By now I am sure that you will probably have heard the news regarding elephant culling in Kruger. After lengthy consultation with interested parties, the Minister of Environmental Affairs, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has announced that elephant culling will resume for the first time since 1995. As of 1 May 2008, elephants in Kruger Park will be culled in an effort to keep numbers in check. The reason for this is to ensure that the impact on the landscape is not that severe as to threaten the biodiversity of mammals in Kruger.
In a nutshell, if the numbers of elephants are allowed to grow unchecked, there is a very strong likelihood that the habitat will be so destroyed that certain species will be wiped out. There is no doubt that this decision will inflame emotions on the matter. What needs to be remembered at all times is that the Kruger Park is a managed wildlife conservation area. There are fences that contain the animals and these are in place to protect the animals. It is therefore an artificial situation and consequently management has to consider the wellbeing of all th e animals in Kruger. Examples of extinction of mammal species in other parts of Africa as a result of unabated growth in elephant numbers probably played a significant part in arriving at the decision.
The authorities will cull the elephants using the most modern and painless methods. I shall have more on this contentious issue in my next newsletter.
One of the best-known bushveld trees, the Marula, Sclerocarya Birrea, has dropped its yellow fruits this month. The fruit has a very high Vitamin C content – about four times that of oranges - and provides a healthy addition to the diet of many animals. Elephants, baboons, monkeys, nyala, kudu and others eat the fruit to build up good vitamin content. Humans also enjoy marulas. Marula fruit juice, Amarula liqueur, marula jam and marula beer are all very tasty.
Rainfall this February was well below average. The rain that fell was localized and certain parts of Kruger are looking quite arid. Nevertheless the animals are still in good condition and there is enough grass and foliage around for them to eat. There is a shortage of water and consequently the animals have moved to water sources. As a result, game viewing has been better than in previous Februaries as evidenced from the reports of our guides below.
GAME-VIEWING NEWS
Overall the game viewing for the last two months has been satisfactory.
Our guides report as follows:
BONGANI reports major game activity around Nsemani dam. On the 2nd February, there were eight lions waiting for animals to come and drink at the dam. They almost ambushed a zebra while Bongani and his guests were watching.
His clients did see a kill on the 19th Feb. Bongani was stopped at a clearing watching some dwarf mongooses. From seemingly nowhere, a Brown Snake Eagle swooped down and took one unlucky mongoose. The eagle then flew up to a branch of a nearby tree and started eating the mongoose. So now we all have proof that snake eagles do not have only snakes on their diet.
On the 22nd Feb Bongani reports seeing 5 cheetah attempt a kill on a zebra foal. Less than 500 metres away a large male lion was watching proceedings with interest. There is no doubt that a lone lion would dispossess five cheetahs of their kill.
CHARLES reports that he had 100% success with lions, elephants and buffalos on every safari he drove.
CLIFF has had very good reports from guests doing the 4 hour morning walk. He carries biscuits, cheeses, biltong (dried meat), water and juice for the clients. They enjoy the snack during a break. Most times the group see animals on foot. However, despite our advice not to do so, some guests wear bright (non-neutral) clothes which make them very visible to the animals. It is also important to be quiet as excessive noise frightens the animals away. Nevertheless, in the month of February, Cliff and his clients came across the following animals : buffalo, elephant, rhino, zebra, kudu, waterbuck, warthog, impalas, wildebeest, giraffe and lions. Cliff carries a .458 rifle which is capable of stopping an elephant. In the 10 years he has conducted bush walks he has neve r had to shoot.
JACOB reports seeing two buffalo bulls engaged in a mock fight on 4th Feb. Later, on the same day, his clients were amazed to see a herd of elephant crossing the road break into a panic when a young newly born calf slipped and fell on the sand. Elephant families are very close-knit and when one of the herd is under some form of stress, the entire herd reacts. On the 5th Feb, Jacob's guests saw a coalition of five cheetah (the collective noun for cheetah is ‘coalition') on the tar road. The guests spent 30 minutes watching them.
On the 8th Feb, Jacob's clients saw two lions outside the Kruger Park on the way to Marc's Camp. On the 12th he and his guests waited for 90 minutes at the Shibotwana waterhole on the Satara-Nwanedzi road. Two lionesses had taken over the waterhole and kept chasing the zebra, wildebeest and impala who were clearly thirsty. Jacob spent an hour with his guests on 18th watching mating lions.
MESHACK reports good sightings of all the Big Five with special close-up viewing of White Rhino on the 3rd near Mzanzene dam and a similar close-up of a leopard near Rabelais dam on 10th Feb.
On 6th his group came across a pride of 9 lions on the Satara-Nwanedzi road eating an impala. They polished it off very quickly. The mass of meat on an impala is probably around 45 kg so it really doesn't go very far. On such occasions, the lions fight amongst themselves and this is probably the way lionesses get serious facial scratch marks.
