Author: Focus Online Dev
Rangers Journal October 2019
Welcome back to yet another instalment of our Rangers Journal !!
Suicide month is almost at its end with the promise of rain in the air becoming more and more apparent as we are all on our knees praying for the life-giving liquid to fall out of the sky and kickstart the transformation from dry and dusty to clean, green and fresh.
There are already signs of the amazing event that will unfold within the next few weeks as soon as the first big rains are expected to arrive within the next week, such as this Devil’s trumpet flower amongst the dead grass, which exacerbates the struggle of Life vs Death.
However, it seems as if “Life” will always win.
Ok, let’s get into what is the latest bushveld politics here in Madikwe for this month.
To Start with the cheetahs, Savannah, our local female has been doing really well, and has been seen regularly also making various kills this month, and she continues to impress us with her tenacious ability to pull down prey items such as full-grown male impala. This will bode well for her as she prepares to have her cubs… Yip, she has been showing us signs of her advanced pregnancy stages with her teat line getting bigger by the day. We are super stoked for her, and we wish her well for her last month of pregnancy.
The two Phinda males have for the most part been spending all their time in the north west of the park, and are also looking supreme, and seem to be ruling the north of the park. They are also almost never struggling to kill prey, as they seem to always be full bellied when we see them.
Our local lion pride have been acting rather weird this month, as on one occasion they ganged up on the Monomoholo male and inflicted bite wounds to his back legs, which put him out of action for a week or so, but he has fully recovered, and seems to have reinstated his dominance over the girls.
The Kwandwe male has been spending most of his time without Monomoholo in the north west looking after the Tchaba pride. This seems to be the boys way of keeping the females from both prides happy, and also making sure that there is dominant presence from these two brutes everywhere inside their now massive territory.
There is however a threat which is growing in power to the east. This comes in the form of the Kwandwe male’s sons… The Mahiwa brothers, which means “GIFT”, and are seemingly setting up territory in an aggressive fashion around the Vlei pan area and further eastwards towards the river, but every now and again are finding themselves wondering into the far eastern boundaries of their father’s territory, so we are very anxious to see how this story will pan out in the near future once these 3 young males will find their confidence and possibly come west to challenge Monomoholo and Kwandwe for the right to own the females.
They have also been absolute killing machines this month and have been responsible for killing on a regular occasion, and also brave enough to pull down even the strongest of adversaries, the old male buffalo.
The Mica Pride with its mix of experience and youth has given us some great photo opportunities. One fine morning we located on the pride at Vleisfontein, the old missionary station which is situated on the ancient ivory trade route between Mafikeng and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, and is now our park headquarters.
On arrival, the 2 youngest members of the pride, Boipelo and Bontle were in a jolly mood and for the next half hour, they entertained us with their acrobatics and power display which the photos will show you below.
On the other side of the waterhole was the legendary Mica female which is now over 17 years old !! Yeah, she is a living legend and is till looking as majestic as the first day I saw her almost 14 years ago for the first time.
Her teeth are still looking good, and as long as she can eat, she should be ok, especially as she has passed on her finely-honed hunting skills onto her daughters which will definitely be looking after this awesome lioness as long as they can.
General game in the area has been epic, as large herds of zebra and wildebeest are always great to see, as they fill up the blank spots between the predator sightings, and if you really sit and look at their behavior for a while, it can create some good photo opportunities.
Munye has been a little evasive this month and has had us pulling our hair out a little as he has been spending a lot of time to the west of the lodge in the rocky sections which we cannot access easily. However, we had one awesome tracking session on him this week, with me and Andre going out after breakfast to see if we could track him down for the afternoon safari. It was a successful attempt, and after about 3 hours we eventually found him chilling out and taking a siesta underneath a guarri bush trying to avoid the now intense sun.
On returning in the afternoon with our guests, he had not moved an inch, until much later where he headed out in search of his next meal.
We also had a great sighting of the ridge monster ! This guy is huge , and he was on one of the mountain slopes one morning, where we watched him carry his honey badger kill into the rocks to eat it in peace.
I unfortunately could not get any images of him, but we are excited that he made no attempt to run away from us as he usually does, so it seems like our persistent attempt at habituating him to the vehicles is paying off slowly, and we will not give up, until we have his trust in our pockets.
We also had a good sighting of a pair of ostriches that were presenting us with their brand-new offspring, and it was awesome to see the little chicks trying to keep up to their giant parents as they trundled down the road.
Rhino and elephant sightings are off the charts this month, as the heat of the midday gets them all down at the waterholes. The cacophony of mud splashing and baby elephants screaming for their mothers to open the front legs to free the teat is sometimes deafening while you are sitting in the hide only meters away from them at the lodge.
