thoughts on the Olifants River - October 2008

The last few newsletters have had some input regarding rainfall and water availability. The shortage of water is always a very serious concern to all Kruger Park enthusiasts as the wellbeing of our precious animals is totally dependent on good rains and available drinking.



In this respect, my thoughts engage the Olifants River, which forms the northern boundary of the Balule section of Kruger Park in which Tremisana Lodge is situated - in fact, the river is a mere 7 km away. The name conjures images of bygone days of an unspoiled Africa with vast herds of game, especially elephants, whence the name 'Olifants' . Unfortunately this image is, in my opinion, a far cry from today’s reality.



I recall the words of T. S. Eliot in The Dry Salvages:

"I do not know much about gods, but I think that the river
is a strong brown god - sullen, untamed and intractable,
patient to some degree, at first recognised as a frontier,
useful, untrustworthy, as a conveyor of commerce,
then only a problem confronting the builder of bridges.
The problem once solved, the brown god is almost forgotten
by the dwellers in cities – ever, however implacable,
keeping his seasons and rages, destroyer, reminder
of what men choose to forget. Unhonoured, unpropitiated
by worshippers of the machine, but waiting, watching and waiting."

The Olifants River rises in the eastern Highveld near Witbank and travels about 600 km before it enters the Kruger Park. On the way it is dammed and water is extracted for agriculture, industry and other human needs.



My concern is that the quality and quantity of water entering Kruger has so deteriorated over the years that the animals are suffering. You will recall some of my previous newsletters made mention of (as yet unexplained) crocodile deaths in the lower reaches of the Olifants. I believe that the toxicity of the water is responsible. I also reckon that the coal mines near Witbank and the copper and phosphates mining at Phalaborwa have played a part.

 


The demise of this once - flourishing river is, in my opinion, a direct result of mining and industry exploiting the natural environment in a very uncaring and irresponsible manner. If allowed to continue unchecked, we can expect the Olifants River to be reduced to a toxic drain where animal life will be severely compromised. As conservationists, we must let our concerns be heard..

 


 


GAMEVIEWING NEWS FROM THE RANGERS

There has been virtually no rain in Kruger during October 2008. The game-viewing has been exceptional. We have also had some unusual consequences: Bertus found a very young rhino stuck in the mud at a waterhole and contacted Brian Jones of Moholoholo who now has little “Satara”, as he named the young rhino, in his care at the Rehabilitation Centre. Our guests on our 5 day and 6 day safaris have reported that the little rhino has a friend roughly his own size and they are the firm favourites of people visiting Moholoholo.

 


We have also come across a number of carcasses on our 4 hour bush walks on Balule - testimony to the very harsh conditions under which the animals are now living.



BONGANI reports that on 2nd October, his guests came across a pride of 19 lions that consumed a wildebeest in a very short time. Once they had polished it off, they then proceeded to hunt a zebra.

 


On the 12th, Bongani was conducting a Bush Walk . He came across White Rhino spoor and decided to track the animals. He located two rhino resting under a tree and on the way to get a closer look, realised that a buffalo had been following him. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place! Anyway it all turned out OK (despite the guests’ inordinately high adrenalin surge) as the buffalo veered off once it saw the rhinos.

Two rhino resting under a tree

Bongani’s highlight of the month took place on 26 October. “We had stopped to watch a rhino taking a mud bath. Suddenly we saw the big head of an elephant bull coming out of the bushes on its way to join the rhino at the water. Equally suddenly we saw a lioness on the left carefully stalking an impala. It crawled closer and closer to the impala. My guests were so excited that I had to order them to keep quiet or the lioness might run away. The lioness attempted to jump on the impala but missed. The impala ran away a few metres and another lioness came from nowhere and jumped on its back and bit it through the neck. As it was killing the impala, six other lionesses appeared from nowhere and tore the impala apart. About a minute later, a male lion arrived in a rush only to find that there was nothing left to eat.”

  


BERTUS reports that he had Big Five sightings on every one of his safaris at the beginning of the month, but, as the temperatures rose towards the end of the month, leopard sightings were rare. He reports (again) seeing a leopard up a tree in the shade of which an elephant was resting. On the 4th October, Bertus found the baby rhino stuck in the mud at Welverdiend waterhole (reported above).

 


On the 14th October Bertus and clients found a pride of 18 lions on a buffalo kill on the Sweni Road. Later that day, they saw four rhinos at Girivana waterhole and caught a fleeting glimpse of a leopard at Orpen Gate. Apparently this leopard has been seen a number of nights on the Orpen webcamera. I remind you that you can see this waterhole and the one at Satara by logging onto www.sanparks.org and looking under webcameras.

 


On the 18th, Bertus reports enjoying six different sightings of lions! He reports his highlight of the month as happening on 30th October:

“We arrived at Shimangwanene Dam and found a big male lion with his paw on a warthog. He called and five cubs came and joined him at the warthog. He was trying to allow them to learn how to kill. Every time he released the warthog, the cubs made no attempt to attack it and he had to catch it again. The cubs were unable to kill it and eventually the lion became impatient and did the job himself. It was good to see him share the warthog with the cubs - something he was not prepared to do with three lionesses that he kept at bay. These lionesses looked full anyway - a big Sable Antelope bull came to drink and they made a half-hearted attempt at chasing him. Later on we came across three cheetah that were also too full to chase a herd of impala a mere 20 metres away - an easy catch if they felt like it ."

 


Bertus had some good walks on Balule Plains: on the 5th he had guests from a Lodge and followed spoor of a leopard for over an hour but was given the slip. On the 13th Pride Rock lived up to its name when Bertus came across 4 lions and 2 lionesses there.

 


His highlight of the month’s Bush Walks is reported as follows: “On the 15th we had a walk I shall never forget. Accompanied by four guests, I was walking near Chapel Dam when we heard a loud roar. Next a big male lion was facing us about 40 metres away and he was not a happy chappy. My guests did very well to obey what I had told them to do in my pre-walk instructions and retreated slowly. Nevertheless the lion charged us. At 30 metres I fired a warning shot which stopped him in his tracks. I had decided to shoot to kill if he had carried on, so I am very grateful that the warning shot had the desired effect. We were all a little shaken but have a story to tell about an experience we shall NEVER forget.”

Big male lion - not a happy chappy.

TOBY advises me that October 2008 has been rather sad. While he was patrolling the fence line at Marc’s on the 11th, he came across a bushbuck ram that had been caught in a snare. Fortunately he was still alive and, with the help of the Warden, Jonathan Beretta, the bushbuck was released after receiving some first aid. On the very next day, Toby discovered the warthog, that grazed on a nightly basis in front of his room, caught in a snare. Unfortunately, she died while trying to get free. Perhaps poaching is on the increase as a result of the trying economic times - we shall all have to be more vigilant.

 


In Kruger, Toby reports seeing seven different prides of lions on 28th October – one better than Bertus! One of these prides had pulled down a giraffe on the 25th – Toby arrived within half an hour of the actual kill – and the pride was now staking an impala herd. Toby and guests also watched a small (1,5 metre) black mamba being harassed at the Timbavati picnic spot.

 


NELLY reports excellent sightings of the Big Five all month long. He drove a fly-in group (Richard Hall and 4 friends) from Numbi to Orpen on 24th and back again on the 25th and easily found them good sightings of all the Big Five on both days. These sightings included a leopard kill and 4 of the 5 simultaneously at Kumana Dam.

