Photo by Margaux le Roux

WILDLIFE JOURNAL SINGITA KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH AFRICA For the month of May, Two Thousand and Nineteen

Temperature Rainfall Recorded Sunrise & Sunset Average minimum: 16˚C (60.8˚F) For the month: 0 mm Sunrise: 06h27 Minimum recorded: 13˚C (55.4˚F) For the year to date: 230 mm Sunset: 17h11 Average maximum: 29˚C (84.2˚F) Maximum recorded: 36˚C (96.8˚F)

Winter is here and the gloves and hot water bottles are in use. Some misty mornings have been experienced which adds great atmosphere to the morning drives and some unique photographic opportunities.

The rutting of the male impalas is coming to an end as the victors stand proudly with their harems of females. It is not clear how many males fell to predation due to their attention being elsewhere, but there certainly was a noticeable increase in the amount of impala rams being killed and eaten by leopard and cheetah in particular.

The very last of the migratory birds, although lingering a little longer this year due to the availability of food, have now gone.

Due to our dry winter conditions the grass is dying back and viewing is becoming easier. Even in the dry months our concession holds water much longer than some of the surrounding areas and therefore we have an increase in large mammals moving into the area. This is particularly obvious with the large number of big herds of buffalo and elephant which are now seen almost daily.

Winter is a very exciting time of year for us and game viewing certainly peaks for about five months around our dry months. The predators are active for longer in the cooler mornings and large amounts of general game stream onto our concession for our great water supplies, and the last remaining palatable grasses on offer.

Photo by Brian Rode Here’s a Sightings Snapshot for May:

Cheetah: • Cheetah are back and we are super excited! We have had seven recorded sightings on the concession this last month. We are hoping, as was the case last year that we get a few sets of mothers with small cubs visiting our beautiful area. We wait in anticipation and hope for this, but of course with the current population status of these highly endangered large predators (there are probably only approximately 400 cheetahs in the entire Greater Kruger area), we are grateful for any sighting at all. • We have also had a sighting of six cheetahs (a female and five youngsters) on the public road leading to the lodge. • A single female cheetah was seen on at least four occasions in the basalt grasslands near the Sticky- thorn Thickets. On each occasion she was walking around sniffing and standing on fallen tree trunks, providing some great views. • A single male was seen on at least three occasions in the central area of the concession.

Lions: • As usual, the Singita Kruger National Park concession has produced the goods as far as lion sightings are concerned. We had a total of 69 recorded sightings in the concession this last month. • The Mountain Pride has again been our most consistent pride to be found and viewed, often with at least one, if not two of the beautiful Shish male lions in attendance. This pride has been on our concession for at least fifteen years now, numbers of individuals peaked to 37 some years back, and dwindled to three at one stage. The pride is now at seven and we are hoping that this is the beginning of the bounce-back of the Mountain Pride. • A pride from the west which we are calling the Mananga Pride have also been seen a few times, particularly with the largest of the Shish males giving them his time and attention, because there are a few lionesses amongst them, possibly in early oestrus. There are eight females in this pride of differing ages. • We are very happy to have seen seven of the lionesses from the Shishangaan Pride in the concession this last month. They have been absent from the area for quite a few weeks. Since this was the dominant pride in our area we are very happy to have them back. At least one of them looks as if she could be starting to lactate. • Since the sub-adult males from the Shishangaan Pride (including the famous white lion) left the concession quite a few weeks ago we were not expecting to see them back here again. They are at the age where they need to look for territories of their own. However, towards the end of the month we had a surprise visit from three young males (including the white lion). • We only had one recorded sighting of the Xhirombe male this last month. He was seen feeding on an impala near the granophyre ridge. We have not seen his mom for a while now. She was very old and we now think that she has passed on. • The Shishangaan males have been seen regularly this last month. The big grumpy male (often referred to as Xihamham because of the sound he makes when he growls at the cars) has been seen often in the company of the Mananga Pride or the Mountain Pride. He is certainly a cassanova! • One of the Kumana males was seen mating with an unidentified lioness (possibly a Shishangaan lioness) near the Sweni Bird Hide one morning.

Leopards: • There was a total of 25 recorded sightings of leopard in the concession this last month. • We have been fortunate enough to discover three different sets of leopard cubs. Unfortunately, these cubs are from very shy females and were seen hidden in areas that are very difficult to access with a vehicle. • The Dumbana male was seen a few times and on one of these occasions he offered much entertainment and excitement killing an Egyptian goose gosling. • The N’wanetsi male was seen a few times during the month of May. • The Lebombo female, who is always great value, as she is quite a relaxed leopard, was seen too. We had great views of her one day as she fed upon an impala that she had stashed high up in a leadwood tree.