Out there in the bush, waterholes are a good place to get your fair share of paciderm bliss as the sunsets and or dramatic dust bathing will get your shutter burning up.
We have had awesome black rhino sightings too this month, and on many an occasion the feisty buggers have come to within meters of the vehicles as they show us why you do not want to bump into them on foot out here, stopping in a cloud of dust and then snorting before turning tail and disappearing into the distance with the sound of the bush cracking as they charge off.
There is also something about being in the presence of the gentle giants of Madikwe, in the form of the old elephant bulls, which just exude the immense enormity of the largest land-based mammal on this planet. When they get close to you, you will not believe the power they possess as they quietly walk past without a sound.
We also located on a giraffe which had died from natural causes, and had some lions feed on it before leaving it once it became a little too rancid for their liking. This gave the opportunity for the scavengers to move in and remove what was left. The stomachs of these beasts must be made of cast iron, as that rotting meat will put most of us mere mortals into the grave without a doubt. We are thankful for their role in the system as they can clean the environment of all the bacteria which could possibly otherwise create a disease outbreak here in the bush. Madikwe is one of the few places in South Africa, where you can find both the Brown and Spotted hyena living in harmony.
Well…. Until the rains come….
Catch you again next month….
Gavin and the T-Team.
Getting to Madikwe Game Reserve
Tuningi Rangers Journal September 2019
Dry, windy, dusty this is what u can expect if you come to Madikwe in September in October.
We had some amazing sightings this month and the guests enjoyed the experiences with us.
The summer is upon us and it is getting warmer and dryer and the waterholes are getting smaller as the animals are getting concentrated close to the waterholes.
The Mica pride in the south is doing very well and they gave us some memorable sightings this month. The two sub adults are growing stronger and always on the look out for prey and opportunities to hunt to impress the rest of the females in the pride.
The 2-male coalition Kwandwe and Monomoholo are regulars now in the South and they successfully took over the Mica pride. They are definitely the strongest coalition in Madikwe and most successful.
They are sharing feasts and mating with the Females
In the morning we are always out and about looking for fresh tracks. There is nothing more thrilling for a guide to see fresh tracks, especially lion tracks. It gets our blood pumping as guides and it’s a wonderful experience for the guest to see how we track, and doing what we do best. For us at Tuningi we take our tracking and finding animals very seriously.
Munye our resident male has been seen regularly this month and gave us real good show with plenty of good sightings. He is covering a huge area recently, hunting, patrolling and searching for females to mate with. He is really our golden Boy.
It’s always so wonderful and rewarding to see the expression on the guest’s faces the first time they see a Leopard. The holy grail of the big 5.
I am very proud to say that the new female cheetah is doing very well and looking better than ever. Looks like she loves the southern part of Madikwe where she has been seen many times.
She is a really good hunter and very successful, she is going to be a really good mother for her cubs. Imagine a cheetah female with cubs in Madikwe just wow can’t wait for that moment.
For the last couple of weeks, the 2 male cheetahs are patrolling and hunting very successfully here in the south and that’s a really good thing for us. The one reason may be …. Hint, hint …. yes you are right all to do with the female cheetah. These two boys just love termite mounts and using it for look out points for prey and scanning the horizon.
The pack of Wild dogs have not been seen for a couple of weeks because they are busy denning on the Tswene Tswene mountain exactly in middle part of madikwe. This is a very exited time for us and we can’t wait to see how many pups there are in the pack. Looking forward for our new pack that will be arriving end of December and hopefully bringing lots more Wild dog sightings.
We are so privileged to have a very active hyena den so close to our lodge. This clan of hyenas consist of 4 generations of young cubs and adults close to 6 individuals. Hyenas are always popular with guests just because they are such interesting animals. Hyenas got a very bad publicity because of the lion king that will stick with them for ever. Hyenas are very good hunters, better than lions, and are actuality ruled by a Queen with an iron throne in a matriarchal society. The females are much bigger than the males.
World Rhino day on 22 September celebrates all 5 species of rhino: Black, White, greater one horned, Sumatran and Javan rhinos. In Madikwe we have the black rhino and the white Rhino. The black rhino being the most elusive of them. Great effort goes in to keep them safe in madfikwe and Africa. They can live up to 45 years old and a white rhino can reach up to 2 tons and black rhino 1.4 tons. These animals are truly an African giant and iconic species of Africa.
The general game is not doing too bad either, considering how dry it is. The animals affected the most will be the browsers first because of the lack of leaves, especially the kudus. I can’t wait to see a beautiful kudu male browsing on succulent green leaves, and see madikwe green again. Let’s hope the rains are not far that madikwe the jewel of South Africa can transform again to the green Marico bushveld that we all love.