 


Nelly’s other highlights included an attempted kill by a leopard on an impala near Bobbejaankrans and elephants chasing six lions at Mudzanzene waterhole - in sight of the picnic spot.

THULANI only spent six days guiding in Kruger and had excellent sightings: a pack of six hyena feeding on an elephant carcass; Buffalos, white rhinos and elephants simultaneously at Welverdiend waterhole; a young (and inexperienced)female leopard casing a monkey from branch to branch of a Leadwood tree near Ngotso; a pride of 11 lions at Mudzanzene; five lionesses stalking and missing a zebra on the S 100; six lionesses feeding on a giraffe on the S 100; lions feeding on a hippo at Ngotso South and his highlight: a lioness stalking and catching an impala along the Timbavati River.

 


I include a photo I took - we are never sure from a photo exactly how far the animal is, what with telephoto lenses. No lying about this one, though.

Lioness photographed by one of our guests

I also include shots of Nsemani Dam taken on 10 October and 23 October - notice the rapid drop in water level as a result of the high temperatures and evaporation rate.

10 October ------ 23 October

A rapid drop in water levels at Nsemani Dam!

NEWS AT TREMISANA GAME LODGE

TREMISANA’s is the worst off in terms of lack of grazing. Warthogs look like skeletons and kudu deaths have been higher than ever before. Despite the appearance of leaves on some trees, I think the tannin levels are so high in the few leaves that have appeared that the kudu are dying even with relatively full stomachs!

 

We have revamped the outside guest “Bush ablutions” and upgraded the kitchen.

With kind regards,

Piero

Threat of a serious drought is looming - September 2008

The dry winter spell has become a dry spring spell and the threat of a serious drought is looming. We have had no rain this September and the temperatures have soared to the early forties. The result is a very dry veld, with very little to eat for the herbivores. This situation results in some unusual behaviour. The warthog sounder at Tremisana has grown to over a dozen members. They have moved into the camp on a permanent basis. From time to time our gardeners have to fish a warthog out of the swimming pool. The grass around the pool is under strain as the warthogs are eating anything that has a remotely green look.

Besides the warthogs’ suffering, we have noticed a number of kudu bulls in very poor condition. Kudu are browsers and the leaves on the trees are making an extremely slow appearance this year. We know of a number of kudu bulls that have died. The bulls are generally heavier than the kudu cows and therefore need a larger amount of sustenance. Hence the kudu bulls generally die before the cows.

On Balule, the buffalo herd has broken out of the reserve into adjoining land in search of pasture. They have crossed the tar road and we have had to employ the services of a helicopter. The pilot skillfully chases the animals back into the reserve. The trouble is that in their desperate hunger, the buffalo will break the fence again so it becomes quite expensive to hire a helicopter every time they break out.

The hot and dry conditions are resulting in a lot less surface water available to the animals. We have been keeping the artificial watering points at Tremisana full. The steady stream of animals and birds at Tremisana has kept our guests at the Lapa thoroughly entertained. Daily visits by buffalo and rhino testify to the absence of any other surface water nearby.

In Kruger the Timbavati river has five pools in it and the Nwanedzi River has about seven pools. Animals are congregating around these pools and the artificial waterholes in ever increasing numbers. The animals are getting enough water, albeit brackish, but the problem with the drought is the shortage of food. I have noticed protruding bones in just about every ungulate species – even the zebra appear to have lost that healthy rotund shape.

While we feel sorry for the plight of the hungry animals, a drought period is always a good period for gameviewing. September 2008 will go down as an exceptionally good month for Big Five sightings. We have had as many as eight different lion sightings in one day! Buffalo and elephant are constantly found along the river beds and rhino and leopard sightings have been excellent this month.

GAMEVIEWING NEWS FROM THE RANGERS

BONGANI has had an excellent month. His report indicates many exciting days. A typical day’s sightings were those experienced on 3 September: “I drove along the S 100, then to Gudzani and back to Satara on the S 90. A few km down the S 100 we came across a leopard feeding on an impala which had been carried up a tree. A few black-backed jackal were under the tree waiting for scraps of meat to fall. Three km from the leopard, we found a pair of mating lions. A large bull elephant came out of the bush and walked steadily towards the lions. They moved off slowly, not really too concerned about the elephant. We drove on and found two lions eating a zebra near Gudzani; they were being watched by a large number of vultures as well as five hyenas.”

On the 5th September, Bongani viewed the Big Five in a 25 km stretch from Satara north towards Olifants: “There were huge numbers of animals between Satara and Olifants. A few km north of Satara, we found two White Rhino. Five km further we got a leopard near the road. Only four km on, we came across a herd of four bull elephants and another km on we found a small group of buffalo bulls. Just north of Ngotso Dam we came across a pride of two male and four female lions eating a giraffe right on the road. ”

On the 25th September Bongani and his very fortunate clients witnessed two big male lions attacking and killing a blue wildebeest on the S 100.

On the 26th September Bongani conducted a 4 hour walk on Balule Plains. He reports as follows: “Early in the morning, shortly after witnessing a beautiful sunrise, we came across two White Rhinos. We were able to approach to within 30 metres of them. Soon thereafter I found very fresh lion spoor. I asked my guests whether they were happy to track down the lions. They all agreed enthusiastically. We followed the spoor in complete silence and with the wind blowing favourably; I knew we were getting really close. Then suddenly we saw them, a mere 100 metres ahead. We kept going and at about 75 metres, the one lion noticed us. He looked straight at us and then looked away, showing he was not interested in us. Later that afternoon, on the 4 hour game drive I returned to the spot we had seen them and, about 400 metres away, found the lions on a zebra kill – they must have killed shortly after we had seen them on the walk “.

NELLY had a good month as well. He reports his highlights as follows: “At the beginning of the month, we came across a pride of lions on a buffalo kill only 5 km along the S 100. There were two males, four females and two cubs. We spent over an hour watching them eating. The following day we found a leopard eating a common duiker up a tree near the road. Later that day we came across two mating rhino near Mzanzene.”

Nelly saw the Nwanedzi bridge pride again – this pride consists of two lionesses and four cubs and has been operating around the bridge area for the last three months.

Nelly came across six cheetah near Hlangulene. Later that day, he stopped at the waterhole near the Mzanzene picnic spot and found a leopard stalking impalas, but they got away. Not so lucky was a young kudu that was taken by a pride of lions on the Timbavati Road. The guests saw the actual kill and were amazed at the pitiful death cries of the kudu. As the kudu was making this sound, more lions converged on the victim, some rushing past the front of the car. In total there were 13 lions scrapping for a share of the meat.

THULANI also had his share of lion kills: On the Talamati road he and his guests found lions on a buffalo kill near Timbavati; 13 lions on a giraffe at Ngotso North and the 6 lion pride eating a zebra at the Nwanedzi Bridge. He reports two very unusual sightings: A herd of buffalo chased a leopard up a Leadwood tree near Gudzani and a civet was decapitated by lions at the Sweni waterhole.

