MANAGEMENT & WILDLIFE REPORT
February 2009
WILDLIFE REPORT
General
This month has proven to be a tricky month for the safari guides and trackers when looking for animals. This is due to the dense and lush vegetation making it difficult for us to locate the animals that are well hidden and camouflaged.
The Wild dog pack spent most of the month roaming our part of the Timbavati. This pack is amazing when it comes to success in their hunting techniques. They catch anything up to four impala per day!
Leopards are still as plentiful although we have to work twice as hard now to locate them. Rockfig leopardess and little Nkateko produced a spectacular sighting close to the camp. Macunjani our resident male leopard was seen in a battle with hyenas and Lion sighting are good. It however now appears that the Shobele pride’s sub adult males time might be limited within the pride.
Leopard
Our resident male leopard Macunjani was seen for 3 days feeding on an adult impala carcass east of the camp. The majority of guests that visit Kings Camp are rewarded with sightings of this magnificent animal. He has become a star in his own time and it is no wonder he will be part of a wildlife documentary in the near future. I will let you know when you should look out for him on television.
During the first few days in February, Macujani showed a great deal of interest marking his territory intensely by urinating and calling vocally east of the camp. I suspect that another male leopard possibly a young male might have made a short appearance in his territory. This could prove fatal for the new male, as dominant male leopards are known to kill or brutally injure a foreign male leopard that venture into their territorial zones.
Kings Camp's hottest leopard cub, Nkatheko, was found during an afternoon drive. What made this an interesting sighting was that she lay on top of a dead old tree. This was a perfect photographic opportunity and sighting to kill for. She is looking good and feeding frequently. We all know that she has the best mother that a cub could have; her mother is one of the most respected female leopards in our area. Large and powerful with a strong instinct to survive. Watch the Kings camp web blog as this cub grows and develops over then next few months.
The Shobele male.
On a sad note, our once proud and most powerful super predator that roamed the Kings Camp area appears to have finally disappeared. The idea of him disappearing seems very odd to us as guides. Having controlled the area for the past seven years he has suddenly vanished into thin air. He was last seen deep in the southern sector of our traversing, an odd place for him as this is totally outside his normal territory. Whether he was involved in a battle with other nomadic males or a territorial fight with his neighbors remains a mystery.
Wild dogs
I would have never believed that 17 African wild dogs would ever take a chance with a white rhino bull.
The wild dogs eagerly took the opportunity and willingly engaged in a battle for the waterhole. Much to my surprise they effortlessly chased the rhino around in circles. I managed to capture these unusual images of this rare interaction.
Whether it was a case of opportunism or merely a case of playful interaction between these great and rare animals of Africa I would never know. But what I do know now is that size doesn’t matter!
That same day during the afternoon drive we were informed by the camp staff on the radio that the pack had made return and were hunting very close to the camp.
On our arrival, which was at 18h30, we were stunned to find the Wild dogs inside the camp next to the staff accommodation feeding on a small impala. The wild dogs had crawled in under the fence to get into the camp. They then proceeded to the reception area were they were somehow stunned at the small sculpture of a Klipspringer that we have at the entrance of the camp. They could not understand why this animal (statue) did not run away from them. This was truly a memorable moment!
You can view the images on the following link. http://www.kingscamp.com/blog/
That is all for this month dear friends. I have recently posted an article on the Kings Camp children’s staff party on our web blog for anyone that is interested in seeing happy faces. It is truly an eye opener. I hope you enjoyed reading the report as much as I did compiling it. Until next month. Take care from Patrick and the rest of the rangers and trackers.
Privacy & Legal | Designed and developed by DL10 Design Ltd