WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA GRUMETI, TANZANIA...The young male is approaching a year old now and provides ... rather enjoying the taller more fibrous Red Oat grasses these days. ... look

Photo by George Tolchard

WILDLIFE REPORT

SINGITA GRUMETI, TANZANIA February 2019 George Tolchard

Temperature Rainfall Recorded Sunrise & Sunset Average minimum: 16.3°C Faru Faru 63mm Sunrise 06:50 Average maximum: 30°C Sabora 45mm Sunset 19:02 Minimum recorded: 15.3°C Sasakwa 40mm Maximum recorded: 34.1°C

The Grumeti Reserve:

February has been a wonderful month and I have to say that it has certainly been a month for the Cats…!! With moderate rainfall this month and the grass continuing to get a little longer still, you would think that Cat sighting may become a little more challenging!? Well, not here on the Grumeti Reserve! The cat viewing has been sensational. Our three largest central prides, the Butamtam, Nyasirori and the West prides have been viewed throughout the month in their usual localities. We have experienced good Cheetah and Leopard viewing as well as some lovely Caracal and Serval sightings. With many of the Migratory Wildebeest and Zebra in the South of the Serengeti ecosystem currently we have noticed good herds of Cokes Hartebeest, Eland and resident Buffalo herds out on the grasslands of the Grumeti. There have been some lovely herds of Zebra viewed out to the West on the Gambaranyera. Small resident herds of Topi, Thompsons and Roberts Gazelle bring the plains to life with their vibrant colours and bubbly persona’s. The Elephant viewing down on the Grumeti River has been fantastic, often we meet with aggregations of 50 – 60 individuals as they feed upon their favourite grass species down on the river banks. We have had a breeding herd of 40 that have spent much time up on Sasakwa Hill these last few weeks, moving between the Rubana drainage and surrounding hills and valleys.

Lion The Lion sightings this month have been truly phenomenal. We have had a total of 101 individual sightings. We have experienced some great interactions and Lion viewing from all the Central prides, The West Pride, The Butamtam, The Mkuyu and the Nyasirori pride. One of the most memorable sightings for the month was when we experienced the Nyasirori pride taking down a fully grown female Giraffe. There were 26 Lionesses and sub adults seen on the kill shortly after the animal had been brought down. The interactions between the Lions here was incredible to see. The approximate total number of Lions from just these four central prides is a staggering 160 individuals. This is testament to how productive the environment really is. These Lions do not move great distances and are able to maintain healthy condition throughout the season. Truly incredible really.

Leopard

The Leopard sightings this month have been great with a total of 30 individual sightings. This

averages in at approximately 1/day which I would say is there or there abouts on the mean. The

Leopard continue to do very well here on the Grumeti with our most regular sightings occurring on

the Grumeti River Road, The Grumeti North Drainage, The Mbogo drainage and Upstream Raho

drainage, close to Sabora Camp.

Many of our Leopards in these areas are reasonably relaxed and happy with the game viewing

vehicles offering spectacular photographic opportunities. However, this month we have witnessed

other individuals of a more shy nature that suggests they have moved in from elsewhere and have

had minimal contact with humans and the game viewers. There has been a mother with two 4

month old youngsters seen on the Sasakwa Hill and a shy single male sighted a few times on the

Mkomure drainage.

Cheetah

We have experienced a total of 26 individual Cheetah sightings this month which is very

encouraging. For this short month of February that almost brings us up to an average of 1/day which

is quite incredible really! Especially as Lion numbers continue to boom. Our mother and son of the

central grasslands continue to do well. The young male is approaching a year old now and provides

gusts with some stunning chases as he likes to flush the scrub hares out of the thickets. This young

male is growing up strong too and will not be intimidated easily as we watched him chase down a

Spotted Hyena that simply got too close for comfort!

Other great Cheetah sightings have taken place out on the Sabora Plains, The Nyasirori high ground

and on the Grumeti West road. As always, these animals providing us with some fantastic hunts as

they target some of the fastest ungulates on the plains.

Elephant

71 individual Elephant sightings this month which is what would be expected at this time of the year.

We usually find that during the month of February the Elephant movements to be sporadic but we

have maintained great sightings numbers this month. We have experienced fantastic Elephant

viewing on both the Grumeti River and the Raho stream with aggregations up to 80+ individuals.

What we are seeing here in sometimes a number of different breeding herds coming together in

times of plentiful, feeding together, watering together and rekindling distant relationships.

We have had a breeding herd of 30 individuals spending a lot of time on Sasakwa Hill which has been

lovely although I am sure that the trees are not quite feeling the same way! Other great Elephant

viewing areas have of course been Sasakwa Dam during the heat of the day, the Mbogo drainage,

just N of FF Camp and Koroya Hill area.

Hyena

We have had a total of 116 Spotted Hyena sighting this month. We have been keeping tabs on 3

different den sights which have offered some great viewing. A particularly busy den sight is that of

the Boundary Pan den sight where a number of inquisitive youngsters have been providing us with

some chuckles. One group of guests witnessed a single Hyena running down a Topi Bull which is no

easy feat, showing that when not rumbling the Lion prides and lurking close to the Cheetah, how

efficient these predators can be when hunting large ungulates.

Buffalo

We have had a total of 84 individual Buffalo sightings. The resident Buffalo herds just seem to get

bigger and bigger each month and usually one can spot at least 10 different breeding herds at a

single sitting from an elevated position such as OP 7.

Our resident Sasakwa Plain herd must number close to 400 individuals now. These animals are more

than happy remaining close to Sasakwa dam, rather enjoying the taller more fibrous Red Oat grasses

these days.