Giraffe eating from trees just outside Tremisana

BERTUS reports as follows: “This month was my best ever for lions both in Balule and Kruger. On our 4 hour drives from Tremisana, we have often seen the pride of 12 including two big males and four younger males. We first saw them drinking from a waterhole not more than three metres away. The following day we came across them on a buffalo kill on Balule Plains. We are also seeing a younger male around Tremisana itself. He is very shy and although I pick up fresh spoor on a daily basis, I struggle to get good sightings.”

Bertus says he has had excellent leopard sightings this month and reports two memorable occasions: “I was driving between Letaba and Olifants and had stopped for a herd of elephants. One of my eagle-eyed guests looked up a tree and …a young leopard! It was after a troop of monkeys that had climbed to higher smaller branches where the leopard was unable to go. The leopard was effectively trapped in the tree as the elephants were in the shade all around the base of the tree. The leopard, in its total frustration, was spitting and snarling, but the elephants ignored it completely. It eventually jumped down and made a hasty retreat, with the elephants still ignoring it.

Leopard in tree seen by Bertus’ clients

I was told by the other guides about the leopard cub near Ngotso. I finally saw the young cub busy eating an impala not 10 metres from the road. After he was full, he walked to a tree against which an elephant was snoozing. The leopard proceeded to climb up the tree and went and lay on a branch about 3 metres directly above the elephant. When the mother leopard arrived the elephant woke up and angrily chased her away.”

TOBY has had a few great days. He was given the responsibility of showing my Godfather, Bruno, his first lions in Kruger. Bruno had been to Kruger over 20 times before and had never seen lions or leopards. True to form, Toby found lions – and what a sighting: On 11 September the S 100 delivered again: a pride of seven lions had pulled down a buffalo two metres from the road. About 10 km further on Toby showed Bruno and his fellow guests a leopard that was stalking an impala. So now I know the Godfather will recommend Kruger-Safaris. Well done, Toby!

Can’t get much closer than this!

On the 15th September Toby showed his guests 4 of the 5 in Kruger – he missed rhino. So what happens – on the road from the front gate of Marc’s to the main lodge, Toby drove into a herd of three Rhino! When you’re good, you’re good!

On the 17th, Toby and Bertus, each with his own vehicle and guests, saw two White Rhino inadvertently wander into the grazing circle of a herd of elephants. Both guides expected the rhino to be routed and both were wrong. In an unusual turnabout, the elephant herd was put to flight!

Toby reports his best game walk: he and his excited guests saw three rhino, nine buffalo and four giraffe – all closer than 25 metres. Good on you, Mate!

NEWS AT TREMISANA GAME LODGE

TREMISANA’s grass has all but disappeared as a result of the warthogs. The area is very dry and the non-appearance of the weaver birds is not a good omen. A few frogs have arrived and have started their raucous calling.

Our handyman, Eric, has been busy. Among other things, he has erected a TV stand for our newly acquired DSTV. It is another acquisition that some tourists have requested – although I personally cannot see what good can come on a relaxing safari from following the CNN news of the world‘s present economic woes.

Pearl has made new uniforms for the lady staff and they have decided, only on the odd occasion though, to give us a song or two. It would be nice to have singing every night, but I suppose the ladies have to be in the right mood for it.

Regards and best wishes,

Piero

A very dry month - not a drop of rain - August 2008

August 2008 has been a very dry month - not a drop of rain. The veld in Kruger is looking very exhausted. This has arisen because our rainfall this year has been well below average. It is amazing that, as I write this letter, lives are being lost in India and Cuba as a result of too much rain!

The shortage of water has led to problems with some of Kruger’s animals. One such problem involves crocodiles. I have been following a story about crocodile deaths in the Olifants River in Kruger. Since April this year there have been consistent crocodile mortalities in the eastern reaches of the Olifants River. Post mortems conducted on the crocodile carcasses have indicated that the crocodiles have succumbed to a condition called pansteatitis. This occurs as a result of the depletion of anti-oxidants in the bloodstream. The condition results in the hardening of the crocodiles’ fat reserves into a rubbery mass. The crocodiles become lethargic and eventually die. Our top veterinary staff have been assisted by international experts on crocodiles in attempting to solve the issue.

I personally believe it has something to do with the blue-green algae I wrote about in previous newsletters. This algae, Microsystis, has resulted in mammal deaths at the Mahlangwazane Dam and Sunset Dam near Lower Sabie. This blue-green algae is a cyanobacteria and, under the right conditions, it can multiply rapidly to produce great masses of toxic algae. Once the concentration of microstysis in the water increases, the animals that drink the water can be poisoned. I trust that our scientists will find a solution quickly.

On a more positive note, the shortage of water has resulted in exceptional game viewing this August. It is really all very straightforward for our guides: simply drive from one watering point to the next and see what is available to view. It makes for periods of relative quiet while we are moving from one dam to the next as all the animals are concentrated within a 5 km radius of the water. The lions have become blasé about the situation. They no longer conceal themselves from the game species. I watched a lioness in the open, in full view of every animal within 500 metres, attempt to catch an impala at Nsemani Dam.

Of course this situation will last as long as there is no rain – once the rains fall, it becomes a whole new and different story. I am often asked to predict when the rains will fall as this has such a significant effect on game-viewing. I tell our prospective clients that over the last 40 years that I am able to recall my experiences in Kruger, the first serious rains usually fall in the middle of October. Of course there are exceptions, but those of our guests who wish to see the dry season concentrations of animals, should get to Kruger before then. It does not mean that tourists who visit after the rains are guaranteed to see very little - in fact some of our best sightings have occurred in the rainy months. What is definite though is that the numbers of animals will surely be fewer as the animals disperse in search of new grass.

Summer has its own attractions: the green grass and abundant foliage is more visually pleasing than the rugged browns and yellows that accompany the dusty dry season. Also recall that summertime is the season when the vast majority of animals have their young and it is very pleasing to see the abundant nurseries of young antelope frolicking on the grassy plains, while birdsong constantly fills the air.

GAMEVIEWING NEWS FROM THE RANGERS

Our guides will work a lot harder in summer to produce the sightings we have been accustomed to these last few months. Once again the reports I have received are absolutely stunning. I trust the guides are not making up stories...

BONGANI had his first day in Kruger this month on 2nd August and promptly collected the Big Five with consummate ease. He reports as follows: “At the Sweni Pan, we came across a big pride of lions that had laid an ambush for an approaching herd of thirsty zebra. A troop of baboons were up a big Leadwood tree and made a huge din once they saw the lions. The zebras stopped in their tracks and waited patiently. It was hot and I wondered what would happen next when a herd of elephants appeared from the dry river bed. The elephants were very aggressive towards the lions and chased them. The lions bolted and came running past the front of our vehicle, giving our guests a thrill and a bit of a scare!”.

On the 6th August, Bongani was driving towards Satara and heard the roaring of lions. He switched off the engine and heard the hysterical laughing of hyenas. Try as he did, he was unable to locate the kill. About 4 km further on, he did come across a giraffe kill – it just shows how far the calls can travel. There was a standoff between a group of about six hyenas and two lionesses.
An interesting sighting was of a brown snake eagle eating a lizard in a tree. As it fed, scraps of meat that were falling on the ground below, were being voraciously gobbled up by a slender mongoose.

