Singita Pamushana Wildlife Report November 2013

8/13/2019 Singita Pamushana Wildlife Report November 2013

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Wildlife Report

For the month of November, Two Thousand and Thirteen

Temperature Rainfall Recorded Average minimum: 20,8C (69,4F) For the period: 69,4 mm Average maximum: 34,4C (93,9F) For the year to date: 456,8 mmMinimum recorded: 18,2C (64,7F)Maximum recorded: 43,2C (109,7F)

This month's photos and stories all seem to be about the lust for life and the persistent pursuit of it.

The baby bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) in the photo above was born just below our Director's home, on 1November. This little calf is the product of a six-month gestation period and will spend an unusually longlying-up period of about four months, being stowed away and then nursed when its mother returns to it everyfew hours. It's great to have these spiral-horned antelope living in close proximity to our staff housingbecause they are a favourite prey species ofleopards and, although bushbuck are rather small,they make a very loud, deep resonating bark whenalarmed. Interestingly enough they rely on theirearthy colouration and white spots to concealthemselves, so the bark they make is ventriloquial -it lets the predator know it's been spotted, eventhough the predator may not have seen thebushbuck, and it lets us know that there's possibly apredator too close to home!

An impending arrival will hopefully be a clutch ofashy flycatcher (Muscicapa caerulescens) chicks -we spotted this tiny bird making a nest in a creviceof the tremendous baobab that guards the entranceto Pamushana Lodge, and we can't wait to see theirlife story begin.

Singita Pamushana LodgeMalilangweZimbabwe


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Guest portfolio - Daniel Wallis

No matter the level of your photographic skill you'll always leave Singita Pamushana with a couple of greatphotos and priceless memories, but when sensational game-viewing and talented photographer DanielWallis coincided recently, the effect was a portfolio of exceptional photographs:

Both of these photos were taken when a pack of 17 wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) and a clan of spotted hyenas(Crocuta crocuta) coincided at a pan. The clan were chilling out in the water, and the pack was of the opinionthat they should leave. The smaller but nippier dogs teased and harassed the hyenas until they could take itno more - and they beat a hasty retreat after receiving a couple of bites in the bottom! As if this spectaclewasn't enough a herd of elephants also arrived at the pan, and began chasing the dogs!


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The following images are of a yawning cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), a babysitter looking after two hyena cubsat their den site and a magnificent black rhino (Diceros bicornis).


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The maternal matriarch

I was cruising along between here and there when shrill trumpeting brought me to a screeching halt. Therewas something in the pitch that made me instantly realise that this was a very sensitive situation - even more


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Hide and seek

The BBC Natural History MuseumWildlife Photographer of the Year wasannounced last month, and tophonours went to a South Africanphotographer who triumphed over

almost 43 000 entries from 96countries. His photograph was ofelephants taken from a hide atground-level using a slow shutterspeed to create atmosphere andshow the heavy animals in a ghostlyway.

Here at Singita Pamushana we havea couple of underground hides atdifferent pans (one even incorporatesa bathroom with a flush toilet) andphotographers can comfortably enjoy

the animals that visit, the closeproximity and the unique anglesattained. Elephants are always afavourite, so here are some of ourfavourite images:

1. Toes in the water

2. Curious nostrils

3. A tusk, drizzled with mud, used asa trunk hanger


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Tiger moth

The term tiger moth may make you think of an old small biplane, but in these parts it's an actual moth withorange and black colours like a tiger. It also has whip-like antennae and mostly brown forewings with whiteveins. We call this one a specious tiger moth (Asota speciosa) .

In the caterpillar stage they feed on latex-rich plants, mainly from the fig family, but also on poisonous plantslike the poison arrowplant. The sap fromthis plant wascommonly used inarrow poisons,

including those usedfor poachingelephants. Thecaterpillars sabotagethe defensive latexflow by biting partwaythrough the leaf'smidrib, severing theflow. The caterpillarthen feeds on the partof the leaf that wouldhave been providedwith latex via thesabotaged veins.How clever is that?


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The clean-up clan

This clan of hyenas gathered at the edge of a dam one morning, after a night's hunting or scavenging, and

we watched as they cautiously approached the relatively deep water, and sipped from the edge of the bank.Hyenas love water, and if a pool is shallow and small enough for them to think there are no crocodileshidden beneath its surface, they will often wade in, bound around, play, splash, frolic and bathe.

This photo makes me think of the vital ecological role they play, because in our human parallel this would bea photo of a clean-up crew on a coffee break. I say this because hyenas hunt by blundering into the middleof a herd of antelope and chasing one, with their remarkable endurance, to the brink of exhaustionwhereupon they kill it. In this way they eliminate sick and old animals. They are also fantastic scavengersand possibly play a role in the natural control of diseases, like anthrax, by the complete disposing ofcarcasses. Dormant anthrax endospores are able to survive at the sites of animals killed by anthrax for manydecades. Such spores can be found on all continents, even Antarctica. But although anthrax is deadly forhumans and herbivores it typically doesn't cause disease in carnivores and scavengers, so when a hyenaeats every morsel of a carcass, including the bones, it isn't harmed and the spores are eliminated.

