November predator update

[Andrei Snyman]

 

For a while the star(s) of the show was the mother leopard with her 3 cubs. Although they are still seen nearly every day, and still steel the hearts of many a guest, the new gems of the bush these days are
a mother cheetah with 5 cubs! Yes 5! These 6 cheetah are found occasionally and
although the cubs are still a bit wary and skittish of vehicles, the mothers
relaxed attitude shows them there is nothing to be afraid of. This family of 6
was seen yesterday feeding on freshly killed impala eve. It made for some
spectacular photography!

 

Sadly, an old elephant cow has died of natural causes and as the circle of life dictates, the death of one provides life for another. In this case spotted hyaenas and black back jackal. The cow had died near
Hammerkop Crossing, along the Majale River, and up to 17 spotted hyaenas are
seen in and around the massive carcass each day. With pockets of water next to
the carcass, the hyaenas simply engorge themselves and go lay down in the cool
water. The interaction and vocalization from these super predators never stop
to amaze guests by their complexity and wonder.

 

Weather

The last few weeks the weather has certainly indicated that the heat of summer is here, with temperatures reaching the low 40°C. Although the hot midday sun could be considered brutal, guests never the less have ample
time cooling off in the camp swimming pool and sun bathing. It's not uncommon
to see dark looming clouds after such a hot day, and a total of 38mm (average
from Main Camp & Tent Camp) rain have fallen.

 

With the amount of rain we already had, the bush is full of small pockets of water, causing the movement of animals to become more wide-spread. Even the mighty Majale River came down in a short flood  a couple of days ago and it's safe to say
that water is no longer in short supply. With the majority of trees &
bushes pushing out new leaves, the visibility has drastically decreased, but
the splendor and beauty of the bush has quadrupled.

 

Game Sightings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Game viewing has been excellent during October with 90% and 81% leopard and lion sightings respectively. With more and more elephants moving along the Limpopo and Shash Riverbeds due to the dry conditions and
limited resource dispersal, the sightings rate has dropped slightly since
September to 74%. Cheetah sightings have stayed similar at around 32%, but
during the last few days of October a mother with five cubs was seen, first at
Croc Pool along the Majale River, and then later further south from there. If
this family of six wasn't enough, guests were watching a pride of lions when
the famous three-brothers cheetah came walking in. Obviously the cheetah males
didn't see the lions, which was now crouching ready to attack the cheetah, but
as they got within 40m of the lions did the bush explode with cats running in
all directions. The cheetah males made for a very hasty retreat with some
lionesses hot on their tails. After a short chase did the lions give up.
Amazingly, with all this commotion of cats running, did they flush a spotted
hyaenas from its resting site - also sending this poor animal running for its
life. Action all round!

 

General game such as kudu, zebra, giraffe and eland are plentiful and numerous eland calves have been seen gathering in small herds of crèche. As usual lions and spotted hyaenas have caught onto the first newborns of
late 2011 and eland calves are taken regularly. Impala and warthog are super
abundant as always and spending time with these generalists guests can learn
something amazing from their respective guides.

[Doris Charles]

thank you for sharing these pictures they are brilliant.

[Stuart Murray]

I'm just back in Ireland after another lovely break in Tuli. The mother cheetah with 5 cubs was charming, as too was the mother leopard with her three cubs.  A joy to be back. The yellow billed storks fishing with the herons were a delightful diversion while seeking out (in vain) the wild dogs.  Where are they?

[nancy]

Wow!!!  Mashatu seems to be the place to be.  Great photos!