Category: Tuningi Safari Lodge

Well… the festive season is but a memory and life in the bush continues in its vibrant and action packed ways here in the Madikwe game reserve.

This month has provided us with some awesome sightings, and is a photographers dream with all the saturated greens and blues of the bush and sunny skies, intermissioned by the odd thunderstorm adding a little drama to the backdrop of this splendid reserve we call home.

Lets start off with the Hyena den that has given us some enjoyable moments as the 4 cubs came out every morning and afternoon to get some fresh air and feed off their amazingly caring mother just meters from the vehicles. Hyenas utilize old aardvark or warthog burrows, and will raise their cubs in the dens safety until they are around 4  months old, while the rest of the clan members will go off hunting, and bring back parts of their kills to the den where the cubs will feed.

 

 

The lion prides in the area are feeling some serious pressure from the Kwandwe males who are now really asserting their presence in the territory of the Old boy… the Naledi male and is feeling underpowered without his brother that the Kwandwe males had killed 2 months ago. This is causing the females to run far into the west, and they have been giving us grey hairs trying to figure out their new walking patterns. This is probably because they are scared of the fact that the Kwandwe males could kill their cubs, but this is how it works in the lion world… any cubs less than around 6 months old will be killed in a pride takeover, which brings the females back into oestrus as soon as possible, so that the newer stronger males can get their genes into the system as soon as possible before been forced out again by newcomers.

The Mica pride consisting of 2 adult females and 3 sub-adults are not feeling the pressure as much as the Jamal, or Bulaya prides, and one of the Mica femles has been seen mating with one of the Kwandwe males, so the new boys have succeeded in their mission of gaining access to females, and the newborn cubs are to be expected 110 days from now, which is exciting news.

The Wild Dogs are as usual creating large amounts of carnage in the south of the park, as they go about their highly efficient means of hunting, and are killing regularly. Their favorite prey item at the moment seems to be the poor old wildebeest, and we witnessed no less than 8 kills this month. This is what Madikwe is very famous for, and it is great to have them bring out the emotions as we chase them on the hunt everyday. Hopefully the alpha pair will be bonding shortly, as the mating time is around the corner, and then it is going to be a painful wait, as we will have to once again try to locate their lair when it is time to give birth to the next generation.

The 5 male Cheetahs in the park now have promise of a female !!

Yes, we have acquired a female for the boys, and she has been put into a holding facility for a while, as we need to habituate her. She was found in the surrounding areas outside of the park, and was captured and brought into Madikwe. This is great news, and it seems as if she was sent by the Cheetah gods, because I think our boys are starting to look at each other in a funny way, if you know what I mean…

We have even seen the single male a couple of times this month, and on one occasion he was located on a freshly killed waterbuck in the north of the park. He seems to be doing fine without his brother which we think was killed by lions or the other 4 males.

The 4 cheetah brothers have been spending a lot of time here in the south west, w here we do most of our safaris, and they have not disappointed us. They are a supreme force to be reckoned with, and they are doing very well for themselves, killing very regularly, and even been harassing the other smaller predators.

 

They do however seem to think that they are very good at tree climbing, as we witnessed on one occasion when they all tried to climb into a tree pretending to be leopards.

 

We also had an amazing sighting of a serval that was hunting, and we actually bumped into her as we were busy approaching a buffalo sighting. She was pretty relaxed, and she was listening intently to something in the grass, but as soon as the prey had gone, she took off with a massive speed and disappeared. This was the best sighting I have had of one of these very rare animals in a long time, and this has made my year to now. !!

The leopards have been rather shy this month, maybe to do with the bush been very thick, and the grasses long with the good rains we have had recently. However, the young boy that made an appearance a couple months ago, has shown his face on a few occasions, and is becoming somewhat of a superstar, as he loves the cameras.

 

Tsala… our resident female was also very scarce this month, but she did bedazzle us with her extreme beauty and elegance, and there are still no signs of her been pregnant, we cannot wait for her to have some cubs, so that we can share her amazing life with our guests.

