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WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA SABI SAND, For the month of May, Two Thousand and Seventeen

Temperature Rainfall Recorded Sunrise & Sunset Average minimum: 14.4˚C (58˚F) For the month: 14 mm Sunrise: 06:20 Average maximum : 29˚C (84.2˚F) For the season to date: 856.5 mm Sunset: 17:15 Minimum recorded: 10˚C (50˚F) Maximum recorded: 33˚C (91.4˚F)

Blue skies and starry nights with the warmth of a fire to illuminate your tales from the bush, this is the month of May. This is often described as a favourite time of . The cooler temperatures in the morning can be described as being crisp and icy, but fortunately they don’t last long as the sun rises. It seems that the wait a while before moving around too much and this often leads to longer morning game drives in perfect conditions with beautiful blue skies. The toughest part of winter is finding a cloud in the sky during this time of the year; you have to see it to believe it!

Here's a highlights package of the month's sightings:

Lions: It has been a tough month for sightings, a challenge that has placed most of our trackers on high alert. Tracks showed the slipping in during the night and following buffalo to the western break, then continuing into the western sector of the Sabi Sand Reserve. Nonetheless, some of the sightings that we have been able to record came from visiting unexplored areas in search of alternative prides. It proved to be successful for viewing we do not often see and finding a few other memorable sightings along the way.

Leopards: While the lions are away the will play. Seriously, this is exactly what happened! Leopards were literally on every termite mound or lounging around in the most comfortable looking trees. It was humorous as to the amount of leopards that we encountered as we ventured out, and sightings kept us entertained for hours during our morning and afternoon game drives. It was a time of plenty!

Hlab’Nkunzi has continued to leave her now six-month old cub in close vicinity to the lodges. In addition to this the successful mother has taken full advantage of hunting small antelope within the lodge perimeter.

Buffalo: Smaller herds have been viewed along the periphery of the boundary and have moved into the western sections often followed by the Mhangene Pride.

Wild : Intermittent sightings of the wild dogs have been fuelled with speculation that the prominent pack of dogs is about to den down for the winter. Tracks for several individual dogs have been followed towards the old den-site north of the river that was used last year for four months. We will keep a close watch on the area and will be sure to keep you up to date on any new reported movements. With a very pregnant alpha female moving with the pack, it is only a matter of time on where they decide to den. The guides and trackers are all holding thumbs for another winter of wild dogs north of the river. Will our wish come true?

Elephants: Now this has been month for sure as they were in sheer abundance along the river. Large herds exceeding 50 individuals have been reported on a few occasions this month, which is not a regular sized herd that we encounter in the Sabi Sand area. Watching 50 elephant passing across the road in front of your vehicles allows you to appreciate the size of the group but also be engulfed into the hierarchal structure of the family groups. With the large bull rounding up the females it is notable that mating season is throughout the year. There have been plentiful sightings of large bull elephants moving amongst the various herds and, on occasion, moving on their own in pursuit of other herds.

Bird List May 2017 Total bird count for the month of May was 210 (207 in April).

Spotted : the ultimate super-? Article by Leon van Wyk

Hyenas are generally not the most popular of animals, and for many decades they received a huge amount of “bad press.” Ugly, lowly, cowardly . Not good enough to hunt for themselves, they would lurk in the shadows, waiting for lions to finish feeding on their kills, and they would come in afterwards to see what scraps they could scavenge. More recently, however, have realised that this is only part of the picture, and the deserves a great deal more respect.

The spotted hyena is the largest of the three of that occur in Africa. Brown hyenas also occur in southern Africa, where they enjoy a patchy distribution, while striped hyenas only occur in the northern half of Africa. I have never seen a or a in the wild, but have enjoyed hundreds of wonderful sightings of spotted hyenas over the , and have certainly developed a very healthy respect for them.

Hyena society is rather interesting. We know that a hyena is led by a large female, the matriarch. We also believe that her high status in the society is passed on to her daughters, even while they are still cubs. A very young female hyena cub, whose mother is the matriarch, can already be a higher-ranking member of the clan than other adult females! Evidence also suggests that it is not uncommon for two female cubs belonging to the matriarch to fight until one of them finally kills her sister! This form of would presumably ensure that whichever daughter has the better genetic make-up will be the one more likely to carry the strong genes forward to the next generation. Male hyenas are smaller and lower ranking than females, and bizarrely have lower levels of testosterone than the females! They are generally not very welcome in the company of the females, and are often chased away. Long ago it was believed that hyenas were , a belief which stemmed from the fact that the genitals of males and females look very similar to each other.

Having guided for many years in the Sabi Sand, which has always been renowned for its high quality predator viewing, and particularly for the exceptional frequency and standard of leopard sightings, I have had countless experiences with hyenas. I can certainly say that the more I have viewed them and learned about them, the more I have come to respect them.

