Category: Ranger’s Journal

Welcome to all our bush loving fans once again….

This month has been hectic !!

So here goes….

We will Kick off with the annual “WALK FOR RHINO’S DAY”, the second of its kind in Madikwe.

This fundraising event , focuses on the rhinos, and with the current state of affairs of rhino poaching statistics whereby we are still losing almost 3 rhino per day in South Africa due to illegal poaching, these magnificent creatures need all the support they can get.

The day starts with an opening ceremony held by the park management, and then all who attended continue on to do a 5km walk for the rhinos of Madikwe. Walking through the bush with our Counter poaching unit making the area safe, with many drinks stations on route, our guests even managed to bump into a black rhino and her calf along the way which was extremely fitting to the occasion.

Once you reach the end of the walk, there are many food and drink stalls available to quench the thirst and kill the hunger after some good exercise. A display by the counter poaching unit was also put on for some light entertainment and the neighboring community members also adding to this amazing vibe by singing traditional songs all the way through.

All the funds raised through the auctions, and donations from guests and the participation fees all go straight into the trust fund which has been created for Madikwe specifically, and will be most needed to acquire some equipment for our own counter poaching unit who spend most of their days out in the bush day and night, risking their lives to protect our natural heritage !!

WELL DONE TO ALL THAT MADE THIS DAY A HUGE SUCCESS !!

IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO DONATE ANY FUNDS INTO THE TRUST ACCOUNT PLEASE DON’T HESITATE TO CALL US OR SEND US A MESSAGE ON FACEBOOK FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO DO IT.

YOUR CONTRIBUTION COULD SAVE A RHINOS LIFE !!

So lets get into the bush grapevine…

The lion prides here in the south are doing extremely well.

The Matlapa female and her 3 male cubs seem to be past the most vulnerable stage of their young lives, and mom seems to be feeding them on a regular basis, as she is very successful in providing for her cubs.She did however come into contact with one of the nomadic males called the Cabo males, as you can see on her right cheek. This happened one morning as she tried to defend her zebra kill from him, but to no avail, as he stole her prize breakfast. This turned out to be a good thing, as he was more interested in the kill than going after the young cubs.

There is a bit of sad news, in that the old Mica female from the south east pride seems to have lost her cubs as reported last month. We are not sure how, but I would guess that being very old now, that she seems to not be overly motivated to care for which could possibly be her last set of cubs in her lifetime. She has raised many cubs successfully over the years, and is still a legend in her own right !!

The best news is that we recently have located the daughter of the old girl…the Jamala female with 2 brand new cubs that are around 1 month old now, and are super cute. The Chimbro male has been on guard around the den site, and he seems very chuffed with his new arrivals.

The other Jamala female is also doing very well, and is raising her 2 cubs very nicely, and have been on many kills this month including a big buffalo kill.

So the report last month from the situation with the Kwandwe male from the north who lost his brother in a fight a couple months ago seems to be getting over his injuries too, and even killed a young buffalo all on his own one morning. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to the 2 Bakgatla males that killed his brother when he gets back to full power…..

We also had a very interesting sighting with the Bafefo male, and a paralyzed wildebeest one morning…..We came across the drag marks for this wildebeest in the south, and decided to track it to see where it ended, and to our huge surprise the poor thing had dragged itself for about 2 kilometers to water and then back to the rest of the herd. But as we tracked the wildebeest we also noticed that there was a male lion track on top of the drag marks !!

Yip, as we located the wildebeest, the Bafefo male was sitting there with the wildebeest and they were giving each other a good stare down…

You would think that the lion would take the gift on offer without even thinking, but as it turned out this went on for the whole day. As soon as the wildebeest turned and dragged itself towards the rest of the herd, the lion gave chase, but the wildebeest then turned around to face the lion, and he stopped… !!Again and again this played out, and after a few hours of waiting for the kill, the same actions repeated themselves, and we soon had to get back to the lodge. The next morning we followed up and the inevitable had happened and Bafefo was enjoying his meal. This was a very rare exhibition from this massively powerful male lion !!

We also came across a pair of ostriches on the plains, that had successfully raised 3 chicks to a reasonable sub-adult size, and this was a first for me in Madikwe, as you do find the adults with a bunch of chicks as they have hatched, but to see 3 of them making it to this size was pretty impressive. Ostrich chicks get predated on by various predators, and like a have said, I have never seen them get to this size which is awesome news !!