 

 

As for the rest of the animals and birds in the park, they are so abundant at the moment, and it is awesome to have a large variety of different plains game species to see while we are looking for the “Big Ones”. The migrant bird species are also here in full swing now, and are adding some splendid color to the air…..

 

 

Untill next month… hope you enjoy the news….

Regards,

Gavin

 

 

 

 

Hi everybody….

This week has been a busy one, as the bush is looking extremely lush and vibrant while the butterflies add the splash of colour as you go in search of the Super 7. (Big 5 + cheetah and Wild dogs).

The hottest news as you may have seen in previous posts is that the 2 dominant male lions in the area have been reduced to one…. yes, it is now safe to say that the “Kwandwe” males are going to take over the territory very shortly, and will more than likely end up killing the remaining Naledi male who is definitely not giving up his females without resistance. He has been standing his ground, and they have had many fights in the past with the winners trading the title of landlord for the last 8 months.

This is going to be very exciting news, as the stronger Kwandwe males have already mated with one of the Mica females, so it will be tense out here in the lion world for the next couple of weeks.

The Wild dogs have been struggling lately to kill regularly, and this is due to the conditions been favourable for the prey, and they have lost a little condition as a result. However… you can not be disappointed when you are following them on a hunt as they chase after full grown zebra and wildebeest at high pace, as they are still one of the best sightings to be in when they are in a killing mood. On this afternoon, they were just in another league, and they looked as though they had done their homework on this game play, when they managed to pull down a wildebeest in the south of the park.

 

Then this morning we were all impressed by the speed and agility of a jackal, as the 4 cheetah brothers gave them a good chasing on the airstrip. The jackals were following the cheetah around as they knew that they were on the hunt, and were more than likely going to get a scrap or two from these super predators. Then all of a sudden the cheetahs had decide they had enough of the scavengers in their presence and gave chase !! Well, we were pleasantly surprised at the speed and agility of the jackal, and he escaped death by a hairs width.

 

After they had missed the jackal it seemed to have put them into a hunting mood, and they continued in a northerly direction and not before long, they found some zebra… it was over before you could finished blinking !! 0 – 100 km/h in 3 seconds, and the result….. 2 baby zebras killed by them in different locations. You have to envy their efficiency …

 

The light for photography is pretty amazing at the moment, especially as it breaks through the dark thunderclouds above after it has rained just enough to clean the air of its dust. the results are beautiful light, and mix it with an elephant feeding it a short distance from the vehicle, you have a winner image….

Until next time,

Regards,

Gavin

 

The Naledi male on a mission…

We found the Bulaya females and cubs in an old quarry not far from the lodge. They looked very uneasy with the roars of male lions breaking the morning silence.

Later we found the Naledi male following his call. He was trying to protect his girls from the two new Kwandwe males pushing into their territory. He followed their calls for some time roaring the whole time.
He being by himself after his brother died, possibly from a fight with the Kwandwe males, is under pressure to protect his females and possibly his last offspring.

For now his experience is keeping him alive!!!

These six Jamala little ones were waiting patiently for their mothers to return from a hunt.  They were playing all over with the Naledi male sleeping a distance away, not full filling his babysitting duties.

This one wanted to be the first to spot the arrival of the mothers.

Hi Guys….

Hope you all enjoyed your holidays, and are ready to take on 2014 Head On !!

Well, 2014 started off with a bang for me as I was straight into the leopards !! Yes please, i like it that way !!

The new face that appeared around early november last year is making his presence felt, and it looks as if he is wanting to set up territory in an area not too far from the lodge.

So yes, this is splendid news !!

Some more good news, is that the hyena den that we reported on earlier, is giving us some amazing moments with the cubs becoming more habituated to the vehicles, and growing in confidence.

 

So thats how my 2014 starts here in the bush….. maybe you should start yours in the bush too????

BOOK NOW !!!

 

 

 

“Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.”