On the 22nd, Meshack and guests watched a different pride of nine lions attempt unsuccessfully to catch zebra at Ngirivane waterhole.
Every three weeks or so, I visit the three Viva Safaris establishments. Besides doing a comprehensive 'quality control' check on all aspects of the lodges, I also am afforded an opportunity to discuss any staff issues. I also find time to assist in the development of our guides by joining in on a game walk or game drive. On my February visit to the bush,, I decided to take a drive into Kruger. Without being boastful, I am simply adding below some of the sightings I thought worth photographing:
 
 
NEWS AT TREMISANA
The lions have been heard most nights. They are around Tremisana because of the water at Tremisana Dam. We have had regular visits from elephants and buffalos as well. News that will be expounded on in next month's newsletter is that a pride of seven lions killed a giraffe only 300 metres from Tremisana Dam in the first week of March. There must have been around 300 vultures at the kill, patiently waiting for the lions to finish their meal.
The water situation is poor and we have had to clean and deepen both boreholes. We hope there will be some rain in March as we doubt that the water will last through the winter. We have made plans to have water delivered from Hoedspruit should the situation become serious.
Pearl Dickson, who was a previous employee off ours at Cheetah Inn, has joined the staff of Tremisana as hostess. Her main activity will be entertaining and hosting the guests at Tremisana. With Delina more and more involved with cooking and bar duties, Pearl will relieve some pressure on our erstwhile manageress. We are sure that Pearl will add a personal touch to the wellbeing of our clients. She bakes a carrot cake to die for and the guests doing the morning walk can look forward to returning to some really exciting high teas!!
NEWS AT MARC'S CAMP
With the appointment of Pearl at Tremisana, Ronald was not to be outdone. He requested that Gerda be appointed as hostess exclusively at Marc's. Gerda has worked at restaurants in Dullstroom (in fact that is where I first met her) so we can expect an upgrade in the meals at Marc's as well.
The Black Rhino are well. I went to visit them in the pen used for habituation and took the photos below:
 
Jonathan Beretta, our Warden, has suggested that we do not panic about their release. Although they are short-tempered, he does not think that they will come anywhere near the tree houses, as Black Rhino generally shun human presence. Nevertheless, we have decided that, if any client so requests, we shall accompany them with our rifle from the dinner boma to their tree house at night.
Jonathan has decided to contact Kruger with the intention of having a group of six elephants transferred to Motlala Reserve, in which game reserve Marc’s is situated. This request should be viewed favourably, especially as the Kruger authorities have made it clear that translocation of elephants is always a better option than culling.
A White Rhino bull has started to mark his territory midway along the sand road between the main lodge and the front gate. This involves developing a midden (toilet site) where he defecates regularly.
NEWS AT THE CHEETAH INN
A family of warthog have made the area around the swimming pool their home. They are seen regularly eating the grass around the pool.
We have repainted the change rooms at the pool and have cleared the area behind the kitchen. All our Viva Safaris guests that do the 6 day safari to Marc's have lunch here after visiting Moholoholo rehabilitation Centre. They all appreciate the open spaces afforded at the Cheetah Inn as well as the large swimming pool especially when the mercury passes 30C.
The finches in the aviary have acclimatized that well that they have already started nesting.
NEWS FOR OUR TRAVEL PARTNERS
With the increase in our safaris this year, we have bought another Toyota Quantum, bringing our fleet number of this type of vehicle to four. It is a very reliable vehicle and is fairly good on fuel. The air-conditioning unit is the best in the Toyota range and is absolutely essential on hot days.
As mentioned earlier, we have engaged two experienced hostesses in Pearl and Gerda. We are sure that their efforts will result in the guests enjoying their stays even more than before.
Our staff are to be congratulated on all their hard work that elicits comments such as the following, written in our Guest Books in February :
MARC’S
Manuela Limacher, Switzerland (manuela.limacher@gmx.de)
“Very good food; friendly staff and a cool experience to sleep in treehouses after three weeks traveling in a tent. Thank you so much!”
Metaki Noa, Israel (noa_metaki@hotmail.com)
“It was amazing. Just what I wanted it to be and even more! All of the staff were so nice. The food was amazing and all four guides knew so much! A wonderful experience. Thank you”
Matthew Levine (matlevine@yahoo.com)
“Awesome experience! You guys were amazing and we will be back!”
TREMISANA
Linda Rensen, Australia
“Heaven on earth : Best food; best people ; best stories.”
David and Julie Kay, England
“What a fantastic time – all the staff were great! Well done Delina – your cooking was excellent!”
Lana Carsen, London
“Fantastic holiday with amazing bush walks and great Kruger Park. Food divine and atmosphere also divine. Thank you very much to everyone, especially Cliff, our ranger”
Regards,
Piero
|