The Sabora plains may be filled with a number of different breeding herds at any one time and their

black mass appearance in contrast to the green grasslands makes for lovely contrasting

photography.

Interesting Bird Sightings White Backed Vultures resting in a dead tree. We have seen huge numbers of Vultures moving off the reserve as they temporarily follow the migratory Wildebeest to the South.

Picture by George Tolchard Always great to see the Southern Ground Hornbills and we have been fortunate enough to see good numbers this month.

Picture by George Tolchard

The Helmeted Guinea Fowl have been particularly busy this month.

Picture by George Tolchard Spur Winged Goose on Sasakwa Dam:

The lovely endemic Grey Crested Helmet Shrike have been busy raising young and are seen regularly on Sasakwa Hill.


Influxes of Lesser Kestrels have been with us this month making the most of the unlimited supplies of insects on the grasslands.


The secretive Pygmy Kingfisher sighted on the Rubana drainage at the base of Sasakwa Hill being a real treat for the month.


Some exciting Bush stories to follow Ears with tufts by Edward Ayo It was a great day this month, the day I witnessed the Caracal. This month has been fantastic for cats in general but I never thought I would find myself looking eye to eye with this rarely observed Caracal. The Caracal is notoriously hard to find in the Grumeti Reserve, although there being reasonable densities, it is not often seen. As I drove slowly down Helmet Shrike Road just South of Sasakwa Hill I decided to stop, switch off the engine and scan around with my Binoculars. I noticed something sat upon a Termite mound approximately 150m away from us. I could not believe my eyes and there it was, clear as day. I excitedly explained to my guests what we were seeing here and to quickly have a look through the binoculars at the Caracal for fear that it would disappear into the grass any second and would be gone from view forever. Fortunately this beautiful creature remained in clear view for moments longer and my guests were able to share the visual with me. This is the first time I have seen Caracal on the reserve since begging work here in 2007. A great and memorable moment for myself and my guests. Did you know that the name Caracal was believed to have come from the Turkish word Karakulak which means Black ear…..

Picture by Edward Ayo

The Lion and the Buffalo by Francis Gagiri It was early morning on the Nyati Plains and the sun was just beginning to rise. The Butamtam pride were on the hunt. They had begun an approach on a breeding herd of Buffalo. A tall order for the Lions but with many mouths to feed the pressure was on. The lion prides of the Grumeti will quite often target Buffalo when other more favoured prey species have moved on to other pastures. The Lions made their move, cutting the herd and doing their best to isolate one of the weaker members….it was pandemonium. The Buffalo making it difficult for the Lions, however, they continued to persist. All of a sudden the Lions were on to a Buffalo cow and before we knew it she was down! This was by no means the end, incredibly the rest of the herd began to make their way back to the fallen Buffalo cow and begin taunting the Lions. The Buffalo edged forward like a barrage of riot police, rushing in on the Lions and eventually pushing them off their fallen friend. The Lions, not willing to pay the penalty of injury or worse, tuck tailed and ran! The Buffalo cow frigidly made it to her feet within the security of the other herd members and moved off across the grasslands to live another day. The 17 members of the Butamtam pride remained hungry that morning… awaiting another chance to come. This was, undoubtedly, one of the most fascinating wildlife experiences I have witnessed to date, I shall not forget it and neither will my guests.

The faint Hyena by Edward Kaaya It was around 06:30am one morning guests and I left Sasakwa lodge for a morning game drive. We found the Butamtam pride with 12 individuals walking across the Sasakwa plain and so we followed the Lions for some time. As we followed, we realized that they were headed to a small pond to drink. On that pond there was one hyena also drinking and it wasn’t aware that lions were approaching from behind also, like the Hyena, looking to quench their thirst. By the time Hyena realized the Lions were close, it was too late to escape. The unsuspecting Hyena was surrounded and with nowhere to run was caught and roughed up significantly by the larger, more powerful Lions. We watched in amazement, the Hyena appeared motionless. Had the Lions killed the Hyena with a devastating bite? The hyena remained absolutely motionless beneath the bulk of the male Lion. The Lions eventually released the Hyena but remained close by watching and waiting for any sign of life. My guests and I were glued to the scene, also waiting for the slightest sign of life. As the sun began to rise in the sky more than an hour later, the Lions moved off to the nearby shade of the thickets. Amazingly the Hyena twitched…there was movement! Slowly and tentatively the Hyena gathered itself as if to come back from the dead, stood up and simply ambled away unnoticed by the Lions, who by this time were fast asleep. It was an incredible moment and till this day I cannot decide if the Hyena had feigned death or simply fainted at the thought of being torn to pieces by the Lions! Either way, the Hyena had outsmarted the Lions…knowingly of not I suppose we will never know.

Picture by Ed Kaaya

Gallery Mother and son on the Sasakwa Plain:


Sub adult male Sakakwa Plain:

Sub adult son on Sasakwa Plain:


Butamtam Pride out on the Nyati Plains:

Pictures by George Tolchard

A mature Bull Giraffe on the Sabora Plains:


A male Leopard in the Albizia Woodlands, Eastern Mkomure:

Picture by Kimaro


Elephants on Sasakwa Hill:


Pictures by Calson Luka

Picture by Calson Luka

Picture by Bernard Hosea

Picture by Bernard Hosea Walking wild Looking South to Bangwezi from the Granite Kopjes.

Walking Lions is good fun….most of the time!

WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA GRUMETI, TANZANIA...The young male is approaching a year old now and provides ... rather enjoying the taller more fibrous Red Oat grasses these days. ... look

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