Singita Sabi Sand Ebony & Boulders Lodges Castleton House South Africa

Wildlife Report For the month of May, Two Thousand and Thirteen

Temperature Rainfall Recorded Average minimum: 11.6˚C (59,3˚F) For the period: 0 mm Average maximum: 27.0˚C (81,1˚F) For the year to date: 926 mm Minimum recorded: 8.0˚C (53,6˚F) Maximum recorded: 32.0˚C (91,4˚F)

Seven days, seven different leopards We have all been in awe of how the densities of large predators thrive in a well-balanced ecosystem, as they do within the Sabi Sand. It’s a deluge of varying opinions and scientific facts with a lot of speculation and estimates, which after a glass or two of wine around a campfire, usually results in an answer that everyone agrees on… well sort of. Ultimately it comes down to survival and the key to it all is the word ‘balance’. Managed areas like the Sabi Sand are conserved environments that have been constantly evaluated by researchers, ecologists, zoologists and guides for several years, to understand how the environment has thrived to be so successful, and also how predators have coped with each other.

Applying the basic conservation principles and having leaders with a focus on conservation and rehabilitation, is the key to a sustainable environment. This should not only be a focus within the reserve but on the periphery as well. Understanding the needs of the local surrounding communities and assisting them forms a strong link to preservation of the wildlife within the reserve. The remnants of open grassland that were created during active subsistence farming within the area, pumping water to dams and having the Sand River flow through the reserve have all created varying biomes for the diversity of species. All of these combining factors are just a few reasons that contribute to the balanced predator densities. When you start working as a Singita guide, you soon realise that it’s a true privilege working in this environment on a daily basis. During my last seven days I noted that, along with my guests, I had seen seven different leopards in seven days. With the exception of two of the sightings, the rest of the leopards we saw were all by coincidence. This was evidence that the territorial sizes for several leopards were much smaller due to the higher population, and thus they have adapted to the smaller boundaries created by males and females. With the sightings that we had only two were young males that had not yet established a territory. Males and females have territories, with females and possibly males that have overlapping ranges, defending their core areas being their exclusive territory. Research has indicated that a leopard’s territory could range from 5km

square to approximately 60km square. This range was gathered with three years worth of study within a larger national park than the Sabi Sand. Data is obtained by utilising telemetry equipment with radio collars placed on individual leopards of both sexes and utilising average statistics based on the notes of each leopard. The period of research can vary, however it is often done over a minimum of two years to ensure that natural elements of change, such as drought or floods, can be taken into account as prey species would naturally congregate around water availability.

Leopards are described as being elusive and secretive. As a solitary animal that rarely interacts with another unless it’s for a purpose of reproduction, very few sightings are of two or more leopards. The Ravenscourt female leopard was seen mating with a territorial male. (See the next story for details.) This has resulted in her beginning to push her 16-month-old cub away. Interestingly, her motherly instinct still persuades her to look for the young male once they have separated for a time. When she finds him, you can clearly see that she soon realises why she should be pushing him off to become independent. He often overpowers her and, on many occasions, dominates the feeding on the kills she has made, which results in her having to hunt more regularly. The norm for a leopard to become independent is usually 22 months, but they will often remain within their natal range for several months after this time. Since the Ravenscourt female mated about a week ago, we are expecting new cubs in early August. This will be her sixth litter. We were all in awe about what we had seen in addition to the various leopards, and even my tracker, Johnson, commented that in his 10 years service in the Sabi Sand, “Every day seems to get better, I am surprised by what we see, imagine all the animals we don’t see!” I think that his comment was a little tongue-in-cheek as I don’t think we miss much - Johnson has incredible senses and his sight should be compared to that of a super hero! Leopards are described as being the embodiment of beauty, stealth and power. There is no doubt why they are so sought after by wildlife photographers, due to their beauty and natural instinct to pose, often mesmerising their audience.

Ravenscourt and Khashane mating The image captured above shows of a sight so special and rare to witness. Leopards are solitary and shy, so imagine our surprise when we saw this incredible scene. It is the leopardess known as the Ravenscourt female, mentioned in the previous story. The Khashane male, father of her previous offspring, was mating with her. Mating typically lasts anything from two to four days and is a rather intense affair. They are not at all friendly towards each other, and are very vocal with their raspy growls. She will gestate for about 106 days. By the time she gives birth her focus will shift solely to caring for her new cubs.

Cheetah versus hyena We sat quietly on the side of the road, eyes intently fixed on an impala herd further ahead of us. They were completely oblivious to the danger approaching them from the bush-willow thicket close by. The worlds fastest land mammal was a mere twenty metres away from them, and closing in. Sensing the time was right, the female cheetah lunged forward and within a second was on the tail of a young male impala. The impala was caught by complete surprise and stood no chance as the cheetah seized him by the neck. It was all over within four seconds, start to finish. Two young cheetah cubs came running from out of the thicket towards their mother. Their sharp eyes had studied her every move and they learned a valuable lesson in the art of hunting. In the wild very little goes unnoticed and the sounds that signal death almost always carry to the keen ears of the opportunists - hyenas. Led by instinct and a keen sense of smell and hearing, a large female hyena ambled across the clearing towards the family of cheetahs. What happened next completely blew me away!

