Tintswalo Safari Lodge is located on the 23000 hectare Manyeleti Game Reserve bordered on the east by the Kruger National Park. Surrounded by woodland savannah and gabbro open plains, game viewing is at a premium and exclusivity is assured. With the full complement of the majestic Big 5 as well as Cheetah, Wild Dog and Spotted Hyena we are also rewarded with sightings of Pangolin, Honeybadger and African Wild Cat. With a highly qualified team a holistic safari experience is guaranteed.
Our Wild dog couple has made their appearance several times the last few days.
Confirmed this week they have been successful in catching a Common duiker in
one hunt and they were chased by Zebras for kilometres on another hunt! We saw
them start their hunt for the Duiker however to keep up with these swift
hunting dogs can be very challenging.
Female Wild Dog sleeping
Recently we had the
Feiten group all the way from the US of A. Don & Pam, Dave & Lorin,
Kerry & Suzie.
They arrived not
knowing what to expect as this was their first Safari. On our first morning we
were met on the air strip by 2 resident Wild dogs that Darren has written about
on previous blogs.
As sometimes the case
when a particular species of animal is not known, reactions could be different
from what a guide may expect. “They are dogs, right?" was one question.
Answer: "Yes, they are in the Dog family!" however they're no
ordinary dogs...
They have a much
higher success rate in their hunting attempts than lion and leopard put
together...
They not only care for
their young, they also care for old and injured individuals unlike other
carnivores who mostly only care for young of their species...
They are the 2nd most
endangered carnivore in Africa and the most endangered large carnivore in
Southern Africa. Only about 180 African Wilds Dog survives in the Kruger and
Greater Kruger area including the Manyeleti Game Reserve as the 2012 count
indicates.
So yes, a dog, very
unique named, Lycaon pictus meaning
"The Painted Wolf” of Africa!"
Wild Dogs being Wild Dogs
The Sizinanis also
have been very busy with the 3 Koppies females. In 7 days they killed 5 Cape
Buffalo. Not bad if you take into account that the one Sizinani brother for the
past three years only walks on three legs and the one koppies female is
recovering from serious injuries she picked-up a few weeks ago. Most recently
the Matimba male coalition fought the Sizinani males and took the Koppies
females as their spoils of war.
Probable last video of Sizinanis with Koppoes females
I would like to
officially introduce to our readers our resident male Hippo.
He is a very large
hippo probable close to 3 tons. This hippo was attacked by several lion few
years ago and survived the ordeal. It took his wounds about 8 months to heal.
Today he struggles to walk. A slow paced meander is the order of the day and
this provides for excellent photographic opportunities often outside his water
hole, Ingwe Manzi.
Big male Hippo
During the Feitens
safari we also caught some classic elephant behaviour on video.
The Manyeleti Game
Reserve keeps producing some unique sightings.
The
biggest body of water in the Manyeleti is called Main dam. Not a lot of
imagination was used naming the dam however this dam has produced some
sightings I've never imagined I'll see.
We've seen Waterbuck
cross Main-dam and other water holes when trying to avoid being hunted by Lion
and African Wild Dog. We've seen several Elephant herds cross Main-dam merely
to feed on the lush trees on the western side.
When Mr. & Mrs.
Gill and the Zutz party (Trish, Lisa & Paul) joined me for a several day
safari, we saw several hundred buffalo swim across various parts of Main-dam in
full-force completely ignorant to the presence of crocodile... Several large
and smaller crocodiles can be seen year round in this dam.
Cape Buffalo
in these areas probably do not possess the learnt or instinctive behaviour to
know that crocodiles are predators that, similar to lions would relish any
opportunity to catch and eat Buffalo.
The larger lurking crocs
would (if motivated enough, together with the correct mix of circumstances)
clutch their jaws on any unsuspecting animals coming to drink or cross for that
matter. These Crocodiles in Main-dam probably feed on Catfish as a staple diet
while hunting animals living outside the water is probably more of a rarer food
source.
Apart from capturing
on video several hundred Buffalo
doing a water crossing; see how a specific crocodile
reacted to this amazing event...