Thats all for this month Folks,
Regards,
Andre and the T-Team
Hyena Facts You Didn’t Know
Tuningi Ranger’s Journal August 2019
The windy month in the bush has been living up to its name, with the days starting out nice and serene, and then around our coffee breaks on the morning safari, we get exposed to the trade winds which are characteristic of this time of year. This sends dust into the air…and our eyes… lol…. But also creates some awesome sunrises and sunsets. The general game don’t like the wind much, and seem to get all bunched up in a tiny huddle, as they cannot hear the predators coming, and the opposite happens for the predators, in that the wind will help them with masking their smell and sounds when they go after their prey.
Otherwise the bush is really getting dry at the moment, and will get even worse in the next 2 months. Waterholes are always busy, and have been giving us some awesome elephant action shots as they enjoy themselves in the mud. The mud also helps them to cool down, helps as a sunscreen and also irritates the parasites on their skin, so it is kind of like a day spa for elephants.
The female cheetah which was released a few months ago is doing extremely well, and she has been mating with the 2 males in the north west of the park a while ago, so we are all holding our breaths to see if she will get pregnant and give us our first cheetah cubs in more than 15 years in Madikwe. Besides that, she is also stretching her legs, and is travelling huge distances, primarily in the south of the park, and is covering around 15 km in a single night on occasion.
The south pride of lions have been slowly getting more exposure to the brutes from the north west, and have started accepting them as their new kings, and we hope that One of the Jamala females will come into oestrus soon, and possibly give us some new cubs before the end of the year.
The north pride has been doing really well, and have been making up the bulk of our lion sightings this month. The 2 sub-adults have what seems to be never ending energy levels as they stalk, pounce and jump on each other as they hone their hunting skills.
The 3 Mahiwa males who have now left their mother and are going solo in the south east of the park are becoming seriously impressive, and we have been seeing them more often as it seems as if they are trying to displace the Lone Modimo male, who is also been seen with the south pride females on the odd occasion. So In the near future things could heat up and the 3 strong Mahiwa boys will probably come up on top soon.
One morning we also found the Mahiwa males lazing around Melorane pan after having a drink, when a brown hyena pitched up. The brown did not realise that one of the lions was stalking him, and we thought that the poor guy was toast… But, as the lion pounced the brown hyena gave an almighty shrill sound and the lion stopped in his tracks, giving the frightened hyena time to make his hasty retreat. To live another day.
Munye, our resident male leopard has been super scarce this month, and we have not been seeing him as often as we would like, but there is also more signs of that new female which has been making her presence felt after the void that Tsala left a couple months ago. We are in the process of trying to habituate her to the vehicles, and it seems like it wont be as easy as we thought, as she is still very weary of our vehicles.
The wild dogs are still denning in the Tshwene mountain complex, and should be about to leave their safe house shortly, and hopefully we will see the puppies running with the adults soon.
Other good news on the wild dog front, is that we have acquired a new pack. 3 Females from Hluluwe (Natal) and 5 males from Tswalu(Cape) that are to be introduced into a boma/holding facility and will be in there for some time, as we try and bond them to create a new pack. Then we should have our quota of 2 packs in Madikwe once more.
The hyena den in the south west, has been producing some amazing sightings, and we now have seen 4 generations of cubs that are 8, 4,3,and 2 months old. The cute factor is crazy, and their bear-like appearance is startling. Which is in fact the truth… Yes, hyenas are more closely related to bears than any other animal.
The cubs are super curious when the adult are around, and will come right up close to the vehicle to inspect its passengers, but are equally skittish if the adults are not at the den on a particular day.
The playful antics of the cubs can sometimes be rough, which is the way that they are forcing their birthrights over less hierarchal cubs, as you are born with your rank. So if your mother has a very high rank in the clan system, you as the cub automatically inherit that particular status and rank.
We also has another rhino die of natural causes at the beginning of the month, and also gave us some great opportunities to photograph these awesome animals, and I always try my best to dispel any myths that hyenas are always the “baddies” of the African Savannas .
The general game sightings this month are always incredible this time of the year, as they congregate around waterholes, and inevitably there will always be a predator not far from them, lying in wait to secure their next meal.
So next time, if you are planning your trip to Tuningi…. August and September are cracker months to see all that Madikwe has to offer !!
Thats it for this month…
Regards,
Gavin and the T-Team
Wildlife Highlights from 2019 (so far)
Ranger’s Journal July 2019
Hello again from a rather chilly July here at Tuningi….
Yip… temperatures have been warm for the most part of July, but the last week or so has seen the real winter come back to Madikwe, and has made the fireplaces in the lodge the place to be while sipping on a warm sherry.
So, let’s get into this month’s sightings highlights.
