We have been keeping records of the first good rains of every Spring for decades. Traditionally the first good rains usually fall by the third week of October. This year, the rains did not fall as expected. Last year, by end - October , we had experienced quite a few good showers and the game viewing was accordingly not as good as early October of that year. This year we have had only 3 short showers in October - barely enough to settle the dust. As a result, the first flush of green grass has already died in some areas as the daytime temperatures soar to just below 40 degrees ( 104 Fahrenheit ) .
The trees, on the other hand, have continued sprouting new shoots and leaves.
Game viewing has been excellent - even on those very hot days when one would expect every living creature to find the nearest shade and simply collapse !
We have seen lions, elephants, buffalos and rhinos even at midday - usually on their way to or from water.
The guides have supplied the following stats relating to Big Five Sightings in October 06 :
Elephant 100 %
Buffalo 100 %
Lion 90 %
Rhino 80 %
Leopard 30 %
Highlights of the month of October were reported as follows:
On 20 October , Bongani and his clients came across a pride of 6 lions that were eating on a freshly-killed buffalo. A short distance from the carcass was the body of a young lion cub. The local ranger reckoned that the cub had been killed by the male lion. It was unclear whether this had happened at the carcass where the lion may have cuffed an overly zealous and hungry cub or whether the cub was killed by the lion who recognized it as being fathered by another lion. When lions take over a pride they usually kill all the cubs sired by the previous pride males. This has the effect of bringing all the females into oestrus and the males are then able to mate with them and father their own cubs.
On the 21 October, when Bongani returned to the kill, the lions were still eating, but the carcass of the cub had disappeared - probably taken by the hyenas that were waiting for the lions to finish their meal.
Sometimes hyenas are not that patient.
At the beginning of the month, Charles and his tourists witnessed a fight between lions and hyenas. This is not very common in Kruger Park. A pride of 9 lions had killed a buffalo. When the males and adult females had eaten enough, they moved off into the shade of nearby bushes and left 3 subadult cubs to finish their meal. A clan of 6 hyenas successfully drove the subadults off the carcass. No effort was made by the adults to reclaim their prize - they had obviously had enough, but the young lions left the scene still hungry. This shows that despite having food, the subadults may sometimes remain hungry and helps us to understand the high mortality rate of lion cubs. It also indicates a lack of parental care on the part of the adult lions - something that does not happen with other predators. In fact wild dogs will regurgitate their own food for their young and go hungry themselves.
NEWS AT TREMISANA
Results of the annual game count in the Balule Section of Kruger Park ( in which Tremisana is situated ) have been released:
Below we have supplied figures that allow for a comparison of the numbers of the more common animals in 2005 and 2006.
Animal |
2005 |
2006 |
|
Impala |
3276 |
3117 |
|
Zebra |
448 |
398 |
|
Wildebeest |
335 |
236 |
|
Giraffe |
325 |
247 |
|
Kudu |
428
|
431 |
|
Waterbuck |
388 |
455 |
|
Warthog
|
315 |
412 |
|
Lion
|
28 |
44 |
|
Hippo |
73 |
61 |
|
Rhino
|
14 |
16 |
|
Buffalo |
235 |
241 |
|
Elephant |
305 |
482 |
|
Baboon troops |
24 |
33 |
It is worth noting the following :
* The number of lions has increased significantly
* General game numbers have decreased slightly
* The number of elephants has increased by almost 60 %
The live animal biomass per hectare has increased significantly, probably exceeding the carrying capacity - yet most of the species constituting the herbivore biomass are in decline...... how is this explained ?
Easily : the bulk of the aforementioned biomass is made up of the huge numbers of elephant. As with the rest of Kruger, the Balule Section will probably experience a negative effect in terms of our biodiversity. Until we have a clear national policy on the management of elephant numbers, we can only " wait and see " what will happen to rarer species.
The most exciting outcome of the census is the increased number of lions. Given that it is difficult to count each and every lion from a helicopter ( due to their excellent camouflage at this time of the year ), the actual figures for lions is probably an underestimate. This could also explain why the numbers of prey animals ( impala, zebra, giraffe and especially wildebeest ) have dropped - we reckon it is a result of increased predation .
The increased number of baboon troops is also a cause for concern : these omnivorous primates are known to kill and eat the young of antelope such as bushbuck, impala, duiker and steenbuck.
Tremisana Dam is continuously filled via our borehole. The crocodile is still there and the number of barbel fish ( clarias ) will easily support it until the big rains come. Elephants and buffalo are drinking there on a daily basis and a herd of 5 giraffe have moved into the area on a permanent basis.