Tsala, our resident leopardess has been rather scarce this month, but she did display her agility in the trees one morning as she was found on one of her territory patrolling missions. She is looking good, and we are still awaiting for her to become pregnant and show us some cubs again !!

The wild dogs and cheetahs have also been very scarce this month, spending most of their time in the east of the park, making us drive long distances to see them, but we did have our share of some good hyena action, and them calling around the lodge on most nights !!

Hopefully next month we can have a few more sightings of them.

I am going to conclude this months newsletter with some images of the wedding of Chris and Melanie, which was an absolute blast, and what an amazing group of people which opened up their hearts and pockets by donating a lot of toys, equipment and clothes to the local village’s pre-primary school which brought out many a smile to the youngsters who must have thought that Christmas had come early !!

Ok…. So that’s it….

We hope to see you at Tuningi soon….

All the best…

Gavin and the T-Team !!

Good Day Everyone,

We have had a wonderful month out in the African bush. We hope everyone who stayed with us in August had a great time, may you be back soon. It’s been very warm for August and the winds have been kid to us. There has been the occasional cold front but nothing to write home about. September looks like it’s going to be nice and warm but it’s advised to still bring layers as we are bound to be surprised by at least one last cold front.

 

The Buffalo have been doing well after the resent TB testing and they have relaxed again with the vehicles. We were disputing long and hard on how many there were in this, the kids decided 200 so we went with it. They might seem like big cows, but to us they have so much character. Their nick name is not Black Death for nothing…

They are the only animal that looks at you as if you owe them money…

We have seen the Cheetahs a few times and they are looking healthy and as beautiful as ever. From all the talk around the park, we gather that all six of them are still healthy and doing well. The female did decide one morning that she had enough of the boys and left  Madikwe. After a morning of running around the Park Management managed to locate her and bring her back safely.

The Elephants ate to be seen everywhere. This afternoon was just magical and we had to share it with you. The setting sun accompanied with very busy Elephants around Thlou dam made for wonderful viewing.

This month has been particularly good for Leopard viewing as Tsala and Munye came out to show them.

This was Munye on Ophir plains strolling around looking for something to eat.

Tsala, on thr other hand, was already successful in hunting and was just lying around eating. The ultimate Leopard sighting.

She did move it around from time o time to get a better position on the meat. I haven’t seen Gavin so proud of his girlfriend in a long time, it is a very big Impala.

There is good and bad news on the Lion front. We have is discovered a brand spanking new cub, which looks like the Micas. We hope the little thing pulls through. We have not yet been able to get a photo of her, mommy keeps her well hidden. The rest of the pride though are eating well and thriving with the stability the Chimbro and Bafefo males have brought to the area.

We might even see more cubs soon enough. This is what happens when the honeymoon ends…

So for the bad news. We recently heard that one of the Kwandwe males have been killed in a territorial dispute with other males. The limping one is the one that has passed. The bigger male got away and has been sen moving around better and recovering from his injuries. This is unfortunately the fate of every male Lion, fight for every inch until you can’t fight no more. RIP Kwandwe.

This is the last picture we have of him in better days.

Well that’s all folks. Hope to see you soon and if we don’t – take care of yourselves.

With kind bush regards Jacques and the T-Team.

A STAR HAS FALLEN

A tribute to the Naledi Male

The Last of the Naledi ( Which means STAR in Tswana) Male lion coalition has died.He seems to have died from a possible fight from other male lions, and was discovered yesterday in the north of the reserve by one of the field guides.

The Naledi male was an absolute legend in Madikwe, and I myself knew him and his brother from when they were just more than 2 ½ years old when they were kicked out of their natal territory in the north west of the park, some 10 years ago…..

The Naledi males came from a very powerful family, which were the Dithaba and Sepedi Males as their fathers and the Tshaba female being their mother, which in their own rights also were legend lions of Madikwe.

The Naledi males were born on the 15^th of October 2004, and lived a full life as far as male lions in the wild are concerned.

The two brothers after leaving their natal pride in 2007 went in pursuit of their own piece of real estate, and did not take them long before settling down in the east of the reserve where they had some success in taking over the Mica pride which resided along the Groot Marico river on the eastern boundary of the park for a couple of years before being pressured by other males from the north.

The Mica pride and the Naledi coalition then started moving westward towards the Vlei pan area where they settled down for most of their life, fathering cubs and being very successful at hunting and by now were in the prime of their lives!

They then were pushed further west by their nemesis’s, the Kgala and Etali males and settled down once again with the very Loyal Mica Pride females which did not want anything to do with the Kgala/Etali males.

