WILDLIFEREPORT
SINGITAPAMUSHANA,ZIMBABWEForthemonthofJune,TwoThousandandSeventeen
Temperature RainfallRecorded Sunrise&Sunset Averageminimum: 12,4˚C(54,3˚F) Forthemonth:0mm Sunrise: 06:31 Minimumrecorded: 09,5˚C(49,1˚F) Fortheyeartodate:620mm Sunset: 17:24 Averagemaximum: 25,6˚C(78,0˚F) Maximumrecorded:29,7˚C(85,4˚F) ThemonthofJunehasalwaysbeenoneofthebestforgameviewing,andthismonthliveduptoitsreputation.Weleavethelodgeintheearlyhourslikesnugbugsinrugs,beanies,jacketsandgloves,andshedtheseasthemorningwarmsup.We’velongagoperfectedtheartofthemorninggame-drivecupofcoffeewhichallourguestsagreeisjustasimportantandenjoyableasagreatsighting!Here’sourwildlifeoverviewforJune:LionsThereseemedtobeabuy-in-bulkbuffalospecialgoingonthismonth,astwopridesoflionsfedonbuffalokillsnottoofarapartfromoneanother.Youcouldgoandcheckonthefourlions(twomalesandtwofemales)ontheirbuffalocarcasssouthofChimizePan,andthendrive20minutesorsoawaytowheretheSouthernPridewerestillenjoyingtheirbuffalokillbelowtheMalevulaHills.
AnotherhighlightwasthematingpairoflionsontheopenBanyiniarea.Guestsgottoseealltheactionoutintheopenacoupleoftimes!Hereabloatedmalelionlugshimselfalongashadystretchoftheairstrip,whileaherdofaghastwildebeestskitteraboutnearby.LeopardsThere’vebeenafewsightingsthismonthsuchasaskittishfemalewhomadeaquickexit,unlikeanotherbeautifulfemalebeautifulwhomadeherappearancejustasguestswereendingtheirsafari,andwaitedonthesideoftheroadgivingthemthetimetoseeherclearlyandendtheirholidayonahigh.
CheetahWe’vebeenluckyenoughtoviewcheetahstoothismonth.Thismalecamedowntothewater’sedge,aftercarefullylookingaroundfordanger,beforetakingalongdrink.Seehowhegoestotheeffortofnotgettinghisclawsortailtipmuddy!
RhinosSomeofthehighlightsincludedseeingeightwhiterhinoswithatinynewborncalf,andfindingabullwhiterhinohavingalongmudbathbeforeproceedingtohaveagoodscratchonanythinghecouldfind.Someblackrhinosmadetheirpresenceknowntoo–storytofollow.Hereaherdofimpalacalmlysunthemselvesasahugebullwhiterhinograzesametreaway.
WilddogsandhyenasAverydistressingoccurrencetookplaceonenightatthebeginningofthemonth.TheExecutiveDirectoroftheMalilangweTrustsawaclanofhyenasandapackofwilddogsinahugefight,rightattheHeadQuarteroffices.Thehyenascaught,killedandrippedapartawilddog.Itwasverygruesomeandthenoiseofitallwasjustasspine-chilling.ElephantsWe’vehadfantasticelephantsightingsofbullsandbreedingherds.Awaytosafelygetwithintwoarm-lengthstoanelephant,onfoot,istogoandwaitinthecustom-builtphotographichide.Guestsdidjustthatandwererewardedwithtwowarthogs,somezebraandalargebullelephant.Topviewingwashadofafamilyofabout25elephantsincludingsomelittlecalvesfeedingonthesideoftheroad.Guestsalsothoroughlyenjoyedsomeupcloseandpersonaltimewithahugebullelephantandhisfourmateswhentheyfinishedhavingamudbath…theycamerightuptothefrontofthevehicleseeminglywantingtosayafriendlyyetmuddyhellotoall.BuffalosThere’vebeenexcellentbuffalosightingstoo,suchaswhenaherdofaboutsixhundredbuffalocrossedtheChiredziRiver;aswellaswatchingalargeherdwhenthreewhiterhinoscameandjoinedastwoelephantbullsscrummedwithoneanotherinthedistance.