New kid on the blockLeopards(Panthera pardus )have such allurefor guests andguides alike, andwe find ourselveswanting toknow the individualhabits,characteristics andlife stories of theleopards we see.I'm delighted to tellyou that we'vebeen seeing thisyoung female cubregularly, in anarea oftenfrequented ongame drives.Just look at thesize of her paws!We can't wait tolearn more abouther and share herstories with you.


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A closer look at genets We often catch a fleeting glimpse of a genet during anight drive on our return to the lodge, but seldom isthere an opportunity to photograph one like this. Twotypes of genets are the small spotted genet (Genettagenetta) and the large spotted genet (Genetta tigrina) - and in this case this is a small large spotted genet!

Well, to be less confusing, a juvenile female largespotted genet. (One of the most useful things aboutscientific names is that they eliminate any confusionthat arises from common names.) A quick way to tellthe difference between the two types is that a smallspotted genet has a white tail tip and black chin - anda large spotted genet has a black tail tip and whitechin, as seen in this photograph.

These swift and agile little creatures of the night weighup to two kilograms, live for about 13 years inwoodland and scrub areas, have litters of 1 to 4 andeat insects, invertebrates (such as spiders, scorpions

and millipedes), small mammals, birds, eggs, reptiles,fruit, crabs and frogs.

The bright white patch you see below the eyes is veryuseful for enhancing a genet's facial expression whenit has to engage in social interactions. Although theyare mainly solitary they need to communicate whenchasing off intruders or seeking a mate, and it isthought that these white patches make their non-verbal expressions much clearer. However, they alsohave at least seven vocal signals with which tocommunicate - so there is no excuse for anothergenet not getting the message loud and clear!

How evolution dictates water dependence

We could probably survive foronly three to five days withoutany water if we were in goodhealth, it wasn't too hot orcold and we didn't physicallyexert ourselves.

But to stay healthy, we needto continually replenish ourwater supply. Expertsrecommend drinkingapproximately eight glasses(1,8 litres, two quarts or 64ounces) of water each day. Ifwe live in an extremely hot orcold climate, or exercise a lot,we may need to drink 3,7litres (a gallon) or more ofwater every day.

Waterbuck (Kobusellipsiprymnus)graze mainly grass nearpermanent water sources.They are very dependent on


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water and will drink daily, sometimes two or more times a day,consuming an average of nine litres. Therefore they do notusually live further than about 2 to 3 kilometres frompermanent water sources.

Sable (Hippotragus niger) are highly selective feeders ofspecific plant parts. Their daily water consumption preference

is about 9 litres, but they need to travel further to and from it inorder to find the grazing they prefer.

Lichtenstein's hartebeest (Alcelaphus lichtensteini) feedalmost exclusively on grass and prefer habitat adjoiningmarshy areas and floodplains with nearby surface water.

Right: A waterbuck bull on the banks of a dam.

Middle: Lichtenstein's hartebeest returning to their grazinglands.

Bottom: A sable bull walking to a small permanent pan ofwater.


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Out in front

We spotted this little white rhino (Ceratotherium simum) with its mother early one morning. It is only a coupleof months old and still rather nervous - and its mother is very protective.

You can see how the mother keeps the calf out in front, ahead of her, but the opposite behaviour is notedwith black rhinos (Diceros bicornis) - black rhino calves run at the back of their mothers. An easy way to

remember this is that 'black' African women often carry their babies behind themselves, on their backs, while'white' African women often push their babies in front of themselves, in prams.


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All a twitter

This month's stars are tiny turquoise jewels known as blue waxbills (Uraeginthus angolensis) , their red-beaked relatives known as queleas (Quelea quelea), a Wahlberg's eagle (Aquila wahlbergi) and a bananabird - well, that's its nickname... officially it's the southern yellow-billed hornbill (Tockus leucomelas), but Icouldn't resist catching this banana bird helping himself to a slice of banana from the breakfast buffet!


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"What a wonderful week! Leaving Pamushana we are crying inside about what we are leaving behind, butalso with joy of what we have seen. Everything about Pamushana has exceeded our expectations, whilst

Malilangwe is a magical diverse kingdom. We thank you all for an awe-inspiring honeymoon filled with

surprises and personal touches, and of course the epic morning, "Battle of Malilangwe"(hyena vs. wild dog vs. e lephant) that we will never forget."

Daniel and Amaya Wallis, Hong Kong

By Jenny HishinSingita Pamushana

Malilangwe Wildlife ReserveZimbabweThirtieth of November 2013

Singita Pamushana Wildlife Report November 2013

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