Elephants: • We had a total of 132 elephant sightings this month. As the water in the rivers is drying outside of the concession we are starting to see more and more of these great grey animals coming down to the pools in the N’wanetsi River and at Gudzani Dam, particularly in the late mornings and the early afternoons when the temperatures are still high. • Large numbers of elephants are seen almost daily at the moment and we are very privileged to be based in the Kruger Park, one of the most elephant-rich national parks in Africa.

Buffalo: • With the sufficient grass cover still around, many great buffalo sightings have been recoded this month. (We had at least 49 recorded sightings of these bovids.) • Many of the sightings that we have had this month have been of large herds (a few hundred individuals). On the morning of the 24th a herd of buffalos was seen in the vicinity of Gudzani Dam that the guides estimated was in excess of 1 000 individuals, including many small calves. • We are also still seeing quite a few single bulls and small bachelor groups in the vicinity of the rivers or drainage lines.

Plains game: • We have been spoilt this month with great kudu, waterbuck and zebra herds on the basalt plains, as well as wildebeest and, as always, amazing viewing with lots of calves around at the moment.

Birds: • We have recorded 176 species of birds in the concession this last month. • Some of the highlights include: white-backed night-heron, long-crested eagle, lizard buzzard, dark chanting goshawk, osprey, Dickinson's kestrel, African crake, African wattled lapwing, striped kingfisher, trumpeter hornbill, eastern nicator, yellow-bellied eremomela and yellow-throated longclaw. • A martial eagle eating a baby steenbok whilst perched in a dead leadwood tree was also a spectacular and special sighting this month.

Photo by Gert Smit

Some exciting and informative Safari Stories follow, as well as a Gallery of images for the month of May.

Queleas Article by Given Mhlongo

We have been very lucky again this year with very big flocks of red-billed queleas visiting our concession for feeding and breeding. We had seven different colonies on our concession alone.

Queleas are the most prolific species of birds in Africa and, in fact, they are the second most prolific bird species in the world, second only to chickens. The males have a red colour on the beak.

As seasonal migrants they visit our property every year from February to the end of May due to the amount of grass and water in the area. They come to our area especially for feeding on the guinea grass seeds. When they feed or drink, they make use of a rolling type of movement, whereby birds at the back can also get the fresh grass in the front. They drink water at regular spots in the afternoon before they go back to the roosting spots. They are social and gregarious and they roost together in huge numbers for safety. It is always great to position our vehicle for sundowners on one of the flight paths or at one of these drinking spots, ending off the day watching these beautiful little birds in their millions. The rolling fashion of their drinking is something amazing to witness, and it is always a highlight for any guest’s stay.

During breeding both the male and female birds help to construct the nest for the chicks. When the chicks hatch the male and female will jointly take responsibility for feeding the chicks until they are able to fly. At this time many of species of predators are attracted because the chicks are easy targets. Predators such as lesser spotted eagles, genets, snakes and many more will predate heavily on the young birds and the eggs.

Photo by Brian Rode

The fever tree – xanthophloea Article and photos by Brian Rode

“Go to the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, and find out.” In Rudyard Kipling’s book “Just So Stories”, in the tale titled “The Elephant’s Child”, the Kolokolo bird sends the curious young elephant to the Limpopo River where he can find out the answer to one of his numerous questions… What does the crocodile eat? This story explains how the elephant got his long trunk and it is a great, fun read.

The fever tree is a really obvious where it grows in low-lying swampy areas or nearby rivers in the bushveld. It is a beautiful tree with its golden bark and long white thorns. It is one of the trees that was previously known as an acacia (although the genus name was recently changed to Vachellia – named after Rev. George Harvey Vachell (1798-1839), chaplain to the British East India Company in Macao from 1825 to 1836, and a plant collector in China). The species name xanthophloea is derived from the Greek words xanthos, meaning yellow, and phloios, meaning bark.

In the early 2000s it was decided that the genus “Acacia” needed to be split up and was not monophyletic (they did not come from a common ancestor). Due to the large number of wattles species that occur in Australia it was deemed easier to change the name of the thorn trees than to change the name of all the wattle species and, therefore, the thorny trees that used to be referred to as acacias were then split into two groups (mainly based on the shape of the thorns). The old acacia trees that have straight thorns are now listed in the genus Vachellia and those that have hooked thorns were placed into the genus Senegalia. This has caused much consternation amongst botanists and tree enthusiasts, particularly since in ancient Greek the word “ακη / ake” meant “thorn / point”, which the majority of wattles do not have.