PlainsgamePlainsgamesightingsofgiraffe,wildebeest,zebraandimpalaareguaranteed,butwe’vealsohadgoodsightingsofsableandelandthismonth.UnusualsightingsYouoftencatchsuchinterestingglimpsesofwildlifeonanightdrive–herethegreenspotlighthighlightsachameleonthatwasfastasleep.Thisporcupinebustledoffintothebushesmakingaratherfunnyseriesofdisgruntledgruntsandgrumbles.
Iabsolutelydonotlikethesearmouredcricketsandcanfindnothingredeemingtosayaboutthem.Hereonedevoursanotherthathasbeensquashedintheroad.Fishing&boatcruisesWiththewaterquitecoldatthemomentwe’vebeendoingmoresundownercruisesthanfishing.Weevendidadawncruisewhichcastsuchbeautifullightacrossthewater–seethephotoofthehipposattheendofthisreport.
RockartAllourguestshaveshowngreatinterestintherockpaintingsonthecavewallsofthereserve.Theyhavemarveledatthesightsandoftenitisthesehumblingencountersinthestonehomesofourhumanancestorsthatarethehighlightofamorningdrive.
SunsetmoonriseswimmingThiswasthemostbeautifulsightingofthemonthforme–twoelephantbullsswimmingandplayinginNdunaDam,surroundedbyanamphitheatreofsandstonecliffsandforest.Weleftthevehicle,climbedtherocksthatoverlookthesceneandsattherewatchingthemforoveranhour.Thesunsetthrewsoftwarmlightontotherocks,andasthemoonrosethescenewaslitinpinks,mauvesandpurplehues.
Ontheprowl
Twoterritorialmalelionsweretryingtowarmupinapatchofdawnlight,whenathirdmalesomewherenearbystartedtocontactroar.Thetwoleaptup,spunaboutandstartedtosearchforhim,roaringferociouslyastheydid.Weoftenseeallthreeofthesemalestogether,soitseemedthatsomethinghadchangedinthedynamic.Thethirdmalequicklygotthemessageandinterpreteditashewasnot
welcomeinthearea,andhebeatahastyretreat,runninginthedirectionfromwhichhecame.Ittookquitesometimeforthesetwolargermales,withfullbelliesfromtheirrecenthuntingexploits,tosettledownagainandrelaxinthesunshine.Aslendermongoose(Galerellasanguinea)isafantasticlittleanimalthattakesnononsensefrommostanimalsfargreaterinsizethanitsfeisty+/-35cm(tailexcluded)!Youcanidentifythembytheprominentblacktipontheirtails.Theygenerallyliveeitheraloneorinpairs.Theyareprimarilydiurnal,althougharesometimesactiveonwarm,moonlitnights.Thisonewasbustlingdownthetracktowardsuswithasenseofpurpose.Itpausedforamomenttoassessus,camealittlecloser,andthendecidedwewereofnobenefitsoitwentonitsway.Inoticedthatithadslightdiscolourationtooneofitseyes–nodoubtgainedinascrapwithanunfortunateopponent,possiblyevenavenom-spittingsnake.Slendermongoosesaremostlycarnivorous,thoughtheyareopportunisticomnivores.Insectsmakeupthebulkoftheirdiet,butlizards,rodents,snakes,birds,amphibians,andtheoccasionalfruitareeatenwhenavailable.Theywillalsoeatcarrionandeggs.Asbefitsthepopularimageofmongooses,theyarecapableofkillingandeatingvenomoussnakes,butsuchsnakesdonotconstituteasignificantportionoftheirdiet.
Blackrhinoencounter
We’dbeenonamissiontofindablackrhinoforacoupleofdayswhenallofasuddenoneeruptedoutofathicketandthunderedtowardsus.Hestoppedshort,sizedusup,andthenseeminglysmiledforthecamerawhileemphasizinghismassivegreytank-likeformagainstsomedelicategrassandsoftpastelfoliage.Butnosoonerwasthisposestruckthanhechargedagain,
acceleratingourheartratesandfillingfartoomuchofmyfixed400mmlens’sframe.Hestoodspittingdistanceaway,forwhatseemedlikeaneternitybutwasprobablyonlyafewseconds,andthengallopedawayindisgust.Adultmaleblackrhinos,likethismaturebull,tendtoliveontheirown,exceptwhencourtingfemales.Blackrhinoscanmoveextremelyquickly,andhavebeenrecordedathighsof55km/h.Thisisevenmorealarmingwhenyouareinastationaryvehicleorworse,onfoot!Theycan‘turnonadime’andwillrunrightthroughscrubandbushes.Blackrhinosarequitepredictableintheirunpredictability!They’lloftenchargeadisturbingsound,smellorvehicleandwhenablackrhinocatchesthescentofhumansitusuallyrunsaway,sometimesforquiteadistancebeforestopping.