Lets start with the cheetahs… our newly released female has been doing extremely well, and has made a few kills on her own, and seems to be staying out of trouble with the larger predators, and is moving quite a bit in the southern section of the park, and we hope that the 2 boys will pay her a visit soon…
The boys on the other hand have as always been very productive, and have been making many kills this month, and it seems like very time we see them, they are lazing about in the warm afternoon sun, digesting their hard earned meals.
Munye has also made a lot of appearances this month, and the highlight was when he managed to kill a duiker and hoist it high into a leadwood tree. He was also super lazy, and ,did not really want us to take any photos of his beauty, as he hid behind a twig…
Otherwise he has been doing a lot of territory patrolling, and was heard using his hard rasping call to get the attention of what seems to be a new female on the block. Yes, a new female has moved into the area that Tsala used to own, and this is exciting us as rangers, but has been difficult to lay eyes on, and we are hoping that Munye will teach her some manners in not running away from us…
The trend of lazing around was also very prominent one morning as we came across a troop of baboons at the park admin area. They were soaking up all the warmth they could get from the sun on their rocky perches, and the guests always love the baby baboons as they are always bringing the cute factor out.
We also had a great experience one morning as 2 male white rhinos were settling a territorial dispute at one of the waterholes, and seemed as if it could last forever, as they pushed each other around for some time, but not before kicking dust up into the air giving us a chance to get some great shots !
We also located on a new den site for our clan of hyenas in the south, and it seems to have 3 generations of cubs, so this should give us some amazing insights into the lives of these misunderstood beasts. Hopefully we should have more photos and news in the next report.
As far as our local pride goes, the females are still struggling to come to grips with the idea that Kwandwe and Monomoholo are the new kings in their territory !
The girls have been trying to avoid these two kings with intent, but the old girl, the Mica female finally started showing the rest of the females that this is the way it is going to be, and that they should accept the new power and genes that is this powerful coalition.
The rhino that died of natural causes a while ago has now finally all been consumed… yep… almost nothing left !!
It did give some awesome time spent with the scavengers that included, vultures, jackals, and both brown and spotted hyenas.
That’s it for this month….
Stay Warm…
Regards,
Gavin and the T-Team.
Kids Activities at Tuningi
Tuningi Ranger’s Journal June 2019
It has been an amazing month, with incredible sightings and wonderful people.
Winter is now in full swing. We have had some bitterly cold mornings and evenings, but the thin, crisp, clear air produced spectacular sights. With the sun setting fire to Africa, we can truly appreciate winter for what it brings.
The introduction of the new female cheetah was successful. She is still being monitored by her satellite collar but we have found her on a few occasions the old fashioned way, tracking.
She was also found on a kill and her future in Madikwe looks promising.
She has been in contact with the two males in the north west of the park as she is exploring her new home. Unfortunately we did. not see this interaction, but we assume it went well.
We found the males one afternoon after they got her scent, oh man, they were running and calling around like I’ve never experienced before, but in the end only found each other.
One evening after a successful cheetah tracking, we stopped at Tlou Dam to take in a beautiful sunset and in the last light we saw Wild Dogs approaching the dam. That in itself would have been amazing but then an unfortunate impala came for its last drink. The dogs chased it for a short distance and the impala leaped into the water for safety. The water was shallow enough for the dogs and they made a very quick, easy kill.
The Alpha female wild dog is denning in one of the den sites in the mountain in the middle of the park. Within a couple of months we should see how successful they were with pups.
The pride of lions from the south spend more time in our area as the males that took over the area were pre-occupied with their other pride in the north.
We saw them a few times and twice on a kill.
One afternoon we saw about 60 vultures spread out in trees and knew something big was dead. After some searching we unfortunately found a dead Rhino. The area was closed and investigated. The next day we got the good news that it was a natural death.
For more than a week we had vulture and hyena activity in that area.
The same hyenas sniffed out a zebra that died in the mud at a waterhole close by. One particular hyena was determined to get the remains out of the mud.
Our luck has also changed with leopard sightings as Munye made his appearance a few times.
A leopard in a tree! What more can we ask for?
Only a few waterholes have water and are struggling to keep up with the animals needs. But around the available water we get to see some great interaction between animals.
Thank you to everyone that enjoyed all of these amazing sightings and more with me.
Kind regards
Cornelius and the T-Team.
South Africa Safari Itinerary under 10 days
Madikwe Game Reserve Winter Safari Guide
In general, the seasons in South Africa are the reverse to the Northern Hemisphere. The summer months fall between October and March. The winter months in South Africa fall from May to August. September is considered Spring and April, Autumn. Continue reading “Madikwe Game Reserve Winter Safari Guide”