The most obvious characteristic of the fever tree is its golden branches and trunk which have been described by various plant collectors as “evil, pallid, leprous, sickly and sinister” – (quoted from “Trees of Southern Africa by Keith Coates Palgrave”). In my opinion it is none of these, but rather stunningly, radiant and beautiful.

The trunk and branches are however not yellow or golden, but green in colour that have a powdery layer that is bright yellow in hue and that gives the plant its characteristic golden tint. When you rub your hands over the trunk you will notice the yellow powder that coats your palms. This powder has been used by various tribes in Africa as a form of sun-protection and is also sometimes used to enhance their looks (as a form of make-up), particularly when going to important dates such as when going to an interview etc. The powder when applied to the face supposedly makes the person glow and makes them seem more friendly and out-going. The green bark and trunk enables the tree to photosynthesize through these parts as well as through the leaves and it is because of this ability to rapidly produce food for the plant that enables it to grow quickly and to regrow after elephants damage them (elephants find this tree to be highly palatable).

The name of the fever tree supposedly comes from the early explorers who came to Africa in search of gold, slaves and ivory. Before there were maps of the interior of the “Dark Continent” these explorers and slave- traders needed a way to get back to their ships that were moored at the coast. They thus followed the rivers to the villages and then were able to follow the rivers back to their ships. Rivers are places where Fever Trees grow. Rivers are also places where are plentiful. While following these rivers many of these explorers contracted malaria. Since they did not know what was causing the fevers and disease that they were experiencing, and because they noticed that they got sick whenever they were in areas where these trees grew, they attributed their illnesses to the tree itself. The tree was therefore referred to as a fever tree. Funnily enough, numerous tribes use the bark traditionally to treat fevers and eye infections. Medicinally, the roots and a powder made from bark stripped from the trunk are also used as an emetic and as a prophylactic against malaria.

Fever trees are fairly tall trees, reaching ten to fifteen meters in height. As with most, if not all, species from the sub-family they have bi-pinnately compound leaves (leaves that are divided to form leaflets known as pinna, which are then divided again to form even smaller leaflets known as pinnules). Fever trees have long, white, straight thorns typical of all Vachellia species and have bright yellow, fluffy, pom-pom like flowers.

As with all species from this family the seeds are enclosed in pods and these are therefore considered to be part of the pea family (legumes). Legumes are plants that often have a symbiotic relationship between their roots and a host-specific strain of bacteria known as rhizobia, which enables the plant to utilize the nitrogen in the soil which otherwise would be unusable. When these plants die the fixed nitrogen is released, making it available to other plants and this helps to fertilize the soil. These leguminous plants are thus very important to the environment in which they live.

We are very fortunate to have quite a few of these magnificent trees growing in the Singita Kruger Park concession and they add quite a character to the magnificent landscape.

The rut Article by Evidence Nkuna

It has been that time of the year again where the bush is never quiet. Snorting, horn clashing, growling and breaking of the bushes is heard all over our concession. It is sometimes confusing for the beginners, who may think the sounds are from a predator. As the seasons cycle around it gives all wild animals an opportunity to breed and multiply. At this time of the year between April and May the coin has fallen on the impalas’ side. It is their turn to mate. This is the impala rutting season.

In mid-April we saw lots of male impalas fighting other male impalas in order to set themselves territories. Horning the bushes is part of the game because the male impalas have a gland between their horns which leaves their distinctive scent in the branches to keep away other males from that area. The thrashing of bushes also shows the other males in the area the vigour of the territory-holder. The stronger male and the better fighter is the one to win the territory. He will attempt to herd the females into his area and keep the other males out. The territory holder will then have an opportunity to mate with as many females as he can (sometimes up to fifty females in two to three weeks of the rutting season), after chasing them, snorting, growling and displaying a fluffy white under tail to impress them.

The unsuccessful males will hang out in large groups, not that they really tolerate each other, but to have more eyes and ears to survive from predators. During this time the territory holder does not think of any other things like grooming, he concentrates on keeping other males at bay and mating with his herd of females.

After six and half months after the rutting (between November and January) there will be a massive number of new born impala lambs.

Photo by Brian Rode

May Gallery

Photo by Margaux Le Roux

Photos by Brian Rode

Photo by Quentin Swanevelder

Photos by Brian Rode