Their ability to locate carcasses is mind- boggling, and is a result of having not only the most amazing , but also extremely acute . If a leopard or kills an from a herd, other members of the startled herd will be bound to give their sharp, urgent alarm snorts (somewhat more indignant- sounding than if they had merely seen the predator on the move, rather than making a kill.) Any hyena within earshot (and that can be from a distance of a good few kilometres) will be sure to appear on the scene, where in a split second it will assess the situation, before simply muscling in and stealing the kill for itself.

A leopard or cheetah is unlikely to stand up to an adult hyena, whose powerful jaws and lethal teeth could inflict very serious injuries to any big . One hyena is a formidable enough foe, but quite often the commotion would be heard by several hyenas, which would then converge on the scene and proceed to devour the carcass at a most impressive rate - and with a complete lack of table manners!

What impresses me about hyenas is their apparently high pain threshold. Many a time I have seen one or more hyenas receive a proper beating at the “hands” (more appropriately teeth and / or claws) of a large male leopard, a couple of angry lionesses or a pack of African hunting dogs. While the hyenas brazenly muscle their way into a feeding situation, whether to steal or share, their arrival on the scene is seldom welcomed warmly. A wise leopardess will usually immediately back down when a hyena comes to appropriate her fresh kill… no point in risking injury to herself by engaging in conflict with a hyena. If, however, the hyena is solitary, the leopard will usually hang around in the immediate vicinity, ready to claim back whatever portion of the carcass the hyena doesn’t manage to consume. I daresay a high percentage of the hoisted carcasses that we find on game drives, have probably already been “shared” by a leopard and a hyena in this way.

Recently we heard frantic impala alarm calls, really a lot more urgent than normal, which suggested that one of their number had been killed. Following up, we found a large herd of impala, with no adult male among them. My tracker and I speculated that the ram had just been killed, most likely by a leopard. Following up further, we found fresh male leopard tracks. I turned off the Land Rover engine to listen, and, sure enough, we heard the unmistakable sound of a leopard interacting aggressively with a hyena. Excitedly following up on these sounds, we quickly found the scene of the kill… and indeed it was the missing impala ram, being consumed by a large hyena! Sure enough, a male leopard (the Torchwood male) lay panting in the long grass just a few metres from where the hyena had stolen his kill. He was waiting to claim back whatever was rightfully his. Moments later a second hyena arrived on the scene, and then a third. These three hyenas gobbled their way through an amazing amount of impala skin, flesh, organs and bone over the next half hour. They remained vigilant, though, ever on the lookout for lions, which also scavenge whenever they get the opportunity.

A week or two after that memorable sighting, just before dusk on a rainy evening, we found the Mhangene pride of lions polishing off the remains of an impala. Three hyenas lurked nearby, and occasionally ventured a little too close. It is well known that lions hate hyenas, and we witnessed the incredible speed of lionesses chasing off these hyenas, amid much vocal indignation from the hyenas. The lionesses actually caught and began to maul one of the hyenas, which somehow managed to escape. Anyone would think that after such an ordeal, the hyenas would turn tail and leave the area immediately. But no, these hyenas, even the victim of the mauling, continued to lurk in the area, from time to time taunting the lions. There are times when hyenas definitely have the upper hand in clashes with lions, but usually they would need to considerably outnumber the lions. I’ve known lionesses to lose their tails to hyenas mobbing them at a kill (this happened to two members of the Tsalala pride, in separate incidents about five years apart, bizarrely on both occasions when the lions were feeding on kills!) One of the adult lionesses of the Othawa pride was reportedly killed and eaten by hyenas last year.

African hunting dogs (or painted hunting dogs – I don’t like to call them “wild dogs”) are fantastic hunters, but their noisy feeding frequently attracts hyenas to the immediate area. Unbelievable scenes ensue, with some of the most blood-curdling sound effects one can imagine! The dogs attack the hyenas with open hatred and unveiled viciousness, biting them fiercely on the rumps. The slower, heavier hyenas often end up retreating into thorny thickets, bleeding and cut up. Again, however, they don’t give up! That high pain threshold must have a lot to do with it, or else they’re just plain stubborn! Gutsy.

We should not forget that hyenas themselves are also superb hunters, when conditions are to their liking. I have seen hyenas killing impala, buffalo calves, adult buffalo, and on one occasion even an adult male warthog – chased at speed and caught in broad daylight, by a single hyena! Lions often scavenge from kills made by hyenas – contrary to old-fashioned popular opinion, it’s not always the other way around. There is even a theory proposed by some, that one of the main reasons that lions have evolved to operate in prides, is to give them a better chance of being able to compete with hyenas.