If I were a crocodile
I would definitely take the opportunity to substitute my diet from muddy
Catfish to Buffalo
fillet. Any ideas why this
type of behaviour? Fritz Breytenbach
Sunday 23 September 2012
Sun setting over the Drakensberg mountains
Things have been interesting in the bush lately. We’ve had
our first rains and many of the smaller and equally interesting characters have
started getting active again. The call of the wild has returned, from the
Raucous Toad’s rasping call to the quiet symphony of the Katydids. Summer is on
its way!
Lion
Sizanani males
These males have really started to establish themselves radically.
We found them on a Buffalo kill on Catwalk west and on closer inspection found
the tracks for three lionesses. We realised that they must have taken this kill
from the Koppies females. This sighting lasted almost four days and on the last
day the females returned. The sighting took a tense turn as one of the females
was quite badly mauled by one of the males when she held her own on the kill. The
other male lost interest in the kill and moved off to once again mate with the
older Koppies female. The male with the limp was not to be outdone and when he
also moved away from the kill, he was promptly seduced by the youngest Koppies
female. The sighting changed again and we were awarded with sightings for the
next day or so, of these lions mating. It was a very interesting turn of events
and is fascinating to watch how these males are slowly but surely taking over
and taking the females as well.
Map of Sizanani males movements
Map of Koppies females movements
Matimba males
The best news so far was to see one of the Matimba males
being seduced by one of the Mbiri females between Ntzaka loop and Manyeleti Main
camp. It was very apparent that he was not the predator here. She started the
game of seduction like an old pro with the Matimba male only too happy to
oblige. A few days later Fritz found another couple mating between S10 and S11.
The female was older and we think it might be one of the Nkuhuma females, as it
was in the heart of their territory in the Manyeleti Game Reserve. It’s going
to be interesting to see how these males settle down. We are noticing the same
males further north more often. It might be that there is too much competition
for mating further south resulting in the quest for opportunities deeper into
the reserve.
Map of Matimba males movements
Leopard
There was one very good sighting of the Main Dam female at
the Mantwan Mphisi and S6 junction. She started with her normal, “Here I am.
Bet you can’t photograph me” game that she seems to play. We followed her for a
short distance on Mantwan Mphisi and headed east. She stopped dead in her
tracks and coiled herself into a hunting posture. Low to the ground, ears
cocked forward, she pounced and with one quick bleat it was over. She had a
young duiker lamb in her mouth. She moved into a thicket with her prize and unfortunately
we couldn’t follow without upsetting her. Upsetting her would have meant destroying
several months of patience and careful work with this particular leopard. For
the greater good we decided to leave her in peace to enjoy her meal. On the way
out we saw the mother duiker looking for the lamb and when we returned the next
morning, we found the mother in the same place, still searching for the lamb in
vain.
One of the few shots we have of this elusive female
One of our projects is to slowly habituate and catalogue the
leopard on the reserve. This particular female is very important to this
project as she is still fairly young. Habituating a younger female leopard means
easier access to her cubs once she has cubs, and is also more sustainable in
the long term.
Map of leopard sightings
Wild dog
Once again, we were blessed by the presence of Africa’s
equivalent to the Wolf. The big story regarding these animals at the moment is
about two dogs in particular. We noticed a male and a female had slipped away
from the rest of the pack of twenty. At first we thought that they might have lost
their pack, but their movements were not those of dogs in search of their pack.
Instead they stuck around in the area around the lodge, twice being seen right at
the boom gate to the lodge. They stayed around this area for a few days, while
the rest of the pack moved south. We think the female had lured the male away
and that it might be the beginning of a new pack.
The rest of the pack was seen around Pod Mahogany for a few
days with all eleven pups still intact. They then were found by Mpho in the
south-eastern corner of the reserve but it looks as though they may have moved
into the Kruger National Park since then.
Map of Wild Dog sigtings
Other views from the bush
Cape Buffalo
Plains Zebra
Giraffe
Tree Agama
Black backed Jackal found at the Sizanani Buffalo kill
Resident Lesser Bushbaby at the lodge
Darren Roberts-York
All photos (except Leopard) and video taken with a Nikon Coolpix P510
A coalition of 6 male lions named the Matimbas has claimed
the Manyeleti as their territory. This coalition has grown so strong that they
have set up shop “so to speak” over a very large area. This coalition as we
have witnessed the past 3 years has been growing vigorously in confidence,
strength and mystery. Other coalitions and prides also operate in the reserve
however very fleet-footedly!
