WILDLIFE JOURNAL SINGITA PAMUSHANA, ZIMBABWE For the month of March, Two Thousand and Nineteen
Temperature Rainfall Recorded Sunrise & Sunset Average minimum: 21˚C (69,8˚F) For the month: 69 mm Sunrise: 06:00 Minimum recorded: 18,8˚C (65,8˚F) For the year to date: 238 mm Sunset: 17:55 Average maximum: 31,1˚C (87,9˚F) Maximum recorded: 36,6˚C (97,8˚F)
We can report that the final phase of lodge renovation at Singita Pamushana is going well, and us field guides have been busying ourselves with all kinds of projects and taking our annual leave while there are no guests visiting.
Fortunately, we weren’t really affected by the cyclone that hit Mozambique in March, however the Malilangwe Trust and our staff donated goods to those most affected. We have had some good rain and the landscape is looking lush.
Here’s a Sightings Snapshot for March:
Lions • There’s been a very interesting development in that the River Pride has taken over part of the Southern Pride’s territory. We are now seeing the River Pride in the southern area and it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. • Great news is that the three lion cubs that seemed to have disappeared a while ago have reappeared, and are in good health.
Leopards • We’ve heard a lot of leopard calling at night, so there is much activity even though we are not on drive, and in the last two days we have had three leopard sightings!
Cheetah • Cheetahs were spotted on staff drives.
Hyenas • Every night, without fail, we’ve heard hyenas calling, and in the morning their tracks are all over the roads. They travel far and wide in search of food.
Elephants • There has been a breeding herd feeding in the northern sector of the reserve. • This magnificent bull had right of way on our main Binya Road, while the old boy with the broken tusks fed peacefully on the plentiful grass.
Photo by Mark Saunders
Rhinos • Tracks tell us that there has been lots of white rhino movement, and on more than one occasion this month we’ve been lucky enough to see black rhinos from the main Binya Road.
Wild dogs • A pack has been hunting along the northern boundary fence, and with the denning season coming up soon we hope they will choose to have their pups on the reserve. Buffalos • A large herd was drinking at the central Banyini Pan, in early March.
Plains game • Plains game is as abundant as ever with zebra, impala, giraffe and wildebeest seen on every drive, and there has also been regular eland sightings on central Banyini open areas.
Fishing • During time off many of us have been fishing and there is excellent bream and tiger fishing at the moment!
Some exciting and informative Bush Stories follow, as well as a March Gallery of images.
The other side of the fence By Brad Fouché
Early one morning Jenny and I were out scouting in different vehicles to help the guests’ game drives locate key specific animals, like lions, leopards, cheetahs, black rhinos and wild dogs. At about 7 am we received a sighting update from Bravo 2, which is the main southern boundary gate that links us to Gonarezhou National Park, informing us that they had seen wild dogs frantically location calling and running backwards and forwards along the boundary area.
A wild dog running along, looking for pack members. Plaintively calling using a far-reaching whooping sound.
Jenny was first on the scene and managed to see two wild dogs calling and running around. Once I arrive the dogs had momentarily disappeared west. I decided to move east along the boundary fence to look for tracks and see what was going on, on that side. I discovered, on the Gonarezhou National Park side of the fence, a third wild dog and it became very apparent to us that this satellite group of dogs had split up and become separated. There were now four on our side of the fence and at least one outside in the park, and this was the reason for the frantic location calls!
Further along this high fenceline, in an easterly direction, is a section of fence spanning about 8 km long that is only 1,2 m high. The reason for this is to allow free movement of elephants between our reserve and the park. It’s low enough for the elephants to simply step over it. It also allows movement of other animals such as kudu, eland and impala, to mention a few. These animals simply jump over the low fence.
Back to the story… So, travelling up the fence we located tracks from the dogs earlier and came across a part in the fence where it had been compromised by animals such as warthogs that are known for digging open burrows under fences to keep from getting zapped by the electric strands. These hollows are used by other animals such as porcupines, lions, leopards, cheetahs, bushpigs and, of course, wild dogs. The dogs we were following had indeed entered through this open burrow. It was interesting because taking a closer look at the fence we discovered there had been movement of lions through the fence since we found long dark mane hairs caught on the bottom wires.
After about half an hour of watching and following the dogs, they started moving along the fenceline in an easterly direction, with Jenny in close pursuit. I waited about 30 m past the hollow under the fence at the entry point. What was great about this is that Jenny kept a close enough distance from the dogs not to frighten them but just to keep a little pressure on them moving in the right direction towards the part of the fence they had entered by, while I secured the far side as a buffer. Eventually the dogs recognised their entry point and raced under the fence into the park where we heard them joyfully reacquainting with the rest of their pack.
Wild dogs are nomadic and can traverse 50 km in a single day. As a result, their territories can range between 400 and 1 500 square kilometres which often extends beyond the boundaries of wildlife reserves.
Photo by Brad Fouché A welcome surprise By Alex Kadziyanike
It ended up being a remarkably fortuitous morning as we had started our drive early to look for black rhinos. I drove to all areas with the habitats that black rhinos prefer - areas with shrubs and trees and dense thickets, but with no joy.
The Binya Road is a road that stretches from the northern to southern part of our reserve and is used to enter Gonarezhou National Park. The road can be busy with public vehicles accessing the park and we usually avoid it on game drives, but I needed to travel it for a short distance to access another area closer to the river.
