Singita Sabi Sand
Ebony & Boulders Lodges
Castleton House
South Africa
Wildlife Report
For the month of April, Two Thousand and Thirteen
Temperature
Average minimum:
Average maximum:
Minimum recorded:
Maximum recorded:
Rainfall Recorded
15,2˚C
27,3˚C
12,0˚C
33,0˚C
(59,3˚F)
(81,1˚F)
(53,6˚F)
(91,4˚F)
For the period:
For the year to date:
92 mm
926 mm
Magnificent cheetahs
Cheetahs are best known for their antics in vast open spaces like the Masai Mara and Serengeti. The large
grasslands there create ideal habitat for the world’s fastest land mammal, as they chase down prey at speeds in
excess of 100 km/h. That said, we have cheetahs in the Sabi Sand Wildtuin that have made this not-so-open
habitat their home. The family of three pictured here joined us about two months ago, after an absence of
cheetah cubs for almost five years. Singita’s most southern areas are open grassland, suitable for this family to
settle and thrive. Large herds of impala often gather on the plains, giving great opportunity for the speed queen
to stretch her long legs. She has had to adapt the classic hunting technique, and with several observations we
have noticed that she stalks much closer to her prey than cheetah in east-Africa do. She often hunts more like a
leopard, in that she uses the available cover to stalk within 20 meters, or closer.
A single male cheetah has also made
this area his home. He is a large and
strong male and has gone unrivalled for
almost a year. With the arrival of the
female, mating prospects have started
looking a whole lot better. The only
problem for now is that she has two
dependent cubs. The female will not
allow him to court her whilst her cubs
are still around, and this should still be
the case for another eight months.
Male cheetahs are not as aggressive
towards foreign cubs as their larger
feline relatives. Lions and leopards
often kill cubs fathered by any rival
male. Male cheetahs have been
observed to threaten cubs and show
their dislike towards their presence, as
can be seen pictured below. However,
there are cases of male cheetahs
actually killing cubs in order to gain
access to the female cheetah a few
weeks later.
Only time will tell what will happen with
these particular ones. From what we
have witnessed, thus far, his
disapproval of them is obvious in that
he often spits or strikes at them in
typical cheetah fashion. The female will
intervene if things get too heated, and
he usually retreats.
The cubs are in great health and have
always walked away from these
interactions, unscathed.
Catfight
This is the Khashane male, the most impressive leopard I've ever seen. Sure, there may be one or two
physically larger than him, but it's his sheer presence that strikes me deeply.
He recently mated with a female leopard in the far south of his territory (see photo), and the very next afternoon
busied himself with an intruding female in the north, close to our lodges. The lodge area forms part of the
Ravenscourt female's territory and she did not take lightly to this female on her turf and immediately approached
her (see photo). A small catfight ensued but the intruder had no intention of leaving the side of this handsome
male. The Ravenscourt female eventually turned tail, and the Khashane male carried on his courtship.
Dangerous digging
Being a young male leopard means a whole lot of fun and exciting adventures. They have an innate curiosity
and an unquenchable need to investigate anything that moves. The Ravenscourt female’s cub has a special
interest in warthogs. One of the first kills he made, without the help of his mother, was of a warthog piglet.
Warthogs find shelter during the evenings in deep burrows of termite mounds. They are smart enough to enter
the hole with their backsides leading the way, leaving their dangerous tusks to face the entrance, in case of an
intruding predator.
The young male leopard came upon a resting warthog one early morning. Typically, he could not resist the urge
to investigate, and despite his mother’s calls to keep moving, he peered into the hole. We could tell from the
deep grunts and puffs
of dust that the owner
of the hole was
indeed present, and
that he greatly
disapproved of this
young leopard’s
cheeky interest.
If a leopard is not
careful and quick to
react, a large warthog
could inflict serious,
even fatal, injury. A
warthog's tusks are
sharp and could slash
or stab a leopard.