The Matimbas have been in several fights with other male and
female lions and it was reported a while ago that they killed a young female
lion and ate her… On several occasions we’ve witnessed them bring down Buffalo
with not to much difficulty.
Matimbas feasting on a Buffalo
A tracking team has
been set-up to establish this coalitions movements, habits and in general to
find out “what they do and where do they go when we're not watching?”
The tracking team
consisting of 2 members lead by our talented tracker Mpho “Hercules”Malapane is
focused and determined to find them and other predators on a regular basis.
On a recent tracking
excursion we picked-up lion tracks. A few females and one large male next to S8
water hole.
The area where we
found the tracks were consistent with the Matimbas territory. We took about 10
minutes and scanned the area too decipher where these lions went after they had
an early morning drink and brief lye-down. Less than 10 minutes later we were
on their trail. We started following their tracks slowly. Firstly, we wanted to
get a ”feel” for "how" they were moving through the game paths and
surrounding bush. After a fair distance of walking we concurred with silent
whisper "They are hunting!"
While tracking for
about 40 minutes the tracks disappeared as a big herd of several hundred
African buffalo walked right over their tracks.
Mpho then said “We
will now keep following the buffalo, they will show us where the lions are...”
Rapidly, another 20
minutes passed and we could hear numerous African Buffalo grunting and mooing
several hundred meters in front of us. We were getting close!
Mpho then said “if we
chase the buffalo, we will chase the lion”
We then decided to not
disturb the buffalo and stay well down wind to avoid being detected. This
tactic made lots of sense because if these lions were hunting these buffalo, we
didn't want to be a distraction to the event.
We slowly and
secretively searched the area making sure we do not get spotted by any animal.
We could see no track or sign of these lion.
We decided to
back-track on the rout we tracked in and searched again for tracks. We felt
confident the lions did not go to far. Luckily we found some barely noticeable
spoor and they were heading towards a large open clearing we know about.
At times, open
clearings are classic resting areas for lazy lions. We decided to slowly and
very carefully approach the clearing as to not make a sound. We took caution to
conceal ourselves from possible detection by any animals.
At this moment, our
hearts were beating louder than the sound of our footsteps!
As we maneuvered
closer I could not help thinking about the awesome environment we are working
in. Not to mention the fact that we have to track lions as a job description...
See what we found!
We secretly watched
and filmed them, sneaked out, fetched the vehicle and spent a rewarding 5 hours
studying their behaviour.
The
Manyeleti Game Reserve has plenty of general game. Blue-Wildebeest, Plains
Zebra, Giraffe, Waterbuck and many other antelope and predator species are
regularly sighted.
On a recent
drive we found a very large herd of zebra! More than one-hundred individuals
grazing together.
We always
see many herds of Zebra however this was the largest herd thats been seen.
These
animals were "grouping up" as you can see in this clip due the
constant presence and hungry pursuit of The Matimba lion coalition.
Fritz Breytenbach
Friday 14 September 2012
Lion
There is plenty of lion movement at the moment. It has been a
bit quiet in the north, but we’ve had very good sightings of the Sizanani
brothers as well as the Matimba coalition. As for the females, the Koppies
females have been moving around the Main dam area but the Mphiri girls were nowhere
to be found this week.
Koppies Female
I am currently working on identity kits for the different
lions and their prides, but below I’ve included a very short introduction on
two of the prides we were able to view in the last week. More to follow as the
weeks continue.
Sizanani males
The Sizanani males are a coalition of two that move around
the central and western parts of the reserve and occasionally moves into the
Timbavati Nature Reserve.
Sizanani Male with bad back leg
The first sighting for the week was the male with the bad back
leg at Lompfaan pan to the north of the lodge. His brother was vocalising further
north and he promptly roared back, got up and started making his way to his
brother. The healthy Sizanani brother was seen with the Koppies females where
he was endlessly mating with the oldest female in the group. A few nights later
we found him at Panicum road, about 200 meters from the lodge. He was fiercely roaring,
advertising his territory, and moved right past the staff accommodation! We found
the pair the next night chasing Buffalo at the Tintswalo pump house, once again
only 100 meters from the lodge.They
seem to be evading the larger coalitions and have set up a small territory
close to the lodge.