On the 18th August, Bongani and his guests watched a pride of lions on the S 100 road gobbling as well. They polished off a kudu cow in less than an hour. The pride moved towards the watering spot for a drink and there came across a zebra. They managed to catch and kill it and Bongani says they polished off this, their second meal of the day, in 45 minutes. Bongani reports a sighting of a rare Black Rhino near the Nwanedzi picnic spot.

MESHACK has been operating his safaris around the Mudzanzene picnic spot area. He reckons that this zone is really excellent at the moment. There are regular sightings of White Rhino here - they are reasonably tame and afford good photographic opportunities. There is also a female cheetah with a sub-adult cub operating near the Rockvale waterhole where Meshack has seen them regularly.

He reports his sightings on 10th August as follows: “We saw a pride of eight lions on the road from Satara towards the Nwanedzi tar road t-junction. They came across a giraffe and pulled it down near the river bank. This pride spent the next 5 days at the carcass eating and lying around. Later on, in the afternoon, we came across three different sightings of leopard – a new record for me!”

BERTUS informs me that his first sighting of a Side-striped Jackal in Kruger was had at the beginning of the month when he and his lucky guests came across a single individual on the Timbavati Road, near the Orpen-Satara turnoff. These jackals are very rare indeed and are easily identified by the white tip to the tail. The much more common Black-backed Jackal is found throughout South Africa. A first among the birds was a sighting of a Palm-Nut Vulture near Shibotwana waterhole on the S100. I am extremely jealous as I have never seen a Palm-nut Vulture in Kruger!

His report continues: “Lions were spotted on each and every drive in Kruger this month. So I am pleased to say that we are seeing a minimum of 3 of the Big Five as we never miss buffalo and elephant. There are a lot of Big Tuskers near the Ngotso-South watering hole. Further north we have located a hyena den in a culvert under the road. There are two hyena cubs of about six months and one younger cub of about two months.

I have seen an increase in the number of hippo in the Gudzane Dam. I am seeing White Rhino regularly near Ngirivane waterhole and have seen leopard regularly near Mudzanzeni. A big herd of rare Sable antelope are seen regularly at the Shimangwaneni Dam.”

His birding report is also good: “We got a Martial Eagle eating a dove in a tree right next to the road. We also saw a Tawny Eagle catch and eat a Scrub Hare. We found a Ground Hornbill eating a Leopard Tortoise as well as regular sightings of Kori Bustard, the heaviest flying bird in Kruger. The Scops Owls at Satara and Mudzanzeni picnic spot are still at their posts as always”.

Bertus is still having a great time on the Tremisana bush walks. He reports as follows: "Sightings have fluctuated from ordinary one day to unbelievably good the next day. The buffalo herd is seen more often around Tremisana along with the lions that have developed a taste for buffalo. I know of five buffalo that were killed in the area in the month of August. The lions also kill giraffe regularly and one day we got a giraffe kill and a buffalo kill not even 100 metres apart from each other” His sightings of Rhino have improved this month. “The rhino produced some memorable sightings near the Tshukudu fence-line. We were watching rhino and heard a lion roaring. We walked in the direction of the roaring and managed to see the lion. We were amazed to witness a fight between two rhino bulls through a game fence. They felt nothing for the electric wires and in their anger managed to do a considerable amount of damage to the fence. I am pleased to report that on my most recent walks, I have been seeing two rhinos right near Tremisana. I have also located a porcupine hole as well as a hyena den on the property.”

TOBY had some great sightings this month. Four leopard sightings put big smiles on the faces the guests. This was especially evident as one leopard sat proudly in the sun just 15 metres away from the vehicle. No doubt some great photos were taken before she disappeared into the dry riverbed of the Nwanedzi on the S 100.

Another great photographic opportunity happened on the 19th August at the Sweni Bird Hide where Toby and his guests watched with great anticipation as a young Bushbuck weaved its way among 13 crocodiles that were basking in the sun. “It successfully made its way through the labyrinth and, after a refreshing drink, it faced the challenge again and found its way safely to its anxious mother”. Unfortunately Toby reports that the eight Egyptian goslings born at the Hide last month didn’t seem to be as fortunate as the young bushbuck. Perhaps they were hiding somewhere.

His report continues: “Elephants are plentiful everywhere at the moment and several very large herds were seen between Orpen and Satara. On the 19th August we came across a herd of over 200 individuals. A herd of buffalo roughly this size was seen near Mahungumula Pan only a few km from two White Rhino we came across under the shade of a tree less than 20 metres from the road.”

As Toby is a very keen birdwatcher, his guests were privileged to see some outstanding sightings including Pink-backed Pelican and three of our best storks: Yellow-billed Stork; Saddle-billed Stork and Wooly-necked Stork. “The most impressive bird sighting of the month was of a really close Giant Eagle Owl. The guests were given a fantastic opportunity to get some brilliant shots of this owl with its unique pink eyelids”

NELLY reports a sighting of a leopard crossing the road right in front of his vehicle.On the same day his guests saw a pride of lions with cubs and a cheetah with near-adult cub. He reports further: “On the 14th August about 10 km from Orpen, we came across two White Rhino crossing the road.

Near Rabelais Dam we saw a leopard up a Leadwood tree calmly looking at a herd of impala and a group of warthogs about 200 metres away. We waited over 30 minutes for something to happen, hoping that the impala or warthog would get closer. Unfortunately this did not happen and the leopard went to sleep.

About 10 km further on, we found a Black Rhino at the Welverdiend waterhole.” The very next day Nelly came across a pride of six lions that had caught a wildebeest. A large contingent of hyena and vultures were patiently waiting for the lions to finish. What was interesting was that four young cubs were climbing all over the dead wildebeest, rolling in its blood. Nelly reports sighting some very large herds this month, for example on 30th he came across about 300 buffaloes and about 200 elephants just south of Satara. Nelly also reports having some excellent Sunset drives at Tremisana: lots of general game as well as good sightings of Buffalo, Leopard and White Rhino.

THULANI reports seeing an all female lion pride attempt unsuccessfully to catch a big giraffe bull at Welverdiend Pan on the Sweni Road. More successful was a pride of four lionesses and cubs that pulled down a younger giraffe near Nwanedzi bridge.

Thulani is seeing a rhino bull regularly at Kumana Dam. The dam is dry but the rhino is always found lying in the water in the cement trough.

Thulani had a great experience at the Mudzanzeni picnic spot. “A big male leopard was in full view of all the people at the picnic spot. He crept up to some impalas that were drinking at the trough. It took him almost 20 minutes to move a distance of 11 metres. All the time he was at most 50 cm from the ground. When he got to within 10 metres of the herd, he was noticed and the alarm calls resounded across the veld. Within three seconds there wasn’t an impala to be seen and the leopard skulked away, clearly disappointed.”

On another occasion towards the end of the month, Thulani and guests were held up for over half an hour by a big herd of elephants near the Sweni waterhole. He had to rush in order to make the gate closing time. Usually the Park authorities are reluctant to believe stories about elephants blocking the road, but I can assure them that it does sometimes happen. I, for one, would rather take my chances with a fine for being late than chance it with an enraged elephant!

NEWS AT TREMISANA GAME LODGE

As mentioned in a previous newsletter, we have built a game-viewing hide right near Tremisana Dam. It is equipped with insect-proof screens and has a toilet and wash hand basin in an adjoining room. The dam is illuminated by a powerful spotlight. There is sufficient place in the hide for a few mattresses – so any tourist who is keen to spend the night there is welcome to do so – we just need some rain first!