Then came the introduction of 2 new males from the Kwandwe Reserve in the eastern cape towards the end of 2013, and this is when the Naledi males started having their fairytale lives turn upside down.

On one rainy day I witnessed the Kwandwe and the Naledi males having a serious fight with the power of their roars resonating through the bush as they chased each other at high speed all over the Vlei pan area. I lost sight of the 4 males, and the result the following week we realized that one of the Naledi males was not going to return….. We never found his body.

The Naledi did not give up his pride though even after losing his brother, but life was never going to be the same, as he now had nobody to back him up in fights with the new threat….

He managed to hold his territory for some time, before the inevitable had to happen and become ousted from the area by the Kwandwe males, which were by now looking really strong.

So after been kicked from his territory, he became nomadic as males do when they lose their territory, but it was not long before he found yet another lease on life….. He joins up with the much younger Monomoholo male, which is unheard of in the lion game… So once again his fighting spirit comes back, and has a renewed vigor on life and the two of them settle down in the far south west of the park for a short while, and even giving the Kwandwe males something to think about by chasing them further north, so avenging his brother to a small degree….

So after all the dust settled the, the two new best friends left the south west and marched up into the north eastern parts of the park where they started to engage with the dominant Lenyalo males that were established there.

The two of them caused much havoc up there with a mix of experienced war commander and brave new warrior forcing the females in the area to become very confused as to the happenings of this phenomenon !!

The two of them managed to settle in that area for some time, but the signs of old age had now started showing on the old guy, and soon started losing condition, but the Monomoholo male did come to his aid a few times making a kill or two for him to gain back some energy.

Naledi’s lust for life eventually ran out, and as most old males die, we presume he had been attacked by other male lions, and so his STAR HAD FALLEN……

R.I.P NALEDI….

YOU WILL BE MISSED !!

I leave you with some memorable images of the LEGEND that was The Naledi Male.

R.I.P. NALEDI

15 October 2004 – 17 July 2016

A good day to all of Tuningi and Madikwe fans out there.

 

It is very chilly out in Madikwe at the moment with cold fronts seemingly rolling in and out weekly. We hope that at the time of reading this you are very comfy and warm. If you are coming to Tuningi in the coming months we urge you to bring enough and proper warm clothes with as the morning and evening game drives can get very cold. So with all the proper warning out of the way lets get to the animals.

This month I am doing a little something different. I will be giving you all a proper update on most of the Lions in Madikwe. The different prides and how they fit in with the male coalitions and some of the changes that has happened in recent times and how it effects the dynamics in certain prides.

In the map above there are color outlines that represent the male Lion coalitions in the park.

The Red outlined area are the territory of the Chimbro and Befefo males. This is the area we operate in mostly. These three males have recently taken this area over from the Kwandwe males. The Kwandwe males are the Blue outlined area. They have since moved north. The pride of females with the Chimbro and Befefo males are the Mica and Jamala females. They are four females with two cubs. They use to have two Matlapa females with them but they moves north since they have three cubs with the Kwandwe males. We are still unsure what will happen in the future regarding this pride since the Matlapa females are the Mica females daughters and might want to rejoin. Interesting times ahead for this pride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Kwandwes, Blue block,  have been pushed north and have moved on fairly peacefully. They have the Sebaba Bolakega pride in that area. They are three females and their two year old sons, the Kabo males, have been chased out to be nomadic. They have been seen around the south western corner of the park over the past week. They have no cubs at the moment but the Kwandwe males have mated with two of the females.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Purple block belongs to the Modimo males. They are still young males but are making a name for themselves. The refuse to back off from a fight and will do anything to keep their small peace of the park. They have the Kwena pride with them. They have four females and two young boys in the pride. They are mostly in the purple block but have been seen to wonder away and explore. They are a pretty stable pride and we expect them to be dominant in there area for quite some time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Green block is where all the action have been of late. Many of you that have been to Tuningi before would remember the Naledi male, The Troll as we affectionately call him. He was nomadic for a few years after being kicked out of his area by the Kwandwe males and basically left to die.On many occations we thought “this time is the last time we will see him” and then he always came back stronger. He eventually met up with a younger male called Munamogoeloe. They formed a coalition and moved east. They came into contact with the Linyalo males that was dominant in the green block. The old man with his young backup won the fight and the Linyalo males ran for the hills. They are still spotted in the area from time to time but they are staying clear from trouble. The female pride is the Kitemetsi and Matata pride. Also four females with two sub adults. Kitemetsi is the oldest female in the park at 15 years old. We saw the Naledi a couple of days ago and he is looking in bad shape again. Once again we said this will be the last time. Only time will tell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you have enjoined all the Lion information. All the best and till we see again, farewell.