NEWS AT MARC'S CAMP
We received the following write-up in a prominent travel magazine under the title "Take to the Trees" :
'About 40 km from the Orpen Gate into the Kruger National Park in Limpopo, Marc's Camp has a series of twelve treehouses set in a shaded grove overlooking the Klaserie River. It's a glorious tree top retreat where you can safely flee life on the ground to reconnect with those days when we were arboreal . The beds are comfortable, the views soothing and your thoughts will be prompted back to that very early morning of mammalian reign when the death of the dinosaurs freed a small advance guard of mammals to descend from the trees and head down in the moist , warm, low-lying land.
You may well ask why we bothered coming down in the first place ? Quest for food perhaps ? Fortunately at Marc's Camp, you won't have to go out and catch your own meals. You can dine with ceremony under the stars or alongside the river. And,, if you can tear yourself away from your treehouse, you can also go on guided game walks into the Klaserie bush, perchance to spot buffalos crashing through the bush or hippos frolicking like playful aubergines in the water '
What made the above description extra special was that the author booked into our camp incognito - so we have a genuine and credible critique of which we are very proud !
NEWS AT THE CHEETAH INN
Building activity has been frenzied - we wanted to complete the thatched roofs on the two new rooms before the rains - and we succeeded. The estate that contains the Cheetah Inn, over 20 hectares in extent, is being fenced so that we can introduce some game into the property as soon as possible.
We have taken some bookings for a few festive parties during November and December and have had a couple of good thrashes in October, including a great 21st birthday bash for one of the staff at Kapama.
Birdlife has been good in October - we had excellent sightings of green pigeon, plum-coloured starling and Narina Trogon !
NEWS FOR OUR FRIENDS IN TRAVEL
Viva Safaris has been associated with various charities for years. We are pleased to offer prizes to various charities, churches and schools in their fundraising efforts. Amongst others, we have sponsored prizes for Reach for a Dream , Liberty Life's "Ride for Sight" and Hospice.
We have also offered prizes to a number of schools and churches for Golf Days and even a "Survivor"- type challenge, in which the winner ate the biggest number of "Creepy- Crawlies", including earthworms, in the shortest time !
Just shows you the lengths children will go to in order to win a free weekend at Marc's Camp !
Most exciting sponsorship this year was a horse race, called the "Mercury Sprint" held on 15 July at Durban's Clairwood Racecourse. Viva Safaris offered a prize of a 5 day safari for 4 people.
You are welcome to let us know of any other deserving charities, especially those related to the hospitality industry. Our prize will usually be a free weekend , or 3 nights midweek , at one of our establishments , inclusive of accommodation and dinners and breakfasts as well as game drives and game walks.
Viva Safaris will be increasing our tariffs effective 1 January 2007. We shall provide you with the new tariffs on request and will be publishing these in our next newsletter.
Just as you no doubt are asked , we are sometimes queried about malaria and the need to take the appropriate prophylaxis prior to going on one of our safaris. We are aware of the debilitating effect of malaria tablets and are loathe to recommend that our clients take medication unless it is really necessary.
Our staff live on the lodge properties on a full-time basis except when they go on leave. We are reasonably sure that they, if anybody, will contract malaria before any of our guests. In addition, all the lodges in the region have a gentleman's agreement that should there be an outbreak of malaria at any particular neighbouring lodge, then this information will be communicated to all the surrounding lodges. To date, there has been no outbreak of malaria amongst any of our staff at any of our 3 establishments. This does not mean that a particular tourist will be guaranteed not to contract malaria. Statistically the chances are very small. To summarise : we do not think any of our tourists will contract malaria - since 1991 when Viva Safaris was first established, not one of our tourists has contracted the sickness. However , one can never be 100% sure and if our clients feel that they have the slightest chance of getting malaria, then they should take a course of tablets.
We also get enquiries about snakes. Of course, snakes do live on all three properties and , of course, there is a possibility that they may be encountered. In fact, some of our clients want to see snakes in their natural environment.
Our staff check out the rooms/chalets/treehouses every day just before the clients arrive. If they find a snake, it is removed to the bush. The only snake that worries us is the Puffadder which is a slow-moving snake. All other snakes that we encounter make a bee-line and get away as quickly as they can. With the Puffadder, this will not happen simply because this snake cannot move very quickly.
We recommend that all our clients bring a torch/flashlight , which, apart from helping in avoiding snakes, can be utilized in seeing nocturnal animals at the camps. It's really exciting in darkest Africa, isn't it ?
Regards and best wishes for a successful November
Piero
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