Fortunately all ended
well for both parties
involved, on this
occasion.
The brave Selati Pride
All settled and no longer on the run, the Selati Pride seems to be making this area their home. They have shown
no intentions of heading back to the south-eastern corner of the Sabi Sand Wildtuin, much to our relief. They
were chased far to the north and out of their original territory by two new coalitions intent on harming the
youngsters in the pride.
At present, eleven of the fourteen lions in the pride are with us, and the old females and two sub-adults are in
their original territory. The eleven here are four young males, two young females, three adult females and two
young seven-month-old cubs. Their saving grace is that the southern area of Singita is not occupied by any
other prides at present. They are thriving on the abundance of Cape buffalo, occurring in large herds of several
hundred in our southern areas.
Rival male lions come face to face
(Article and images by guide, Marc Eschenlohr)
We set out for our afternoon game drive with the intention of following up on a male lion that had been seen in
the morning, lying on the sandy banks of the Sand River - at a place we call 'the beach'.
As we approached the first drainage line, lined with massive jackalberry trees, we heard the sound of a
Wahlberg’s eagle that was not happy about something... Not being able to see what the commotion was about,
we used our binoculars to have a closer look, and discovered a large Verreaux’s eagle-owl, perched in the
shade. The eagle was taunting the owl. Owl mobbing by diurnal birds is fairly common, as they see them as a
threat. Owls will prey on roosting birds, and in the case of Verreaux’s eagle-owls, they feed on a wide range of
prey including young monkeys and warthog piglets.
As the owl flew off to another large dense riverine tree, followed by the eagle, we heard a male lion roaring and
the sound was coming from the beach. As we arrived there my colleague, Mark Broodryk, radioed that he had
found the lion lying close to its last position.
We were lucky to hear him roaring once more. Roaring is ability unique to leopards, lions, tigers and jaguars. It is
due to two hyoids bones in their throats that vibrate, and a specialized larynx. The male was most likely trying to
find his brothers - they had been separated for the past week since one of them had been seen mating with a
lioness. The male we were looking at had not been as victorious and was recuperating after a rather vicious fight
that left him limping and in a rather sorry state! What followed next could not have been predicted.
We saw the head of a rival lion emerge from the tall grass on the northern bank, a mere fifty metres from him.
We sat patiently and saw another head appear… then another. They were three large males from a coalition
known as the Majingilane. Their territory extends to the east of Singita and rarely have they been seen so far
west.
Our male, the Selati male, seemed to have no clue of the danger he was facing, as the three males peered
down the bank but were unable to spot him lying on the sand! Luckily for him he didn’t roar and opted for what
lions do best, which is sleep...
A hooded vulture
landed right in front of
him, adding to the
eeriness of the scene.
My tracker Mishack
and I were convinced
the males would soon
descend the bank and
most likely kill the
lone male. After 30
minutes of sniffing the
air and gazing intently
they made their move.
Choosing a prominent
game trail north of our
male, scent marking
as they came down
the bank, they arrived
at the river's edge.
Two of the
Majingilane then
crossed the river.
At this point the third male saw our single Selati male. Our male crouched and held his ground. The Majingilane
male started making soft moans and contact called his brothers who were looking about on the southern bank.
The Selati male then, to our utter astonishment, stood up and strode towards the third brother, who quickly
crossed the river to join up with the other two.
When all three regrouped and realised they had no sign of him on the southern bank, they turned to see him
standing defiantly on the opposite side. Galvanized together they chased after him, running through the river and
out of view. The Selati male had a good 50 metre lead on the Majingilane males, and ran due north. After 10
minutes we heard lots of roaring and saw three Majingilane males running south, through the river and being
trailed by the Selati male and a couple of minutes later one of his missing brothers.