We have completed the fitting of the third chalet assigned to tourists with physical disabilities. The rails and built-in beds will be of great benefit to our prospective clients.

The gardens have taken a pounding from the hungry animals. Along with the ever-present monkeys, our regular visitors include warthog, duiker, baboons and porcupine. They have successfully dug out a number of bulbs and plants in their quest to find something edible.

A herd of around 30 buffalo have been seen in the vicinity of the artificial watering hole in front of the Lapa. Their insatiable thirst has resulted in our having to fill the cement trough three times a day.

Pearl reports the sighting of a giraffe that has visible claw marks on its rump – evidence of an attempted kill by the resident lion pride. This giraffe is always close to the camp and even eats the leaves of trees growing inside the lodge grounds.

Click here for more info on Tremisana

I wish you a good September - designated in South Africa as Tourism Month.

With kind regards,

Piero

110th anniversary of the Kruger Park - June 2008

June 2008 marked the 110th anniversary of the Kruger Park. In June 1898 the Sabie Game Reserve was proclaimed by the then president of the Transvaal Republic, Paul Kruger, after whom this wonderful conservation area is named.

A few other interesting facts : the first Warden was Colonel James Stevenson-Hamilton, in whose honour Skukuza is named. He was appointed in July 1902. On 31 May 1926 the whole area between the Crocodile River in the south and the Levuvu River in the north was consolidated into the Kruger Park. The first fee - paying visitors entered the Kruger Park in 1927. It is believed that the area was inhabited some 100 000 years ago by Homo Erectus as a number of cultural artifacts dating back to Stone Age man have been found throughout the Kruger Park.

Originally and even up to the present time the main aim of creating the Kruger Park was conservation. The development of tourist facilities was undertaken initially to try to convince trigger-happy farmers that conservation was a viable alternative. Today tourism necessarily is crucial to the preservation of Kruger insofar as the revenue generated provides the funds required for research and conservation.

Recently there have been leases granted to a number of big companies to operate their own private lodges within Kruger. At all times we trust that the developments will be done with the greatest of care and consideration so as not to prejudice the natural environment.

We were one of the special guests invited to the 110th Birthday celebration held at Skukuza on 14 June 2008. Ronald reports that it was a truly memorable occasion with some very good speeches especially by the Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk and the CEO of Kruger Park, Dr Bandile Mkhize. Ronald returned feeling very confident about the future.

I trust that the confidence is adjoined by a realization that there are many challenges ahead. I read an article last week about the horrific situation of game reserves in Zimbabwe where it is alleged that most of the game has been killed and eaten. The issue of land claims on Kruger as well as the ever present problem relating to poverty will need to be satisfactorily addressed. As the petrol price and food prices increase regularly, it becomes ever more difficult for the poor to survive. Of course, even people that are morally correct, when driven by hunger pains may consider poaching animals or worse still, resort to theft.

GAMEVIEWING NEWS FROM THE RANGERS

BONGANI spent the first 3 weeks of June on long leave, but got into the swing of things immediately on the 21st . His fortunate tourists came across 5 lions on the S 100 road that were after a leopard. They chased the leopard up a tree and Bongani and his guests watched them there for half an hour. Bongani returned to the spot 5 hours later and nothing had changed: lions waiting patiently and leopard asleep in the tree - very African! No-one knows how the saga ended as Bongani had to leave so as to make the gate closing time. Lions and leopards are competitors for the many impala on the S 100 road. It is clear that the lions intended to kill the leopard. Bongani finished an exceptional day by seeing an aardvark on the road. On the 28th Bongani came across a herd of eight White Rhino along the Sweni Road about 1 km from two lions. On the 29th June Bongani and his group came across a pair of mating lions, hippo and a herd of elephant near Timbavati. The lions were rudely interrupted in their amorous affair when one of the elephant cows, probably the matriarch, chased them into the bush.

BERTUS has joined our operation on a full-time basis and we are very happy to have him. Not only has he been born and bred in the bush but he has an extensive knowledge of Balule. His father, Wynand, is Warden of Olifants West Game Reserve which contains Tremisana and his grandfather, Albertus, has been a landowner there for decades.

Bertus reports that he and his clients saw lions , elephant and buffalo on each and every safari. Other regular sightings are of a female leopard with a young cub at Nsemani Dam and a pair of cheetah near the Orpen Gate. Bertus reports an interesting wildlife experience at Piet Grobler Dam. A pride of four lions were resting on the bank when a herd of elephants appeared from the bush. The elephants chased a few hippos into the water and then turned their attention to the lions which were set upon with great gusto. These were scattered in all directions. The elephants then proceeded to drink and play in the water. Two young calves started rolling around in the mud. Their mothers immediately pulled them out (perhaps they are aware of some big crocodiles that live in the dam). No sooner had the mothers looked away than the youngsters re-entered the mud. This happened no fewer than four times. Bertus sees a rhino bull regularly on Balule Plains along the Tshukudu cutline. This particular rhino spends time every morning and evening defecating on the middens he uses to mark his territory. There was a disagreement between this rhino and one of the Tshukudu bulls and Bertus was amazed that the fence survived! Bertus reports one sunset drive on which his guests saw three different species of owl: White-faced, Pearl-spotted and Scops.

CHANTELLE has had an excellent month. On 1st June her clients had a grandstand view from a lookout point (where we can get out the vehicle). A herd of elephant chased a large pride of lions out of the dry bed of the Timbavati River. On the 2nd June she came across cheetah on the main Orpen – Satara road followed by two different prides of lions with cubs - the first pride had 6 month old cubs while the second pride had 6 week old cubs. On the 4th June her clients were startled to see an impala convulsing on the side of the road in its death throes. Chantelle believes it was probably bitten by a snake. On 11th June her tourists witnessed a pride of six younger lions being chased by two big males. Later on that day a leopard crouched down right next to the vehicle and then moved off.

On the 18th June Chantelle was very fortunate to come across a pack of six Wild Dogs feeding on an impala. The Alpha bitch seemed to be heavily pregnant and Chantelle reckoned she was about two days away from giving birth. On the 20th June her tourists witnessed something very scary : a full grown male leopard was stalking about 4 km from Orpen Gate. The item on the leopard’s menu was homo sapiens although I doubt "sapiens" is applicable here. Would you believe that a Mozambican refugee was the intended prey. Chantelle tried unsuccessfully to convince the woman to get into our vehicle. When she was shown the leopard a mere 20 metres away, she was very eager to get in. This type of behaviour causes problems. Anyone on a bush walk needs to stay close to our armed Kruger-Safaris ranger to avoid being taken. I reckon that this particular leopard has already had a human meal

NELLY reckons that the 14th June will go down in his book as one of the most exciting days of the year. At around 09h20 his tourists were thrilled to see a leopard crossing the Rabelais road. At 11h30 they came across an impala carcass up a Marula tree near Ngotso Dam. After lunch at around 15h30 they saw a pride of 16 lions under the shade of a Leadwood tree. On the return trip at Nsemani Dam they had a good view of two big male lions fast asleep at the side of the road. At Nwamatsatsa bridge the group spent almost 30 minutes watching a leopard stalk and attempt to kill a baboon. The troop rallied once they heard the alarm call and our clients witnessed the leopard being ignominiously chased by the big male baboons. On one of his bush walks, Nelly and his guests came across the newborn White Rhino calf I wrote about in last month’s newsletter. It was with its mother and both rhinos seemed very relaxed and in no way bothered by the presence of Nelly and guests

STEVE sent me a brief report as he and Chantelle have taken a fantastic opportunity to do elephant research in Tanzania as of 1st July. I wish them both the very best and hope that on their return they will be able to make a positive contribution to our elephant culling questions. In his report Steve highlights sightings of cheetah near the vehicle, a spotted hyena under a tree in which a leopard was resting, as well as numerous lion sightings. He had excellent viewing on Balule Plains with 3 sightings of leopard and 3 sightings of cheetah along with numerous sightings of the other Big Five.