 

Kind Regards Jacques and the T-Team

 

Winter is approaching and the cold is slowly making it’s way into our bones but with a bit of perseverance and luck we had very nice sightings.

With only the one pack of Wild dog roaming the reserve, the whole park is their territory. As a result, on several occasions we had to travel further than usual to see them.

 

In the past few months the dogs have specialized in catching kudu and we occasionally saw them chasing like crazy as they do but never saw an actually kill. However, the times we did see them eat, we were merely minutes too late to see them take down their dinner. Its still very exciting to watch them, in whatever they are doing, with all 9 pups almost a year old.

On one of the early excursions to hunt for the dogs, I spotted a leopard in a tree. It was the perfect leopard pose in the perfect leopard tree.

Just as the sun was rising she got up and started moving. We got to spend good time with her as she was on the hunt. The moment she noticed something in the distance she would climb a tree to spot what she was after.

She did chase after a Steenbok but missed.

Other than that, Leopards were very scarce this month. They continue to remain an elusive treat.

With the rain we had a couple of months ago, the south of the park is full of life. Most of the waterholes still have water and there’s green grass all over.

The incredible elephants were definitely not scarce and could be found all over the reserve. With heaps of youngsters in the herds, guests were provided with hours of entertainment.

 

We have had good lion sightings but they did not make it easy for us! On one of our hunts for the lions, we spent almost 2 hours tracking them, both on foot and in the vehicle. It is always a spectacular experience for guests to be part of the whole tracking and finding experience.

The females with the cubs were hiding very well and we only saw on rare occasions, but they are all still alive and well.

The Chimbro males from the south still amaze us at their movements. They travel massive distances at night to get to the females or to mark their territory. They gave us quite the job in trying to relocate them after a night of walking.

All the Cheetahs are moving and exploring their still relatively new home. The two pairs of males move all over the park and we try to see them whenever they are close enough. After the female was released she moved east and was seen on her first Scrub Hare kill.

As this month came to an end we finally got to see another leopard, and wow, what a sighting it was!

A guest spotted the leopard in the ground, yes; Munye was in a hole. He is a very relaxed male leopard that stays far south in the park. He popped in and out of the hole a few times, digging like crazy. We thought he was digging out a Warthog, however I was so happy to be wrong.

It was a Porcupine!!

This was my first Porcupine sighting in Madikwe!

It took the dazed leopard a few seconds to come out the hole, injured and surprised with a quill stuck in his mouth. After he got that out, he was focused on the prize.

He made short work of it and killed the porcupine. Another first for me, my first leopard kill!!!

The leopard then dragged its well-deserved meal to a thick bush and enjoyed every last bit of it.

These kind of sightings are the ones that motivate us to go out and try again and again.

What a way to end the month?!?!

Come visit and experience this and more with us.

Regards

Cornelius and the T-Team

 

A warm welcome to all our fans once again…..

So this month the season is changing leaving behind the sweaty foreheads and cold beers, for scarves, beanies and gluhwein.

Yip… winter has kicked in, and after all the flash floods of last month, some normality has returned to this beautiful place called Madikwe.

So we kick off with the most awesome news, in that we have acquired another female cheetah which is currently in the boma in the south undergoing a habituation process, and hopefully she will be released in the next week or so, which will no doubt create some excitement among the males which have now settled in their areas of the park with 2 males in the north and the other 2 hanging around the south.

Hopefully the males will pick up her scent shortly, and give us the gift we have all been waiting for so long…. A female cheetah which is pregnant !!

Talking about the male cheetahs, they have given us some great sightings this month, and the highlight being when we followed them on a hunt, and witnessing first hand their blistering speed to catch a young zebra before our very eyes !!

The rains of last month have also filled all the seasonal pans, which has got all the paciderms all happy, and giving them the chance to enjoy their favorite past time that is mud bathing.

The elephants also have enjoyed getting the weight off of their feet by indulging in a swim or two, and their playful antics seem to come to the fore around these mud spas.

After a cold front that rolled in one morning, the resulting mist also created a very moody atmosphere as we followed one of the Jamala females and the Bafefo male as they seemed to be on a serious mission intent on going somewhere quick….