The territorial dispute was over and the Majingilane males opted for a hasty retreat rather than fighting the two
Selati males. What an amazing afternoon full of surprises and excitement that ended well for all of them. It was
good to see the Selati males stand their ground, because a couple of years ago, before they had become
territorial males, they had lost another of their brothers to the Majingilane males. This was the first time we've
witnessed them coming face to face since, and it will surely happen again. They are now evenly matched, a total
of four in each coalition, and all in their prime.
Abundance of life
At the change of a season life always
seems to appear in new places. The
veld is starting to dry up more and
more and animals move further and
wider as they go in search of grazing
pastures and water supplies.
Pictured above, a young buffalo runs
and plays within a rain-filled
waterhole. Buffalo enjoy drinking twice
daily and seem to make an event of it.
Several large elephant bulls in a
condition we call “musth” are roaming
around Singita. During this period
their testosterone levels are
heightened and they search for
females ready for mating. An
elephant bull of this size can be in
musth for a couple of months of the
year, and show signs of extreme
aggression.
Some funnies for the month
When my guests and I saw these two young hyenas at play, we were absolutely thrilled and entertained by their
funny behaviour.
The young Cape buffalo had such an amusing expression on his face. He is barely a few days old and his buck
teeth and bulging eye balls had us laughing.
Impala silly season
(Article and image by guide, Marc Alkema)
Anybody who visits Singita Sabi Sand at this time of year will be surprised by the incredible dynamics that can
be witnessed, regarding various different antelope groups’ breeding behaviour.
I would like to acquaint you with the impala breeding season, which is currently underway. It is also called the rut
and begins at the end of the wet season, late April / early May. This entire rutting period lasts about four weeks.
The male impala have an array of different calls, but one call that is evident and very prominent is the rutting call.
You can sit in one position and hear these males vocalizing 360 degrees around you, almost 24 hours a day!
When there is abundant food, male impala establish territories, as they are in prime condition to defend these.
Female impala herds move through these male territories to find the good food resources. The territorial males
round up the females that enter their territory, and chase away any bachelor males or recently weaned males. A
male impala tries by all means to prevent any female impala from the herd leaving his territory.
The young males are forced to leave their natal herds and form bachelor herds of up to, or more than, 30
individuals. Male impala that are able to dominate their bachelor herd are contenders to control a territory.
The males are so focused on breeding that they lose focus on other important matters like looking out for
predators, thus a high number of male impala are predated upon during the rut. The battles fought over
dominance, territory and mating is quite stressful and intense, and may even result in males killing each other
when fights become fierce and evenly contested. We have come across dead male impala that have died from
fatal stabbings - these provide a free meal to the scavengers of the bush.
During the dry season male impala abandon their territories, as herds must travel far to find water and food
resources, and thus often large herds of tranquil males and females form.
Some more fighting impala images by Marlon du Toit follow:
The unexpected magic of the bush
(Article by guide, Daniella Kueck)
First afternoon drives for guests visiting Africa for the first time are usually taken at an easy pace. I like to drive to
areas which will possibly have an array of different game species, as well as showing them the often overlooked
aspects of the bush like the various vegetation, and small critters like millipedes and other invertebrates.
One afternoon I had planned to do just this. My guests and I had set off on our first safari adventure together.
We had seen an abundance of game species such as impala, wildebeest, kudu and waterbuck, as well as a few
trees and shrub species, when we were graced with the presence of a massive elephant bull, with huge tusks,
feeding on a marula tree.
As we proceeded, we located a crash of two white rhino feeding around the base of a termite mound. In awe of
how successful and amazing the drive had been so far, we couldn’t have asked for more. But further along the
road, the unexpected was walking right in front of us... a beautiful male leopard. As the sighting unfolded, we
watched as he began to mark his territory, a smell reminiscent, oddly enough, of fresh buttered popcorn now
filling the air as he left his scent behind. We even had the humorous pleasure of watching him scrape together a
pile of relatively old buffalo dung and proceed to roll in it, to mask his scent. This was an unforgettable sighting,
being able to incorporate and engage in almost all of our senses, besides touch, a sense we always opt to avoid.
