WILDLIFE REPORT

General

It is hot, lush and we have had plenty of rain! Just the way I like a summer…

We whish everybody a very good new year and we hope to see more of our readers in 2009!

With all the rain comes good grazing and that means very good sightings of our plains and general game. Sightings of Wildebeest, Zebra, Giraffe, Kudu and Waterbuck were prolific. Not only that, but there were also great activity of reptiles and birds!

 

Leopard:

News on the Leopard front is always good!

Welcome back Ntombi! This female kept herself well hidden through December and finally came back to the area in early January, stronger and bigger than before. She is in very good condition and one can only expect that the “break” did her well.

 

 The two cubs in the traversing now officially got their names…

M’bali cub in the North will be known as Kuhanya (Survivor) and Rockfig’s cub in the South is Nkhateko (Lucky). They were both seen frequently and they are doing very well in their training to become expert killers in the undergrowth!

Lion:

The Timbavati pride made an appearance and a foreign male have joined up with the pride! We are note sure where he is from but he is an impressive specimen indeed!

 

 There were quite a few sightings of new males up North and that is largely because of the absence of our beloved Schobele male.The last reported sighting of him was weeks ago when Patrick and I saw him far down South. This was a sign that he was becoming a rogue nomad, just wanting to stay clear of trouble and fights with stronger coalitions. Southern males roared close to him and the once fierce Schobele male stared quietly in their direction, preventing conflict. We will keep you informed on any new news or sightings…

 The Voëldam pride, with the Klaserie male, was seen twice and it looks like they are growing in strength and numbers. One of the Lionesses had cubs in early January. We were informed that there are two little ones which bring the pride tally to 5 adult Lionesses, 1 adult Male, 4 cubs aged between 4 – 7 months and 2 new babies! They frequent the Klaserie sector and unfortunately we only get to see them when they cross over into our Western traversing.

The Machaton pride spent most of their time just outside traversing! This however was mainly due to large kills they had made.

The Schobele pride constantly had trouble with the foreign males moving in. For most of the month the females and sub-adults spent time apart from each other. They are all in very good condition and it looks like the young ones are managing just fine by themselves for short bursts of time…

Elephant and Cape buffalo:

Classic visited for most of the month around the camp! This impressive Elephant bull’s movement is closely monitored by the Elephant research team, “Save the Elephants”. (www.savetheelephants.org)

 

 Due to all the green palatable vegetation around we also had numerous breeding groups of Elephants and Cape Buffaloes active in our traversing.

White Rhino:

The sightings have been very good; recording in some sightings up to 6 White Rhino’s together.

 

Special sightings:

I had one amazing Cheetah sighting and this female looked very pregnant! Hopefully she visits us again soon…

 The African Wild dog pack made themselves at home with us…

 

 

 Over 20 sightings of them in January alone!! They have been seen regularly since mid November 2008. This is extremely special considering that they are the second most endangered predator on the African continent! They even visited us in camp twice, both times killing impala and sniffing the Klipspringer statue at our main entrance…

Until next time!

Kind regards, Morné and the Kings Camp ranger team.

Written by: Morné Hamlyn.

Photography by: Morné Hamlyn. mbhandzu@gmail.com