Sizanani Male and Koppies Female
Map of Sizanani males movements
Matimba males
The Matimba males are a well-known powerful coalition of six
males that frequent the central and Southern parts of the reserve and also move
in the Northern parts of the Sabi Sands.
They were seen at the beginning of the week at Bushbuck dam
on the Sabi Sand boundary with five males in attendance. We went the next
morning to relocate them, only to hear that they were found on a Wildebeest
kill on Bee-eater road. This is about 12 kilometres from the boundary which
indicates the size of their territory. There were also some scattered sightings
of these males around S8 dam and one male was found on a Zebra kill on S10
road. So a fair amount of movement in core of their territory, the south, with
the typical Matimba incursions to the north.
Map of Matimba males movements
Leopard
We found a young male, that hasn’t been seen in a while. He
used to be in the area around the lodge, but we found him down at S7 in the
mid-south. Only time will tell if he has set up shop in the S7/ Pod Mahogany
area and we’ll be keeping a close eye on this male. The Main dam female has
been strutting her stuff with three separate sightings on Sundowner loop on the
banks of Main dam. A younger un-identified leopard was seen at Ntzaka bridge.
Male Leopard found on S7
Map of Leopard Sightings
Cheetah
We had an amazing sighting of a female cheetah around Main
dam. When we arrived, she was stalking Impala on a big open area. It was
extremely windy and we had already found the Koppies pride about 300 meters
away. We were concerned that the lions would find her, as the wind was blowing
her scent in their direction. She posed for a while and allowed us to get some
good photographs. Unfortunately we had to leave her to her hunt, as the light
was dimming. As this is a diurnal cat, we could not view her after dark
especially with lions in such close proximity.
The above video is of the same female but on a previous kill
Map of Cheetah Sightings
Wild dog
This week we have been especially lucky to have a pack of 20
Wild dogs, 9 adults and 11 pups, on the reserve. They’ve given us some
fantastic viewing. The first sighting that we had this week was once again at Main
dam. A few of the adults were trying to hunt and wanted to leave the pups in
the drainage line. The pups were having none of it. Every time the adults tried
to go, the pups would follow. Eventually the adults caught on and started
playing with the pups. Cuteness personified!
The next morning we found two Wild dogs on an Impala kill on Catwalk
west. We were expecting the rest of the pack to arrive at any time, but they
never did. This is where it got interesting. The two Wild dogs were later seen
at Wild dog dam and then at the Manor house pan that afternoon. They were
moving around contact calling and had obviously lost the rest of the pack.
Two Wild Dogs found on an Impala kill
A few days later, we again found the core pack, three adults
and all eleven pups, on S7 drive. Once again the pups were playing, oblivious
to the possible danger, not more than 100 meters away. Werner was on his way to
the Wild dog sighting when he found a Leopard watching the pups with serious
intent. There we were in between the Wild dogs and the Leopard. The pups were
slowly heading towards the Leopard with no adult in sight. The Leopard crouched
low and like a flick of a switch, his demeanour changed. He suddenly started
looking for a possible escape route. The adults had arrived to herd the pups back
and lucky for the leopard, the adults hadn’t seen him.
We once again found the two Wild dogs close to the lodge, on
Mantwana Mpisi. They had just finished eating something small that we were
unable to identify. The core pack was seen at the same time on Pod Mahogany,
quite far to the south.
Map of Wild Dog sightings
Elephant, Buffalo and others
There has been a fair sprinkling of both all over the
reserve. A big herd of several hundred Buffalo have been hanging around the
south of the reserve, especially in the south-west around the Dixie dam area.
Plenty of small groups of males were found all over. This is one species of the
Big 5 we are blessed with. Elephant herds have also not exactly been scarce and
it hasn’t been unusual to see three separate herds on a single drive.
Cape Buffalo
Cheecky African Elephant
Cape Buffalo
Hippopotamus
Spotted Hyena
Plains Zebra
Darren Roberts-York
All photos and videos
taken with a Nikon Coolpix P510