They after about 2 hours of following them through the mist shrouded bush lead us to the cubs, which had anticipated their return, commencing with a greeting ceremony which will leave you speechless for the affection that the cubs have for their mother.

The other interesting news as far as the king of the jungle goes, is that a pride called the “Kwena Pride”, were found one morning in the south west of the park at Tau dam, which is completely opposite in direction to the prides original territory, and they seemed to be quite at home in the new space, as we watched them hunting zebra around Tau dam and unfortunately missing on two occasions.

 

The Kwandwe males which are the fathers of the cubs mothered by the Matlapa female have also had their paws full, as they are now having to travel north and south of the ridge to protect their offspring situated in the north west as well as here in the south west.

This has not gone unnoticed, as the Chimbro and Bafefo males have picked up on the cubs of late, and has forced the Matlapa females to abandon their native territory for now to seek asylum in the areas which the Kwandwe males are spending most of their time.

The lion prides have also made many kills this month, and the resulting interaction between the scavengers at the carcasses has been welcome, as we don’t get to see many vultures at these kill sites, especially as they tussle with jackals to get the best of the remaining bits of red gold stuck to the bones…

The wild dogs have been pretty scarce again this month, and were seen at the lodge one afternoon, as they went about their business of finding food to feed their puppies, which are doing really well, and even helping in the hunting process.

The alpha female does not seem to have come into her annual estrus cycle as yet, so no efforts are being made by them to look for a suitable denning area. This could change, as they can fall pregnant anywhere up till the end of July, so we hold thumbs that she does get pregnant.

 

The leopard sightings haven’t been as amazing as they should this month due to the heavy rains and over abundant growth of long grass, making spotting the elusive cats a little more difficult.

Tsala, has been seen a few times, and as was reported in February does not seem that her mating ritual with the big ridge male seems not to have ignited into a positive pregnancy, so maybe she will come into estrus again soon, and make sure of the connection this time….She has also showed us why leopards are the most comfortable in climbing tress, and made it look as if it is a piece of cake….

However, a male leopard called “Munye”, who originally comes from the north east of the park has been spotted down here in the south west, much to our amazement, and he has grown into somewhat of a very handsome man, in that he has put on some serious bulk in the last year or so as we looked at some comparison images from 2 years ago.

He is extremely relaxed, and seems also to have what looks like a scratch from another leopard in a fight, which could be a territorial dispute with another male, or even a mating session with Tsala!!

That would be the best news, and we hope he stays for a little longer, but we fear that he may push Samson out of his comfort zone, and force him to leave the area.

We also had a very memorable experience on the airstrip one evening when the most amazing sunset and dusty air kicked up by zebras having a play fight created some awesome moments as the resulting images show….

So… why not plan your own most memorable safari in Africa, and book now at Tuningi to have the best time in our humble lodge we call home…..

Regards,

Gavin and the T-Team

Once again we had a great month, complete with it’s ups and downs. The biggest plus was all the rain we have received, most of it in one day, but we will take rain anyday.

The month started well, we had great sightings and wonderful drives… but we desperately needed rain.

And did we get rain! It started with a few quick showers but then in the middle of the month we had more rain in a day than what we had the whole of last year! It looked crazy, spectacular and scary all at the same time. There were rivers flowing down valleys that had been dry and water filled all the holes, dams and pans.

The animals are always there, we just need to find them. So with all the fresh greenery around we had to spend a bit more time searching for the wildlife. Tracking was also a lot more difficult due to the harder soil, but we managed.

We also experienced a wonderful variety of sightings. But it almost does not matter how much we see, it’s just such a relief to see Madikwe lush and green again.

The bird life has exploded! All the breeding birds got their pretty colors and long tails and are exercising their displays.

The two new male cheetahs have been released and they are looking great. We have had excellent sightings of them as they find their feet and explore their new home. They were also seen making their first kill, so they are settling in very well.

We really struggled to locate and observe the Wild Dogs. We tracked them for two days through a third of the park but we eventually found them which was a massive relief.

The local pride of lions is doing very well with the males protecting their young cubs. The Matlapa female still has her 3 cubs but we do not see them very often, as she is moving to keep them safe.

The Jamala female likes to show her two cubs, often in the presence of the males.

As usual, there is never a dull moment in the bush! From droughts to flooding in a matter of hours, new cats and beautiful birds… Tuningi and its surrounds continues to amaze us.

Come visit us and experience all of this and more.

Kind Regards

Cornelius and the T-Team

 

 

A very hot welcome to all our fans once again from a greener Madikwe after some much needed rainfall in the last month.

