WILDLIFE JOURNAL SINGITA KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, …...(See full story below.) ... devouring the kill in mere minutes. ... Sabi Sands Game Reserve in 2010, into the Hilda’s Rock Pride.

WILDLIFE JOURNAL SINGITA KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH AFRICA

For the month of April, Two Thousand and Nineteen Temperature Rainfall Recorded Sunrise & Sunset Average minimum: 19.7˚C (67.46˚F) For the month: 43 mm Sunrise: 06h15 Minimum recorded: 17˚C (62.6˚F) For the year to date: 230 mm Sunset: 17h26 Average maximum: 30.9˚C (87.62˚F) Maximum recorded: 37˚C (98.6˚F) Autumn is in full swing now, and with the end of the rainy season and the cooler temperatures creeping in, we are often met with misty bands overlaying the basalt plains of the N’wanetsi Concession as the sun rises over the Lebombo Mountains. The lush tall grasses are slowly starting to die back and lie flat, and the scorching summer temperatures are giving way to balmier and cooler midday temperatures. The nights are becoming longer, and the familiar southern hemisphere winter constellation of Scorpius is slowly creeping across the starry horizons. With these subtle seasonal changes taking place, the majority of migratory birds have departed on their journeys back towards warmer climates, and the red-billed queleas are no longer nesting and fending for their young, but they are still found in large flocks where they are feeding on the remaining grass seeds. Truly a mesmerising sight to behold.

The impala’s rutting season is also now in full swing, and it’s rather comical to watch the rams roar and chase each other over the open plains. The sounds of their horns clashing against each other can be heard from far away, and this too attracts the attention of various predators, and once again, during this month we’ve experienced brilliant sightings of both predator and prey. Here’s a Sightings Snapshot for April:

Photo by Margaux le Roux

Lions

• On the 1st of April, five young Shishangaan males, including the white lion, were seen harassing three leopards that had an impala carcass hoisted in a large leadwood tree. This was indeed not an April Fool’s joke, but a very special and rare sighting.

• The Mountain Pride and their cubs were seen on 23 occasions this month. They killed a zebra and two of the Shishangaan males joined them on their kill.

• The Shishangaan males were seen 18 times during April. During most of these sightings the grumpy male with the hip injury was found on his own. On the last day of the month the same male was found with seven lionesses of the Shishangaan Breakaway Pride.

• The three Kumana Males were found in close proximity to the lodge after they were heard roaring throughout the night. One of the males was with female members of the Shishangaan pride. Some of the females still seem reluctant and unsure of the male’s presence, but others were highly flirtatious around the males. (See full story below.)

• The young Xhirombe male was seen alone on a few occasions. We believe his mother has passed away, as no sign of her has been found for several weeks now. She most likely died of old age.

• Ten members Northern Pride were located near Quelea Nest. They were hunting wildebeest as darkness descended. The scene was even more spectacular as millions of fireflies and a distant thunderstorm’s lighting lit up the dark starry skies.

Leopards

• An unknown leopardess was found with two small cubs, as she crossed east towards the Sticky Thorn Thickets. Hopefully we will see more of her and her cubs.

• A pair of leopards was found close to the Singita Borehole, where a female had killed an impala. She could do nothing but look on in disgust as her hard-earned meal got stolen by the greedy and much larger male. Revenge was sweet though, as several hyenas ganged up on the male, and they ended up devouring the kill in mere minutes.

• A mating pair of leopards were heard close to Ndlovu Lookout. The female is very shy, and moved into a valley where the courting pair had some privacy from prying human eyes.

Cheetah

• No cheetah sightings were recorded for this month, but tracks and signs of these endangered big cats were found close to the staff camp.

Hyenas

• The majority of hyena sightings were of solitary animals that had set off on nocturnal patrol.

• The Granophyre Clan has moved their den-site to an unknown location but several members were seen close to the old granophyre den-site.

• The Burnt Car Clan has returned to their former den-site, and young cubs are visible to lucky guests on their way to and from the Satara airstrip.

Elephants

• Several sightings of musth bulls were had. These bulls become highly unpredictable and irritable as they experience a major surge in testosterone levels, and they are often found trailing breeding herds in search of females in oestrus that might be ready to mate.

Buffalo

• With sufficient grass cover still around, a total of 45 sightings of buffalo were recorded. Some herds had up to 200 animals in them.

• Sightings of solitary bulls were also recorded along the banks of the N’wanetsi. Plains game

• Large aggregations of zebra were seen on the basalt plains.

• Large journeys of giraffe were found throughout the Lebombo ridges and knob-thorn plains. Two big bulls were also found chasing each other across the plains - a comical sight to see such large animals running after each other.

Rare sightings

• Mating elephants were found close to Nyala Road.

Birds

• African stonechats have returned. These little birds are altitudinal migrants that spend the warm summer months in the South African highveld, but with the onset of winter they return to the milder and much warmer lowveld.

Some exciting and informative Safari Stories follow, as well as an April Gallery of images.

