean drinking water is a requirement and they are very seldom found more than 3km from it. Feeding habits – they mainly feed on grass, occasionally supplementing it with leaves. In areas where soil lacks phosphorus they may also sometimes chew bones.
Calves are extremely vulnerable while still hidden, they are sometimes found by lions, leopard, wild dogs, hyaena and crocodiles. They will normally not make any effort to escape when discovered. The greatest enemies of the adults in Kruger are lions, over the years they have had a significant impact on their numbers. Lions are weary of these antelopes, through and incidents have been recorded of Lions being killed by these antelope. These antelope will not hesitate to attack predators, one needs to ensure never to corner these magnificent animals as bulls in particular are very quick to attack. They will depend themselves by backing up against a thorn bush holding the head low and lashing out with sideways sweeps of the horns.
Sable are the waterhole have been witnessed to show aggressive behaviour towards other species such as warthog, kudu, zebra and even giraffe.
It is interesting to note the first tourist to have been injured by an animal in the Kruger National Park in the 1930’s was attached by a sable antelope. The tourist got out of his car to take pictures of the animal. The sable antelope charged at him and gored his leg, the tourist survive the attach thanks to his wife who drove the animals off with sticks and stones.
Life expectancy for sable is determined by the longevity of their teeth – generally after the age of 10 years the teeth will become worn down quickly, there are cases of them reaching 13 years at this stage their teeth will be worn down to the gums and they will die of starvation. In captivity they have been recorded up to the age of 17 years. Sable Antelope are considered endangered and although breeding projects so exist – the gene pool is very limited.
ELEPHANT UPDATE
With the disappearance of natural water holes now coming into the dry season – elephants are plentiful all over the concession. Hamiltons often sees larger herds coming through during mid morning and late afternoons which provides some amazing sightings for the guests.
March /April will see most of the older bulls finally coming out of Musth and roaming more as bachelor groups. Their complex nature creates an infinity of mindful thoughts as you sit and watch one herd come in and drink – then as they are leaving you can hear the steady slow rumblings of another family making their way down to the water, these families may consist of distant relatives. It is amazing to watch females greet who have not seen each other in up to year ago first stop and take not of other family around them the excitement of calves and young meeting each other for the first time and having a play session, that stubborn sub adult male calf who looses himself in what he is doing and forgets to keep an eye on his herd. Suddenly lets out a terrifying trumpet when he realizes everyone is gone and he is still playing in the water, when he hears the sound of the herd reply he rushes off through the bush trying his best to catch up – a giggle escapes when you hear him bashing through the trees like it is their fault he got left behind.
BUFFALO UPDATE
Now with the dry season fast approaching the size of the herds on the concession will again increase as they start moving between permanent water sources but also needing to find enough food for the herd. Dagga boys will spend many a day closer to the waterholes as these individuals only have a need for food and water – why walk further is there is not need for it.
We look forward to another month of excellent sightings and the ability to share our unique lives and experiences with all of our guests. Till we meet again in Africa where the cry of the Fish Eagle rings out through the savanna and the roar of the lion vibrates through your soul, this is where you will find us – come and join us and the magic of the African bush.
The African bush in all its splendour is true food for the soul….
THE GUIDES OF THE IMBALI CONCESSION