Cheetahs are well known to relinquish their prey to larger predators and I was convinced this would be no different. In a bold move the young male cub muscled up and confronted the much larger hyena, head-on. Hair raised and moving forward the young cheetah intimidated the hyena and I could not believe my eyes when the hyena turned tail and moved away. This was unheard of! As nature goes there’s always a twist in the tail, and it seemed as though more hyenas heard the commotion. Another three appeared on the horizon and the task of protection was too great, even for a valiant young cheetah. With force another massive female hyena seized the carcass from a smaller hyena, and made off with the spoils of the kill. We could not believe what we had just played witness to, a spectacle few had ever seen.

Lions not afraid of crossing water A benefit of living out in the wilds of Africa is that you get to see unique and unusual behaviour on a regular basis. Despite their fear of water, lions need to adapt to their environment in order to successfully navigate their territory. Pictured above is a great example of this. Over time the lions have learnt to recognize areas of the river that are shallower and easier to cross. It was a sight to see, especially as his three brothers followed behind him, through the Sand River.

Big stuff getting down and dirty Getting down and dirty in thick mud and dust is second nature to elephants and buffaloes. Not only is it with purpose, but is also seems like a lot of good fun. By caking themselves in glorious mud, they rid themselves of annoying biting insects. Any ticks present get caked in the drying mud and when a buffalo goes to rub on a nearby fallen tree, many ticks break off within the mud. The layer of mud also helps to cover and protect their skins from the searing midday temperatures. Elephants are often seen dusting themselves during the hottest part of the day, often in dramatic fashion, as pictured below.

An opportunistic hunter (Article and images by guide, Francois Fourie)

Winter had crept up on us, the air became cooler and the sun sunk over the escarpment. The distant call of a leopard sounded through the air. With immediate urgency we set out to try and find this secretive animal, and on approaching the area there stood a majestic male leopard in all his glory! We followed him along the side of the Sand River. Showing no apparent intent of hunting, the opportunistic nature of a leopard revealed itself, in the blink of an eye. A male impala jumped out of the bush right in front of the leopard, and a growl and a cloud of dust was all we heard and saw. As we waited for the dust to settle there he was right next to the road with his prize in his grasp! It was really amazing to see how quickly this leopard reacted to the smallest sound or smell – a true apex predator.

Goshawk kills a woodland kingfisher (Note: this happened in early April, before the woodland kingfishers migrated north towards Angola.)

We sat quietly at a waterhole watching a small herd of waterbuck at the other end, hoping they would come down for a drink. I noticed two busy woodland kingfishers (Halcyon senegalensis) around the edge of the waterhole. A pair of agile gabar goshawks (Melierax gabar) appeared and was clearly interested in a meal. The kingfishers immediately took evasive action as the goshawks darted after them. The one kingfisher’s fate was sealed after making a wrong decision by flying into a dense thicket in an attempt to shake off its pursuer. The strength of the goshawk propelled it right into the dense shrub and he managed to grab hold of the boldly-coloured kingfisher. It all happened so quickly and was over in a flash. We slowly approached the thicket in attempt to see what was happening, but without disturbing the drama playing out in front of us. As you can see the goshawk had the kingfisher firmly clasped in its talons, and there was no chance of escape. Although kingfishers are rather aggressive by nature this one could not defend itself as it had its long sharp beaked clamped firmly around a branch.