This drive had already been so unpredictable, but was about to get even more memorable... We came across
three lazy male lions, sleeping in the road. The moment we arrived and I switched off the engine was the
moment these males then lifted their heads. Only then did we realise that they were listening to other male lions
vocalising in the distance. This was their cue - moments later, they all stood up in a row, not 10 metres away
from the vehicle, and proceeded to roar in response. The roars were synchronised and almost deafening! It was
so powerful that the roof of the vehicle as well as the footwells began to rattle, and sent a chill down everyone’s
spine. This roaring lasted for over five minutes, but the goosebumps lasted for a while after! Once they were
done, they just flopped right back down, where they remained for a further few hours.
After this, we decided that there was no way that anything could top the amazing drive we'd just experienced,
and headed back to the lodge. Everyone’s jaws, including mine and my tracker’s, stayed on the ground for the
rest of the evening, as we realised how you never know what to expect or what the bush will have in store for
you when you’re out on drive.
Flying rhinoceros
(Article by guide, Ricardo Careaga)
The title of this story may sound a bit out of the ordinary, but during that afternoon drive with my guests, we
witnessed one sighting that very few people have ever seen. The plan for the afternoon was to try to find a white
rhino, that special prehistoric looking animal that captures anyone’s attention with its beautiful horns and
impressive size.
After driving for a while on the central areas of the reserve, our tracker Martin saw two young male rhinos down
in a drainage line, both of them feeding happily next to each other. As we approached, we realised that one of
them was limping quite badly on his front right foot, but it was only when he turned around that we saw he had a
medium size wound on his right shoulder. The obvious question was, "How did it happen?" I started to explain to
my guests that male rhinos could engage in intense fighting when two dominant bulls compete for females or
territories and quite often the wounds can be fatal. Both animals where still too young to challenge a dominant
bull, so the next option was that either they tried to mate with a female, or a new bull had just taken over the
territory and was establishing his dominance over other males.
We were watching these animals graze when we spotted another big rhino walking towards them in the
distance. Initially we thought it was an adult female, since its front horn was very long and thin (usual shape for
female horns) but it turned out to be a big male. As he approached, I realised that there was something odd in
the way he was walking. His head was low on the ground, sniffing the grass as he walked and his tail was curled
(an indication of some sort of stress).
I pointed out the strange behaviour while he kept coming closer to the two young males. They also stopped
feeding and stared at the big male. Suddenly, the bull raised his head, made eye contact with the youngsters
and charged at an amazing speed. One of the males, the injured one, managed to move away from the charge
and ran to safety but the other young bull couldn't escape, and got the worst impact of all. The huge male started
hitting him with his horn, pushing him around and even crushing him onto the ground. The youngster stood up
again only to get a second charge but this time the big bull managed to put his horn under the belly and flick him
up in the air, as if he were a sack of potatoes! He flew about two metres and fell onto the ground, where he
remained motionless for about 10 seconds. By this time, the big male had already started to walk away from the
scene and eventually the young male stood up again and nervously joined the other young bull.
The mouths of all the people on the vehicle were wide open, but no breathing was taking place! We simply just
couldn't process what had happened. To see a 1 000 kilogram animal being lifted to such height in one simple
movement was a reminder of the power that these creatures possess. That sighting was definitely a first time
ever for me so I asked Martin if he had ever seen such a thing and his answer was, "Never in my life!"
We were all relieved to see the young bull stand up without any major injuries and join his young companion,
then walk away.
Articles by Marlon du Toit, Marc Marc Eschenlohr, Daniella Kueck,
Marc Alkema and Ricardo Careaga
Photographs shot on location by Marlon du Toit (except where noted otherwise)
Singita Ebony and Boulders Lodges
Sabi Sand
South Africa
Thirtieth of April 2013