On the Binya Road I saw what appeared to be a large walking boulder and reminded myself that boulders don't walk! I could feel the excitement in my vehicle but it was also full of fear. It was a black rhino, and it was casually walking towards us as I stopped the vehicle at a distance and switched off the engine. I thought it was going to run away, but I was surprised by its nonchalant behaviour. Black rhinos have a reputation of being extremely aggressive, and readily charge at perceived threats, and will not hesitate to charge even when one is in the confines of a vehicle.
It was a brilliant sighting and photo opportunity. When he got within a couple of metres of the vehicle he contemplated us for what seemed an eternity, and then curled his upper lip and gave a few puffing snorts. I knew it was time to go and as I started the engine he turned, with his head low, ears flattened and tail raised and cantered off into the thick bushes.
By referencing his ear notches our Conservation team let us know he is a 13 year-old bull referred to as Tsonzo, and from his previously recorded movement he is normally seen near the Chiredzi River, which is where we were heading. Buffalo dynamics By Dharmesh Dhaya
It is not uncommon to sit in Hwata blind and see dagga boys come to the pan and drink. Dagga boys are the old grumpy buffalo bulls who have left the ‘buzz’ of the breeding herd and often join bachelor herds of other old bulls. The name dagga boys refers to their habit of wallowing in the mud (dagga), mostly as a means of thermoregulation. These old guys are very confident in their grumpiness and often end up walking into the middle of the pan on a hot dry day.
The same cannot be said for the breeding herds of buffalo, who are often rather skittish when it comes to drinking water. I am sure it is because of the stress of having young buffalos with them and the unwanted attention that these youngsters bring in the form of predators like lions, hyenas and even leopards.
Breeding herds here normally vary in size from small herds of 50 to big herds of 400. But as the dry season progresses you get herds joining together to form huge herds of 600 or more. With such numbers in one group there is a definite need for some order, and a hierarchy is established not just among the males but also the females. It is a linear hierarchical system with females of similar ages holding the same rank. These females will determine where the herd moves for food, water and shade to rest and ruminate.
Bulls come into sexual maturity around the age of 8 years old and fight among each other for mating rights to the females. Typically bulls between 8 and 11 years are the resident ‘studs’ but that’s not to say one should write-off the dagga boys! I have watched these grumpy old males walk into a breeding herd and take up rank where they presumably left off when they retired from being in the breeding herd full-time.
Sitting in a place like Hwata blind, is a great way to observe these beasts and their social dynamics, but for some reason Hwata pan seems to be a quenching destination for only the bachelor herds of buffalo, so you can imagine our shock and excitement when this big breeding herd streamed in to the pan to drink.
Being this close to them was amazing because you begin to notice individual characteristics and characters, and you can’t help wonder what they are thinking when you see some of their facial expressions! An extreme diet By Jenny Hishin
I hope you’ve already eaten.
While watching a pack of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) sleeping near a waterhole in the drizzling rain I noticed a few hooded vultures (Necrosyrtes monachus) skulking about on the ground. Every now and again they would peck at something and eat it, and I wondered what it was since vultures are scavengers, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals. You often see them cleaning up the scraps of meat from a kill made by wild dogs. The dogs hadn’t made a kill nearby, and so it was that my binos and big lens revealed they were eating the wild dogs’ faeces!
This is a behaviour known as coprophagy and is somehow far more endearing when done by dung beetles.
Coprophagy by vertebrates is rare, especially among birds. Wild dogs, being carnivores, eat meat and wolf down large chunks of it at a time. Not all the nutrients are digested and some are discharged in the faeces. It is thought that hooded vultures obtain undigested nutrients from consuming the faeces, although they could be obtaining some other rare nutrients as well or instead.
There are some other ‘phagy’ behaviours I looked up too, which include: Anurophagy: eating frogs; Araneophagy: eating spiders; Durophagy: eating hard-shelled or exoskeleton bearing organisms; Geophagy: eating earth; Haematophagy: eating blood; Keratophagy or Ceratophagy: eating horny material, including snakes eating their own skin after shedding; Lepidophagy: eating fish scales; Mucophagy: eating mucus; Myrmecophagy: eating ants and/or termites; Ophiophagy: eating snakes; Osteophagy: eating bones; Saprophagy: eating decaying organic matter; and Xylophagy: eating wood.
What’s even more rare than this photo of a hooded vulture eating faeces is that it also shows the (unimpressed -looking) wild dogs. African wild dogs are listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List, but hooded vultures are listed as Critically Endangered!
March Gallery
Roadblocks – two young male lions enjoy the warmth of the gravel, and five white rhinos amble down the road on their way to a waterhole. Traffic excuses here are far more interesting and creative than in the city!
This elephant bull enjoyed a solo drink and mud bath during that glorious light before a storm when the sky is a steely blue-grey backdrop.
Wet oxpeckers after their water bath dry off on a mother white rhino and her big calf. Cheetahs often seem anxious when resting, and keep a close lookout for any signs of danger or hunting opportunities. Cheetahs have excellent eyesight and can see detail to a distance of 5 kilometres (3,1 miles). A hyena enjoys a bath, taking special care to lick wounds to help them heal.
We got the full attention of these adorable little impala lambs before they decided we were no threat.
Notice how giraffes walk moving the front and back legs on one side rather than alternately like most animals.
A magnificent umbrella thorn (Vachellia tortilis) providing a canopy of shade.
All photographs by Jenny Hishin, unless otherwise indicated.