Small to us, but big in the environment Dung beetles are the clean-up crew in the bushveld. These small, yet mighty beetles have an important function in the ecosystem, particularly in southern Africa. There are approximately 780 species and dung beetles are known to bury more than one metric ton of dung, per hectare, per year. It’s not surprising when you stop next to a pile of rhino dung and you watch it writhe and move as if a creature is using it as a blanket. As you watch carefully a few beetles start to emerge from the faeces and start to roll a small ball made up of the compost. These dung beetles are known as ‘rollers’ or telecoprids. They compile dung balls and use them as a food source or a brooding chamber. Depending on the use of the dung, the ball will often become much larger as it is rolled away. The sticky moist ball starts collecting soil and other plant material as the dung beetle rolls it, often weighing in excess of 50 times their own weight! Other dung beetles, known as 'tunnellers' or paracoprids, bury the dung wherever they find it. A third group, the 'dwellers' or endocoprids, neither roll nor burrow: they simply live in manure. Cleptocoprids steal balls from the telecoprids to lay their own eggs in the faeces. Rolling a ball of faeces with its back legs can quite easily disorientate a beetle. Scientists in Sweden and South Africa have published findings on the link between the galaxy and the clean-up crew in the bush. Dung beetles have been proven to use the Milky Way for orientation. Who would have ever thought that a creature so small would be so ‘bright’? This adds to a list of other “sky compass cues” like the sun, the moon and polarised light that the beetle can draw on to maintain a straight path while heading out with his ball of dung from the dung pile. These little insects were introduced into Australia in the hope that buried dung would reduce the fly population. The beetles were kept in sterile conditions after arriving in Australia after their long trip from South Africa. The project failed and research revealed that there was mutual symbiotic microscopic organism that facilitated the dung beetles navigation ability, and without the symbiotic relationship of these microscopic organisms the beetles couldn't navigate and survive. In Namibia, a species of desert dung beetle appears to have a built-in pedometer. This insect, scientists believe, finds its way back to its nest by counting its steps, and back-tracking! With the diversity of large mammals in the area, mysteries of this little creature will continue to amaze us. After stopping and reviewing a white rhino midden (a territorial post marking) with several dung beetles species, I glanced up the road and a movement amongst some additional dropping ahead caught my attention - it was a business of dwarf mongooses. They were foraging through elephant dung for food, looking for seeds or berries that were not completely digested, in addition to insects that were harbouring themselves amongst the dung. It was another view to the circle of life as it carried on without being disturbed by our presence, another ‘awe-inspiring’ moment of living amongst the fauna and flora within Singita Sabi Sand.

Capture a moment (Article and images by guide, Ross Couper)

Many guests often ask, what do guides do when they have not been assigned any guests? Each guide here at Singita has a varying interest in the bush when we are not at work. We have guides that are keen fisherman that are interested in going out on an afternoon or morning to fish in various areas of the Sand River, and record the species caught. Several guides will often go out on a birding quest to record the sightings and calls of bird species, within a set parameter of a particular area, over a given time frame. Photography is a keen passion for many guides, to such an extent that we have created training seminars to learn from each other, in addition to allowing us to broaden our scope. It allows for an even greater experience for our guests to ask us questions about their cameras, preferable settings and composition in preparation for that perfect shot to be captured during their stay. Our guides have varied skills in photography and, if they are not sure, there are a few professionals on hand that will be willing to assist you step by step. As a professional guide, we will always manoeuvre the vehicle into the best position for you, with safety as our priority. In addition, we will always be interpreting the sighting in anticipation for a perfect photograph. As a keen photographer I have few important tips to be prepared with your camera and able to capture that prefect shot:

1. Charge your batteries the night before you go out. Take spare batteries with you if you have them available. Charger units can be brought along on your game drive and, if required, your camera can be charged using the charger unit on the safari vehicles. Be sure to inform your guide if you intend to use this option.

2. Bring a video camera along with you if you have one. Don’t think, “We won’t see anything today worth filming.” We all know how that ends up!

3. Make sure that you have spare memory cards or that you have cleared your memory cards the night before by downloading your images onto a portable hard drive or laptop. (We do stock some memory cards for purchase at Singita Sabi Sand.)

4. Ensure that you have selected the appropriate setting for the scene. 5. Don’t always worry about composition as a photograph can be cropped at a later stage. 6. Get creative with your photographs, break away from the norm. Get up close to small subjects like

flowers, patterns in leaves or tracks in the sand. 7. Try and predict the subject’s movement or intention – to drink water, stalk or walk towards the vehicle.

This will often be in the guide’s interpretation. 8. When taking a picture make sure you hold your camera steady for a sharp image. 9. Beanbags and stabilizing pods are available on request from your guide and are useful to assist with

stabilizing your camera and creating sharp images. 10. Flash photography is permitted at selective sightings, be sure to check with your guide prior to using the

flash on your camera. 11. Keep your camera ready at all times with easy access. Don’t wait for a moment to happen because you

will inevitably miss it, so be prepared from the start of the scene. 12. As the light changes, be sure to evaluate your shutter speed periodically. 13. Don’t shy away from asking for assistance. 14. Remember to take pictures of your lodge and facilities. This encompasses your experience and often

they are good photographs to fill a photo book. (The chefs go to extreme measures to make sure that your meal is a work of art - don’t miss the opportunity to capture some of the splendid dishes!)

I often think of a great shot in my head prior to heading out, and focus on finding that particular image. I have often been disappointed, not because I did not find that ‘shot’ but because I did not use my imagination on everything else we came across, and realised that I missed some great opportunities. The good news is this is the digital era and taking several photographs does not cost a cent so take as many as you can, with good intention. That said, the most important advice is to take away memories - don’t get too involved in getting the best picture. I can assure you that your experience will be the best you have ever had, so put down the camera and soak it all up every now and then.

Articles by Marlon du Toit, Ross Couper, Francois Fourie Photographs on location by Marlon du Toit & Ross Couper (except where noted otherwise)

Singita Ebony and Boulders Lodges Sabi Sand

South Africa Thirtieth of May 2013