ConservationinactionBlackandwhiterhinoareattheirpeakconditionattheendoftherainyseason,andthatmakesitthebesttimefortheMalilangweTrusttoperformtheirannualrhinoear-notchingprogramme.Asystemofear-notchesisusedtouniquelyidentifyeachindividualrhino.Thenotchescanbeseenfromafarwhichallowsthesecurityteamtomonitortherhinoswithoutdisturbingorstressingthem.Membersofthewildlifemanagementteamtaketotheskyinahelicoptertosearchoutmotherrhinosthathaveun-notchedcalves.Oncespottedtheyflyincloseanddartthecalf.Viaradiocommunicationwithanexpertgroundteam,consistingofvets,ecologists,scoutsandassistants,theydirectthemtothespotwheretheanesthetizedcalfislying.Thegroundteamjumptoworkbyclearinganyimpedingvegetationaroundthecalf,supplyingitwithoxygen,sprayingwatertokeepitcool,monitoringitstemperature,breathingandheartrate,aswellastakingresearchdatafromit.Theoperationiscarriedoutquicklyyetcalmlytoeliminateasmuchstressaspossibleforthecalf–evenitsearsandeyesareblockedandcoveredduringtheprocedure.Surgicalclamps(theylooksimilartoscissors-seethephoto)areplacedontheearsinthepredeterminedspecificnotchpattern.Thesestopthebloodflowandallowthenotchtobecutfromtheear.Oncebleedinghasstoppedandanyminorwoundsaretreatedtheareaisclearedandthevetadministersareversaldrug.Thisreversalactsquicklyandthecalfcanbeonitsfeetagainandreunitedwithitsmotherwithinseconds.(Theun-dartedmotherstaysintheareabutusuallydoesn’tapproachthesceneoftheoperation.)Dailysightingsofindividualrhinos,identifiedbytheirnotches,arerecordedandcollatedbyresearchtechnicianswhocapturethedataintoananimalpopulationdatabase.Thedataisqueriedtoproducereportsthatguidemanagementdecisions.TheMalilangweTrust’srhinorangeexpansionprogrammehasbeenverysuccessful,withnumbersofbothspeciesgrowingsubstantiallyfromtheirfounderpopulations.Theprogramme’sgoalwastorepopulatethereservewithrhinos,andcontributefurthertoconservationbyusingrhinosthatwouldextendthereserve'sidealcarryingcapacity,tostartnewpopulationselsewhere.Forthefirsttime,in2015,theopportunityarosetomoveasmallnumberofblackrhinosoffthereservetorestockareserveinBotswana.SingitaPamushana,theMalilangweTrust’stourismpartner,isoneofthefewplacesintheworldabletooffergueststheopportunityofseeingthefullspectrumofAfricanwildlife,includingblackandwhiterhinos,inawell-protected,balanced,wildandnaturalecosystem.
Allatwitter
Thisadultbateleur’sredfacecaughtthemorninglightbeautifully.Ajuvenile’sfaceisamutedturquoisecolour.Thislappet-facedvulturemaynotbeconsideredbeautiful,butitiscertainlyimpressivemeasuring95–115cminbodylength,withawingspanof2.5–2.9m.Theprettylilac-breastedroller,bycomparison,isonly36to38cm,withawingspanof50to58cm.
Whichway?OnourwaybacktothelodgeduringanightdrivewecameacrossthisspottedeagleowldebatingwhetherheshouldgohuntingatcampKwali,HeadQuartersorSimbiri…
Thesehipposweren’tgoinganywhereforawhile–they’djustreturnedtothewaterafteranight’sgrazing.
WrittenandphotographedbyJennyHishin,unlessotherwiseindicatedSingitaPamushana
MalilangweWildlifeReserveZimbabwe
ThirtiethofJune2017