THULANI, our newest full-time guide, reports sightings of leopard, big elephant and buffalo herds on the Sweni road. His highlights of the month are as follows : Two lionesses and four cubs feeding on a young zebra not more than seven metres from the vehicle; an even closer sighting of two lions and three lionesses two metres from the vehicle (one of our lady tourists started yelling which made the lions cross the road in a hurry); a big leopard with its kill up a tree on the S 100; a pride of lions attempted a kill on a buffalo - actually getting close enough to jump on the back of the buffalo which charged off in a hurry; a leopard attempt to catch an impala near Satara and a very close view of a White Rhino family (bull, cow and calf) near Mudzanzeni.

NEWS AT TREMISANA GAME LODGE

The crocodile that Wynand has twice removed has returned again to the empty Tremisana Dam. Wynand now believes that the crocodile may be a female and that she has returned to check on eggs that may have been laid somewhere near the dam. Crocodile eggs are laid about 30 cm below the surface. A normal clutch is around 50 eggs and the incubation period is around 90 days - so if I am correct, the hatchlings should appear soon. An interesting fact about crocodiles is that the determination of the sex of the hatchling is temperature dependent, not genetically determined. Research has shown that if the average temperature during the period of incubation from day 30 to day 60 ( i e the second third of the incubation period ) is less than 31,7C or more than 34,5C then the hatchlings will all be female. So for males to be born, the temperature must lie between these figures - a fairly small range! The other concern that I have is how the hatchlings will be able to survive without water, since Tremisana Dam is bone-dry. Nature has a solution. The mother crocodile can transport them to the nearest water by carrying the hatchlings ( which are about 30 cm long at birth ) in her gular ( throat ) pouch. To the ignorant, seeing a mother crocodile taking the youngsters in her mouth is incorrectly seen as some sort of cannibalism - the fact is that she does not swallow them but is in the process of translocating her young to a safer haven!

Lion activity around the camp has been constant - we hear the roars virtually every night. On 6th June the pride killed three impala on the property.

Our maintenance staff have been busy: We have upgraded two of the three rooms designated for physically challenged tourists and are awaiting the delivery of new rails for the third chalet. All headboards have been revarnished and the swimming pool has been reserviced. The outside bush shower and toilet have been upgraded and new reeds and lats have been added.

Regards and best wishes,

Piero

First Wintery Nights - May 2008

The first wintry nights of 2008 have manifested themselves in typical bushveld fashion: one day the temperature is in the late twenties and 12 hours later we are into low single figures. This dramatic temperature change has very negative effects on wildlife. I have a report of the death of tens of thousands of swallows in Limpopo. The explanation for this serious loss of avian life is as follows: with a dramatic sudden drop in temperature, the insects that form the daily staple diet of birds such as swallows go to ground. If the cold is accompanied by wet conditions then not only are the swallows unable to find food on the wing, but they are also grounded and their condition deteriorates rapidly.

May 2008 will be remembered for a far, far greater tragedy: xenophobia. For those South Africans who had never heard the word before, the images of the results of our disgracefully embarrassing behaviour, etched forever on our memory tracts, will never let us forget the word. What the consequences will be, in terms of future tourism to SA, are at this stage not known. What is known though is that we as a country can hang our collective heads in shame knowing that such unspeakable events have forever tainted the hues of our rainbow nation.

On a positive note, the animal sightings for May have been nothing short of brilliant. Our tourists have had some exceptional game viewing as indicated in our guides - reports further on in this newsletter. On my visits to Kruger in May 08, I was amazed at how the need to find water can lead to redistribution of game. For example I came across two Nyala bulls at Leeupan, south of Tshokwane. In the olden days (1960s and 1970s) the only place that one had a good chance of seeing Nyala in Kruger was near Pafuri in the extreme north. Then, in the mid 1980s, some Nyala were released along the Sabie River between Skukuza and Lower Sabie. The biggest influx of Nyala came about when Kruger dropped its fences with its western neighbours in the Central Section. Our tourist guides regularly see Nyala along the Timbavati River.

I attended the AGM of Olifants West Game Reserve in which Tremisana Lodge is situated. One of the speakers astounded me with a proposed plan to manage declining wildebeest numbers: in an effort to curtail lion predation on wildebeest, a proposal to kill buffalo is being mooted. The underlying thinking is that if the lions are fed on buffalo meat, then they will not need to kill more wildebeest. Somehow I remain unconvinced. It is this type of "trial and error" management that can lead to problems. The biggest blunder, in my opinion, of Kruger management happened some 15 or so years ago when the authorities at the time decided to sink boreholes in the very north of Kruger to supply more permanent water. What happened then was that substantial zebra herds were attracted to these areas and with them came lions. When the zebra population was depleted, the lions then started to take Roan Antelope and this has resulted in the critical status of Roan in Kruger today. The waterholes were then closed but it was too late - permanent, possibly irreversible, damage to the Roan population was done. I trust the Balule authorities will rethink the issue of feeding buffalo to lions!

May has also been the rutting season of impala. It is amazing how noisy the rams are - our guests cannot believe the guttural grunting that goes on all day and night. Some of our young male guests are amazed (and probably also a tad envious) that a single ram can cover up to 30 ewes. It is a classic example of Natural Selection - Nature allows for the fiercest and strongest male to pass on his genes. The number of bachelor herds that are found bears testimony that only the strongest males in nature are permitted to breed.

I was pleasantly surprised to see so many kudu all over the Park. I saw some really impressively-horned bulls and a good number of young. I also saw a number of lionesses in very poor condition. The prevalence of TB is noted and two particular lionesses were literally skin and bones. The number of White Rhino seen was better than ever and I understand from our guides that seeing rhino these days is quite normal. In fact what I am told is that it is a bad luck day when rhinos are not seen.

GAMEVIEWING NEWS FROM THE RANGERS

BONGANI has had a great month. On two game walks that he conducted on Balule, the clients came face to face with lions. On the one occasion there were 9 lions right near Tremisana Lodge. The clients were relaxed and kept quiet. The lions went about their business without paying attention to the guests. This is what game walks are all about - we can enjoy seeing the animals doing their thing without affecting them in any way. Bongani reports good sightings of predators at all the major watering spots. A pair of cheetah are still operating around Ngirivane waterhole and the lion prides along the S 100 and near Ngotso Dam are being seen very regularly. At Ngotso Dam a White Rhino bull seems to have taken up permanent residence and he is seen almost every time we visit the dam!