I have often said that I believe that hyenas are the most successful of the large in this area, and I stand by that opinion. Their numbers are high and they almost always seem to have full bellies, or at least comfortably satisfied bellies. Whether they filled their bellies with stolen meat, old scavenged remains, or animals that they have killed for themselves, their formula works! They’re not the prettiest of creatures, but they deserve to be respected just as much as the more glamorous lions, leopards or do.

The leopard and the python Article by Wesley Cragg

Success is always rewarded to those that work for it. After spending nearly two hours tracking a large male leopard, to no avail, we decided to stop for a well- deserved sundowner drink. After my fellow guide, Daniella, and I had set everything up for all our guests and were already pouring gin and tonics and a little bit of bubbly, we heard the very distinctive impala alarm call.

The herd of impala was in plain sight, not 100 metres from us and we could see exactly where they were looking, but could not see what they had seen. After a few minutes, the calling intensified and we then made the decision to investigate the area.

Altogether there were twelve guests in the group (being driven by two guides in two Land Rovers); believe it or not, we got all twelve guests onto one vehicle after shifting all the drinks and snacks to Daniella’s vehicle. We headed straight for Triangle Pan, a very popular waterhole in the southern sections of Singita. As we rounded the corner, Peter, my team-mate and expert tracker, spotlight in hand, shouted out that word we all so love to hear: “LEOPARD!” he exclaimed.

We approached carefully and immediately noticed that the leopard was showing interest in a bush that was producing a rather strange hissing sound. By looking through a pair of binoculars carefully, we discovered that the leopard was attempting to pull a three metre (ten foot) python out of the thick bush and long grass. The python would strike at the leopard, which sent him four or five feet into the air, backwards. The second his feet would touch down, he would rush straight back in to try and pull the python back out by the tail again. This game of back and forth went on for roughly five minutes. The hissing of a python is a fascinating sound, by the way, it is very deep and drawn out and clearly shouts out a stern warning to back off!

The python managed to coil up in some very long grass at the base of a buffalo-thorn tree, which the leopard would not go into because of the lack of seeing the snake itself, and because of the thorns on the tree. The leopard did circle the tree and long grass for quite some time but eventually realized that the risks were not worth taking. The python carried on hissing for at least another ten minutes or so, ensuring that the leopard got the message.

I have heard stories of leopards catching and killing very large pythons not only to eat, but also to get rid of the perpetrator that is responsible for killing many leopard cubs. This was one of the most entertaining sightings I have ever experienced and definitely the highlight of my six-week cycle.

Bush Talk Article by Renain Venter Often we are misled by the concept of moving through the bush and looking for something out of the ordinary. We move around looking in the shade of every tree, on the tops of termitariums, down the cool sand of a drainage line, but forget one of the most basic rules of the bush. Listening. It’s one of the simplest things to do and sometimes when we become too visually attracted we forget to listen. There are many sounds that can be heard but rather understanding what is trying to be said is the adventure. When searching for an elusive predator, which is good enough to evade some of the weariest of prey, you need to use the signs that are given. Often something as small as a squirrel could give away the hiding place of something as evasive as a leopard, by just listening. Sometimes a call that’s ignored could point out the most camouflaged of predators. Learning to listen has taught us a lot and not just only in the bush, but also for things that might not be as obvious. Listen long enough and eventually you will hear.

As the impala-rutting season comes to an end, the females continue to be chased and intimidated by dominant male impala rams still accompanying the herds.

The N’weti male leopard has been viewed frequently within the area of Singita Castleton, the central area of Singita Sabi Sand, which is currently being occupied by two territorial male leopards Ravenscourt and Torchwood.

A water monitor can be up to two metres long and is commonly found along the Sand River. It feeds mainly on , crabs, mussels and small birds.

The last signs of the marula fruits are the dried kernels that are collected by tree squirrels as they store food for the long winter ahead.

Scenes like this are abundant as the marula trees lose their leafy canopies and the long stalks of grass change to an ochre colour depicting a watercolour painting-like landscape with the arrival of winter.

A beautiful scene played out in view of Singita Ebony Lodge.

Photographs on location by Ross Couper and Leon van Wyk Singita Ebony and Boulders Lodge Sabi Sand South Africa Thirty-first of May 2017

Tribute to Tracker Mishack Masiye Article by Ian Mey

On the 17th of May 2017 Singita lost a dear friend, beloved colleague and most of all a terrific being. A father to five, husband and son.

Mishack was a quiet and humble man, who was never far from a smile or laugh. He loved life and the bush with all his and working in a team with him every day is something I will cherish for the rest of my days.

He taught me and the many others he worked with that patience and perseverance most often paid off. That life was too short to hold a grudge and that family and friends always come first.

Hamba Kahle my dear friend, being in the bush will never be the same without you but having spent two years in the bush with you my life will never be the same.