Lion dynamic changes By Walter Mabilane Towards the end of last year, an unknown coalition of three male lions ventured into the Shishangaan males’ territory, and the resident males were none the wiser as to what was about to transpire. The new coalition met up with the Shishangaan Pride (to which the young white lion belongs) and they ended up chasing the young pride male lions away. This has led the young pride males to split up into small groups and fend for themselves as roaming young nomadic bachelors. Upon further investigation (and with the assistance of a very keen member of the public), the identity of the ‘intruders’ has finally been confirmed. These males were part of a coalition of four males that were born in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve in 2010, into the Hilda’s Rock Pride. In 2015, these males settled themselves close to the Kumana Dam (which is situated far to south west of the N’wanetsi Concession). Here they sired many cubs of the Kumana Pride. In mid 2017 they disappeared until August 2018 when they were spotted on the H6 Road, and it appears that now they had made their way onto the N’wanetsi Concession and into the territory of the Shishangaan Males. The Kumana Males were seen mating with the some of the Shishangaan females in early December, and in a recent sighting we had of the three males and the lionesses, it appeared that one of the lionesses had a big belly and prominent nipples - potentially a sign that a new litter of cubs might join the pride. These invading males seem to be growing more confident with every week, and we aren’t entirely sure which coalition will end up on top when they do finally meet, but one thing is for sure, there will be blood, hair and teeth a-plenty! (On the last day of the month a Shishangaan Male was found with the same Shishangaan lionesses, with no sign of the Kumana Males. Keep on following our reports for any new updates).

Photo by Margaux le Roux

Bushveld rain frog By JP Le Roux Bushveld rain frogs are a species of uniquely southern African frogs, and these little frogs are a firm favourite amongst many guides. Reason being is that when confronted by a potential predator, they inflate themselves, giving the appearance of being puffed-up marshmallows. They are cryptically coloured and slow moving frogs that spend most of their time underground, and when they emerge on the surface, they comically walk or run rather than hop as most other frogs do. Another strategy they have evolved is the use of chemical defence in the form of a toxic, milky white secretion. Their odd round bodies and the incredible size difference between the tiny male and incredibly large females make them look even more comical when it comes to mating. Unlike the usual method of clasping onto a female with the front legs during copulation, these tiny frogs actually get glued together for the duration! Once mating is completed a solvent is released to separate the pair from one another. Unlike most other frog species which lay their eggs directly in a water body, where the eggs are vulnerable to predation, the rain frog pair burrow down into the soil and constructs a chamber in which the female deposits the egg mass. Another behaviour that makes them unique is that of demonstrating parental care, which is fairly uncommon among frogs. This parental responsibility is mostly practised by the female, though sometimes the male also remains in the vicinity of the nest until metamorphosis is complete.

Spiders, silk and goats By Margaux le Roux The mere mention of the word “spider”, and many people will have a shiver running down their spine, and most likely, the majority of guests coming on safari would not add seeing spiders on their wish list of top ten things to encounter and get close to when in the African wilderness. With that being said however, many people are actually pleasantly surprised and intrigued when they do see one of the most elegant of arachnids: the orb web spiders. The golden orb web spiders are most likely the most well-known of these web dwellers. The females are large colourful spiders, the size of a child’s hand, whilst the males are considerably smaller and drab in colour. Upon closer inspection, sometimes small silvery drops resembling mercury can also be spotted in the web. These are kleptoparasitic dewdrop spiders that will live on the edge of the web, where they will carefully scavenge any prey items that the bigger orb web spider might miss. The golden orb web spider has a large characteristic web that is constructed in open areas, with a diameter varying between a few centimetres to several metres. Their webs also have a characteristic golden colour, giving rise to the group’s common name. Spider silk is considered as one of the seven wonders of the animal kingdom. It is extremely strong, and it can stretch. Spider silk, on a per-weight basis, with the ratio of strength to density exceeds that of steel. It is therefore not uncommon to find a variety of insects, and even small lizards and birds entangled in the webs. With spider webbing being such a strong material, many scientists have attempted to farm it on a large scale. It is however very difficult to produce spider silk commercially, because spiders kept in spider farms tend to kill and eat each other because they are territorial. So, you might ask, what do spiders, silk and goats have in common? To solve this problem, professors and researchers of molecular biology at the University of Wyoming decided to put spiders’ dragline silk gene into goats in such a way that the goats would produce silk protein in their milk. It is believed that there could be numerous uses for this product, specifically in the medical field. It could be used to produce artificial ligaments and tendons, due to the elastic tendencies and the fact that it is a natural product that will synthesize well with the body, and it could be used for eye sutures and jaw repairs.

April Gallery

A young giraffe with its mother.

A curios journey.

Impala rams rutting.

A young female kudu.

A breeding herd of elephants.

Multitudes of red-billed quelea.

Articles by Walter Mabilane, Margaux le Roux & JP le Roux Photos by Margaux & JP le Roux