CHARLES started the month on a high note. On 1st May his tourists had a veritable lion-fest. A pride of four was seen on the turnoff to Timbavati, followed by another pride of nine on the other side of the Timbavati River. This was followed by a sighting of three lions walking along the road and then five more lions on the S 100. On the 4th his group saw Sable Antelope and Cheetah on the Mudzanzeni road.

CHANTELLE lists her May 08 highlights as follows: Cheetah were seen on a kill. Five injured lions were seen resting on a dry riverbed. They had been in a huge fight and probably had been thrown out of their territory. One lion had a broken jaw, another had an ugly gash on its side and the others were all limping. At this time of the year territories with permanent water are key to the pride's survival - both in terms of drinking water and also in terms of hunting animals that come to drink. So it is the season where some very serious fights take place. Chantelle also had a sighting of a leopard with an impala kill up a tree. Her sightings on Balule Plains were equally impressive: A pride of 12 lions with cubs approximately four weeks old, Serval and Wild Cat and a young zebra stuck in the mud struggling for about 20 minutes before freeing itself.

STEVE reports seeing a pride of 10 lions regularly along the S 100. On one sad occasion, he and his guests saw a very sick lioness left alone to die. He reports a cheetah kill of a young kudu. On the Balule Plains game drives, Steve has been seeing rhino regularly along the Tshukudu cutline. He also had an excellent sighting of a leopard. From time to time our guests see Tshukudu's semi-tame cheetah , Savanna, sitting near the Mohlabetsi entrance gate. Although accustomed to humans, she still hunts for herself.

NELLY spent most of the month on long leave but made it very plain that he had excellent sightings along the S 100 on which road his tourists saw, within a distance of 12 km, two big male lions, rhinos crossing the road and too many elephants and buffalos.

BERTUS, the son of Wynand, our Warden, has been helping out when we have extra work. His report tells of excellent sightings of elephant and buffalo on a daily basis and lions being seen up to four times a day. A regular sighting is of a lioness with three cubs just north of Satara. A herd of over 60 elephants crossed less than 10 metres in front of Bertus' vehicle at Nsemani Dam. On another occasion Bertus and guests were watching a pod of about 20 hippo along the Nwanedzi river. Something spooked them and they all charged into the water, causing a wave of water to go over the low-level bridge where the vehicle had stopped. There was some veld-burning taking place around Satara in May and a number of raptors were seen feasting on the insects escaping from the flames. These included Martial, Bateleur and Tawny eagles and a first for Bertus in Kruger - a pair of Peregrine Falcons!

Bertus reports seeing three buffalo bulls metres from Tremisana gate on a bush walk. They were very calm and posed absolutely no problem.

NEWS AT TREMISANA GAME LODGE

The crocodile that our Warden, Wynand, released into an adjoining property's dam, decided to return to Tremisana. I cannot understand why this is happening as there is absolutely no water in Tremisana Dam. Another regular visitor is a civet which appears every night at the Boma. It is most unusual behaviour and is as a result of the paucity of food in the bush. The civet was very thin so we originally put out a bowl with scraps. Unfortunately this has led it to come right up to guests at dinner time. There is a remote possibility that someone may be injured so we have stopped feeding.

Sidney, our mechanic, is using the relatively quiet time to service all our vehicles. We are also recanvassing some of the Open Gameviewers. We have serviced both boreholes and have been informed that there will be no problem with the water supply this winter. This is a relief as previous predictions were not as positive!.

Regards and best wishes,

Piero

Last of the wet season's showers - April 2008

April is traditionally the month which heralds the arrival of Autumn. We certainly experienced a few chilly nights as a cold front entered the Lowveld towards the middle of the month. With the cold front came the last of the wet season's showers and about 15 mm of widespread rain fell over the region. It is good that we had some rain as the dams were looking empty.

Empty is exactly the situation with Mahlangazane and Shiloweni dams in Southern Kruger. These two dams have had to be partially destroyed to allow water to escape. It sounds absurd that water was released at the beginning of the dry season, but Kruger authorities made this apparently ridiculous decision for good reason: a number of animals, mainly zebra, had been found dead along the edges of the dams. Initial research indicated that the levels of algae had grown so high as to contaminate the water. It is thought that the excessive number of hippo contributed to this dangerously high algal level. The number of hippo in Kruger has been increasing steadily as they have no natural enemies. Very few cases of predation have been recorded. So, instead of raising tempers by culling hippo, the Kruger authorities have intervened by releasing water which was absorbed into the ground. Once the algae have been flushed out of the dams by the next big rains, the dam walls will be rebuilt.

The above example again indicates how the natural environment has to be managed so as to try to protect animals. In May, culling of elephants gets under way and I am certain that there will be another public outcry. A reader has asked me to give an example of how elephants can destroy habitat and how this habitat destruction affects particular species. There are a number of examples but I choose the case of an endangered bird to illustrate my answer : the Ground Hornbill. This is a large bird, and, like all hornbills, nests in holes in trees. It is clear that the tree in which the hornbills may nest necessarily has to be large. Not all large trees have suitable holes. Elephants are powerful enough to knock down the majority of large trees in Kruger. So, if the elephant numbers increase so does the number of large trees that are knocked down. Therefore there are fewer nesting sites available to the Ground Hornbill which then results in its status deteriorating from endangered to critical.

One of the issues with which conservationists must grapple is the use of animal products in curios bought by tourists. At a lodge near Tremisana I saw a lamp which had porcupine quills as the shade. It looks really impressive and I am sure that the lodge owner, who is a friend of mine, used porcupine quills collected on game drives and walks. However some unscrupulous curio vendors are selling these lamps en masse. It is evident that there is a market for a porcupine quill lamp and I am sure that any overseas tourist who takes such a lamp back home will have a unique lamp to show his friends. The downside is that the number of porcupines will decrease dramatically if all our tourist's mates also want a porcupine quill lamp!

It is essentially a matter of education. Just as a leopard skin looks better on a leopard than draped across some woman's back, so the porcupine quills look better on a live porcupine that in someone's lounge !

Education is a very key factor in conservation. Those of our guests who visit the Moholohol Rehabilitation Centre, there they will see a "vulture restaurant" which is essentially a feeding spot for vultures. Some guests have complained that the vultures should not be fed and should be capable of flying around to find food. What these guests do not know is that vultures can fly very great distances - even as much as 500 km in a single day. This allows vultures to travel away from the game reserves in the Lowveld and reach livestock farms. Here a number of farmers put out poisoned carcasses to kill jackals and caracals that are killing the lambs and kids ( young goats, not humans!) Invariably the vultures get to the poisoned carcasses and literally drop dead after the first bite. So we need to educate farmers.

We also need to educate the local African people. It is a fact that some locals believe that they will be the recipients of great foresight if they eat parts of a vulture. The thinking is that they may inherit the vultures' ability to see and may be able to choose the winning numbers in the Lotto or correctly predict the winner of a horse race ! They need to know this is not the case and that by killing vultures they are actually increasing the chances of contracting disease from rotting carcasses that have not been eaten by vultures.

I am reminded of another superstition : the erroneous belief that rhino horn has aphrodisiac qualities. Just because the rhino has marathon mating sessions, it doesn't follow that anyone who eats powdered rhino horn will similarly be able to have marathon sex sessions! It is absolutely shocking to read in the newspapers this month that the horn of a rhino donated by Cecil Rhodes to a Cape Town museum was removed from the rhino. The culprits had to smash thick glass to get to this rhino which has been in the museum for over a hundred years. Is there no limit to human madness? When will people be sufficiently educated so as to desist from lunatic action? We certainly need to up our education re these silly superstitions.