So, we have had some rain, but nothing to write home about, but it has provided some relief to the scorched landscape this month with temperatures reaching 40+ degrees on many days.

Anyway…. Lets get you straight into the action….

The Jamala lioness was in a seek and destroy mode this week, and we were lucky enough to witness one of those special occasions as we sat watching her stalking a herd of zebra for over 2 hours before she made her move, resulting in some tough luck for this young zebra who could not overcome the speed at which she attacked the herd. Sightings like this don’t come around very often, and we as rangers who spend 8 hours a day out in the bush only get to see lions killing maybe once or twice a year !!

 

This Lionesses sister has also had some luck, but of a very different kind.

She has shown us 2 brand new cubs, and the Chimbro males who dominate the eastern pride were extremely chuffed to see their offspring after she introduced the cubs to the protectors of their territory. So we now have a total of these two from the east pride, and 4 from the west pride….. lets hope they are going to all pull through …..

 

On one occasion, while the Kwandwe males were visiting the north pride, the Chimbro males did decide to come in on an incursion one mrning, and created some chaos for the west prides females, as they chased them for more than 3 hours up and down the center of their territory, possibly looking for their cubs, and on a mission to try and destroy them. Luckily the females pulled a fast one on them, and they managed to lose the males, and stemmed their interest in the whole chase.

 

We did have a spectacular morning at Inkwe Pan as the 2 Matlapa females brought their cubs for a drink after enjoying a full belly of wildebeest earlier that morning. It is an awesome sight to see the lioness carrying that young cub, and the pure instinct that goes into action forcing that tiny body to go limp once those massive canines wrap around that tiny throat.

 

We did not have too many sightings of the wild dogs or the 2 cheetah brothers this month, as they spent most of the time in the far east of the reserve, but Tsala did not disappoint, as she made various appearances this month, keeping the jaws dropping on the back of the land cruisers with her beauty and guile. She was spotted by us mating at the beginning of the month with a monster of a male, which we unfortunately don’t get to see that often because of his shyness to vehicles. S if all went well she should be having cubs around the beginning of May, so stay tuned for that one !!!

 

So…. That was that for the big ones, but we also had a great month as far as the rest goes with awesome sightings of elephants and their calves, rhinos having a massive fight, and a musth bull elephant, which got too close for comfort on more than one occasion.

 

Not to mention some amazing experiences with the more elusive black rhinos, which have a knack of running towards the vehicle with head held high and snot flying everywhere as they stop the hearts of the guests on the vehicle before turning in a puff of dust, making a quick retreat after realizing that we are a threat to him….

The buffalo herds are also doing extremely well, and are peaking with new births as the calves are welcomed into a green world for the mean time.

 

Then there was another sighting of zebra having a fight and elephants mud bathing at the same waterhole one afternoon, which was special in its own right. There was mud flying from every elephant in the mud hole, and dust rising in the background, as the zebras were testing each others fighting skills.

 

Well, that’s it in a nutshell for this month, so if you keen on coming to join us out here in this place we call home……

Make that booking soon…..

Wishing you all a very positive and fruitful march….

Until next time….

Regards,

Gavin and the T-Team !!

A warm and rainy welcome is what we received for the start of 2016.

We have had some great sightings as usual but the rain made the bush a tad quiet at times. The wonderful thing about rain is that it brings life back into the wild. The bush is green, all the little creatures that were missing in the dry winter are back and with so many babies!

There are so many little reptiles coming back. It is great to see the leopard tortoises back; they always bring a smile to everyone. Cornelius had the perfect photo opportunity with this little guy.

I am sure everyone wants to know how it is going with our little Lion cubs and Wild Dog pups. Well they are all just fine and very healthy. We have seen very little of the Dogs as they have been exploring the park with the pups. The Lion cubs are doing great and mom Matlapa is doing a fantastic job. The 3 boys are getting bigger and braver each day.

Her sister has also had cubs. They are a week old and she is still hiding them from us.

The Leopards have treated us well. Tsala and Samson even had a kill each less than 500 meters away from each other. There is also news that Monje, a beautiful young male from the east has been spotted in our area. All in all, the leopards are doing very well.

 

With the rain come the greenery and the beautiful flowers. We have had all the Lillie’s flower over the past month, the grass is growing and all the trees are also flowering.

We hope to see all of you soon. The drinks are on ice and the animals are waiting.

Kind bush regards,

Jacques and the T-team