WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA GRUMETI, TANZANIA …singita.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Singita-Grumeti-Wildlife...WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA GRUMETI, TANZANIA For the month of September,

WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA GRUMETI, TANZANIA

For the month of September, Two Thousand and Fifteen

Temperature & Wind Rainfall Recorded Sunset and Sunrise Average Maximum: 31,7˚C (89˚F) Sasakwa: 34 mm Sunrise: 06:21 Average Minimum: 18˚C (64,4˚F) Faru Faru: 20 mm Sunset: 18:31 Average Wind Speed: 0,08 m/s Samaki: 37 mm Risiriba: 16,5 mm

Most of the drainage lines had dried up, but after receiving good rains in the vicinity of Singita Faru Faru Lodge in early September, the burnt areas grasses turned green within a week, and very high densities of Thomson gazelle and zebra were recorded. Lions: September ticked along nicely with predator sightings. The lion distribution continues to intrigue us, with the Butamtam Pride continually splitting and then disappearing for days, and even weeks on end. It adds to the mystique of the Singita Grumeti concession when a group of nine to twelve animals are not seen for ages; with no sign of vulture activity, something you would expect to see with lions killing larger plains game species. The Ridge Pride, with ten members, was seen on more than two occasions, and the split in the west is fascinating between the Sabora West Pride of eight, and the Kawanga Pride of seventeen. The location of the Singita Explore “Marula” and “Balanites” Tented Camps was incredible in September as huge herds of topi, wildebeest and zebra congregated on the Gambaranyera Plains, and we were lucky to

see the two western prides on a few occasions. The guides frequently visited this area, particularly from Singita Sabora Tented Camp, as it was the highest concentration of plains wildlife on the concession. Although the grasses on most of the plains were relatively short, the lions on the concession continued to spend quality time in trees, avoiding biting flies, possibly enjoying more of a draft from the breeze, and having a nice elevated position to survey the savanna.

The Butamtam Pride, always a magnificent sight when they are hunting together.

The grewia trees are so dense that they form an amazing platform for these huge predators.

The presence of male lions on the concession is vital, protecting their own offspring from nomadic males, and in September we regularly saw our three big males, although not always together…

Leopards:

The Tulia female and her two cubs dominated the leopard sightings for the month. A few of the guides had a magnificent sighting one morning when, from a distance, a black-backed jackal was howling an alarm call. Moving in and observing, initially from a distance, we watched as the leopard and her cubs fed on a

Thomson gazelle carcass, while the stressed jackal and a clan of excited hyaenas mingled below a balanites tree (Balanites aegyptiaca). The clan knew that eventually they would receive a few scraps, but not an entire carcass; so when it did drop from the tree it was fantastic to watch how they went about ripping the carcass to pieces and dashing off with the spoils.

This one made off with most of the carcass.

It definitely had no intentions of sharing with anyone! The Tulia female leopard eventually decided that between the jackal and hyaena activity the disturbance was too much and she moved her cubs across the plains into a thicker wooded area, away from all of the commotion.

Elephant: Elephant sightings were really good throughout the month, and even as the concession started to dry out considerably toward the latter part of September, large herds were always to be found along the Grumeti River in the wildlife management area and in Ikorongo Game Reserve. At the beginning of September we had a day or two where a few very large herds decided to come together, and we witnessed in excess of three hundred congregate on the Mkomore Plains. The handsome large tusker with the floppy ear was seen regularly along the banks of the Grumeti River.

The scenes in front of Singita Faru Faru Lodge with elephant in particular, were absolutely phenomenal in September.

The Great Migration: Migration movements are always interesting at this time of the year, and although we were seeing herds of thousands of wildebeest on the concession for the latter part of the month, the vast majority of the herds were being viewed in the northern Serengeti, along the Mara River. I mentioned earlier the huge herds of topi, zebra, wildebeest and buffalo on the concession at Gambaranyera, yet the number of resident wildlife we see year-round once again highlights the success of our conservation efforts.

September moments The name for the secretary bird derives from the Arabic name saqr-et-tair meaning “hunter bird”, and because of their long legs and considerable wingspan, they prefer to roost and nest on top of bushes or trees, and not within them. They prefer flat-topped thorn trees, but will settle for any tree with a robust canopy to hold their weight, in this case a balanites tree out in the open on the savanna.

It was wonderful to watch a troop of olive baboons feeding on water lilies, family Nymphaeacea. Fire is an important tool in habitat management, and is essential to the entire Serengeti ecosystem. Our programme at Singita Grumeti lays emphasis on maintaining the quantity and quality of forage for large herbivores (both resident and migratory), maintaining resident scale plant richness and diversity, and landscape level three-dimensional continuity. The picture below shows a cool burn on the top of Sasakwa Hill where the vegetation is far more susceptible.

By Stuart Levine Singita Grumeti

Serengeti Tanzania

Thirtieth of September 2015