GAMEVIEWING NEWS
As the veld dries out, so the chances of seeing game around the water sources increases. Our guides are driving along watercourses and are visiting all the dams and waterholes. The concentration of animals has increased and it is always very rewarding to spend time parked at a waterhole watching the parade of animals coming to drink.

BONGANI reports that on 2nd April, he and his elated guests watched two cheetah at Ngirivane waterhole, waiting for a herd of impala to come to drink. They chased the impala into the bush and were out of sight. A few minutes later they heard strange noises from the bush and think that the cheetah caught the impala. On the 14th April , Bongani and clients came across a new-born elephant on the Timbavati road. It had just been born and the mother was assisting the calf to stand. Later that afternoon, on the Nwanedzi road, Bongani came across a pride of 14 lions walking along the road and then attempting to stalk a buffalo herd.

On the 27th April, Bongani took a past student of mine, Vincent Gore, MP, accompanied by his family, on a late morning drive to Kruger. Impressively they not only found the Big Five, including a leopard on the road two metres from the vehicle, but also saw two cheetah. Bongani really turned it on by finding lions with two cubs eating a wildebeest. I hope Vincent goes back to Parliament and convinces the rest of the ruling party to also come and enjoy the wonders of Kruger !

CHARLES has made my last newsletter, in which I suggest we can use 'pair' as the collective noun for leopards, a bit of a joke. He reports that on 2nd April, he and his unbelievably lucky guests saw four leopards near Ngotso Dam!

Also at Ngotso Dam, Charles saw elephants mating and a White Rhino taking a mud bath .On the 4th April, his guests were entertained by lions chasing a hyena from a wildebeest kill.
Charles reports a sighting of about 300 elephants drinking and swimming at Nsemane Dam. A pride of lions were watching the elephants from a distance. One of the elephant bulls realized that there were lions around and chased the whole pride into the bush.Another interesting sight was a herd of Sable Antelope.

Charles reports seeing a herd of five White Rhino on a bushwalk. It is the first time we have encountered so many rhino on foot. They were calm and posed no threat to the group.

NELLY has had 100% success rate with lions, buffalo and elephants on every drive in Kruger this month. He and his guests saw lions on a buffalo kill at Ngotso Dam and then found two rhino at Ngotso Pan nearby. 10 km further he spotted a leopard in a Marula tree about 60 metres from the road. The group spent 40 minutes watching the leopard. Later that afternoon, the group came across two lionesses hunting buffalo. The following day Nelly saw a pair of lionesses with cubs at a pool in the Nwanedzi near Satara. This pride has been seen at this pool most of the month. With small cubs they generally do not move far and given that there is a pool of water, they can be assured that game will come to drink, thus providing a ready supply of food.

STEVE, our new field guide at Tremisana, reports some exciting bush walks on Balule Plains. On the 18th April, while he was walking with guests from Peter's Rock towards Bushbuck Dam, he came across a jackal carrying a fresh impala leg in its mouth. Steve reckoned there was a kill in the area. He searched for and successfully found fresh lion spoor. The spoor indicated an adult lioness and cubs. Steve carefully approached Bushbuck Dam from the downwind direction and was rewarded for his tracking skills when the group of excited tourists saw a large lioness drinking at the dam. The tourists was very well behaved and kept totally quiet and were thrilled a few minutes later when two young cubs came bounding out of the surrounding bush to join their mother at the water's edge.

On another walk , on 20th April, Steve came across a large White Rhino bull literally 30 metres from the group. The rhino was very calm, and, although clearly aware of the presence of humans, continued grazing contentedly.

The Bush Walks yield other exciting sightings: on the 17th April, his guests saw a spider-hunting wasp carrying a trap-door spider much larger than the wasp across the road and into its hole. This is an incredible display of the wasp's strength.

CHANTELLE, Steve's partner, also had some really unusual sightings this month.On an afternoon game drive on Balule Plains on 2nd April her group of tourists were lucky to see a Caracal crossing the road in front of the vehicle and a Wild Cat sitting in an open clearing. She really has had good luck with small cats as she also found a Serval crossing the road on the 6th April. On the 15th her group spotted a Honey Badger digging in a termite mound on Balule Plains and on the 28th her guests saw a Jackal catch a large lizard, run along the road for a kilometre and disappear into its den, where she believes it must have pups.

Other unusual sightings included watching a Brown Snake Eagle ripping the bark from a Marula tree and, while hanging upside down eventually pull out a medium-sized snake and flying off with it. On the 26th April her guests watched a Gymnogene use its double-jointed legs to pull, from a hole in a tree, what looked like a young Squirrel.

All these sightings are exceptionally good and are probably, in my opinion anyway, far better than watching some half asleep lions lying under a tree.

NEWS AT TREMISANA GAME LODGE

We have upgraded the Bush Shower and are busy adding chicken wire to the thatch roof of the main lodge. The monkey troop is really making a nuisance of itself and is pulling out the thatch from the roofs.

Tremisana Dam is empty and the watering point in front of the Lapa is attracting a fair amount of game. There is a regular giraffe bull that comes around very punctually at lunch time. The problem we have is that the cement trough can hold about 600 litres so when we had a herd of over 70 buffalos on 30th April, they polished off every last drop. Similarly a week earlier a herd of 5 thirsty elephants finished every last drop. We shall have to build another trough.A small-spotted genet has made Tremisana its permanent home and is seen at nights looking for scraps.
We have added proper railings to two of the chalets which are now perfectly suitable for physically-challenged tourists.

Regards and best wishes,

Piero

Great Gameviewing in the Kruger Park - June 2007

GAMEVIEWING IN KRUGER
June has been a good month in terms of gameviewing. There was no rainfall during the month apart from a localized shower south of Orpen at the beginning of the month, which had no effect on surface water. The veld has dried out and we are pleased to report that large herds of animals are drinking regularly from the permanent waterholes. The Timbavati river, which straddles the main Orpen-Satara road has stopped flowing and only isolated pools exist. These attract large congregations of animals. Grass cover is very good and the leaves provide ample browse at the moment.

BONGANI was on leave until 14 June. He reports his highlights as follows : "On Saturday 30 June , we found Three of the Big Five all congregating at Ngotso spring, north of Satara. A pride of lions attempted unsuccessfully to catch a buffalo at the waterhole, while a small herd of elephants watched completely unconcerned. Later the same afternoon, I stopped at Nsemani Dam and was watching the hippo when, all of a sudden, we heard the loud alarm chattering of a troop of monkeys. They had climbed a tree and were all looking in the same direction, so I knew there was a predator around. About one minute later, a large male leopard appeared from the undergrowth and walked right past the tree up which the monkeys had climbed." Bongani reports a 50% success rate with leopards this June with numerous sightings along the Timbavati river road .

NELLY also got into the leopard viewing act. His very fortunate clients witnessed a leopard kill and then eat a porcupine. This very rare event took place on 24th June only 5 km from the Orpen Gate. A half hour later, near Mudzanzene picnic spot, this same group came across a pair of mating lions right near the road. Nelly was very lucky on an afternoon game drive at