(John Updike)

Happy New Year everybody! Wow 2013 just flew by and here we are ready and set for 2014.

The rains finally set in and Madikwe could not look any greener.  It always amazes me how this barren winter landscape can transform after some proper rain storms.  Of course with the rain arrives the new born Impala’s (Mac nuggets) and Wildebeest calves which always ads to the excitement on game drive.  But the most adorable baby’s this December were to be found at the Hyena den in the South of the park.  What a treat it is to pull-up to the den site and see the cutest little hyena cub sniffing and stumbling around the den site.  These cubs are probably not more than a month or two old and still black due to their young age and has stolen quite a few guests’ hearts.

We also had a clash of the titans drive one afternoon.  We were heading off to Vleipan in the east of the park. It was rainy and we didn’t expect to see much game…but were we in for a surprise!!  On the way to Vleipan we could hear a lion roar, but not just any roar, this roar stated that someone or something was about to be in serious trouble.  We went looking and found one of the young Kwandwe males on a mission towards Vleipan.  Not too sure what was going on we followed close behind and then the call came in, the two Naledi males are at Vleipan.  Technically it was the Kwandwe males trespassing on the Naledi males’ territory, but this young Kwandwe was going to war.  Just south of Vleipan they encountered each other, the lone Kwandwe quickly realized that he was outnumbered two to one, he turned tail and ran to go look for his brother, with the Naledi’s right on his tail.  And then something happened I could not have foreseen in my wildest dreams, the Kwandwe male found his brother and went on the attack.  I suspect the Naledi males were just as surprised as us, for now it was their turn to run for their lives.  We did not see the fight as they disappeared into the thickets still chasing each other, but it must have been ground shattering.  A few days later only one Naledi brother was found. It seems like the Kwandwe males made a deadly statement.

The Wild Dog sightings this month was out of this world. The Southern pack of dogs made it their mission to impress the guests and we were fortunate enough to experience them hunting and killing twice; and that on the same day.  The morning hunt started off with the dogs harassing some Zebra, but decided not to try their luck with sharp hoofs and accurate kicks.  Next up was a small group of adult Wildebeest that saw through the dogs hunting strategy and just stood in a group not allowing the dogs to unnerve them into running away, which would give the dogs the upper hand.  So we followed some more as the dogs set of yet again to acquire a new target, which they did a short time later.  Two unfortunate Wildebeest cows with brand new babies attracted the Wild Dogs attention and the hunt was on.  The dogs quickly surrounded the two Wildebeest and with a tremendous amount of noise started harassing the two mothers and calves.  The aim of the dogs was to cause chaos and confuse the Wildebeest mothers who were trying desperately to protect their calves from the hungry mouths of the dogs.  But to no avail, the Wild Dogs finally succeeded and we were left in awe of the savagery and unforgivingness of Mother Nature.

Two small Wildebeest calves obviously did not satisfy the Wild Dogs appetite.  On the evening drive we again found the dogs on the hunt and after a mad dash through the bush they managed to single off a sub adult Wildebeest and the chase was on.  The chase did not last long, as the Wildebeest ended up in a small drainage line and the Wild Dogs had another feast.

Seeing that it is baby month even the jackals were happy to show off their new pups.  We found 3 jackal pups playing outside their den one morning. At first they were not too sure if they could trust this strange noisy “animal”, but eventually decided we didn’t pose a threat and continued their play, even gnawing a baby Impala head mom or dad must have brought them.

      

The Cheetah’s as always also played their part and we stumbled into them a bit unexpectedly one morning whilst out looking for the Wild Dogs.  But they didn’t mind the surprise and happily carried on marking their territory, even climbing a termite mound I parked next to, just to make sure that we could see them in all their splendour and glory.

Back at the lodge families were enjoying the swimming pool, massages and cocktails while the elephants helped themselves to a drink at the lodge watering hole. Kids were also busy with activities, and worked together to build their safari adventure with modeling clay while also receiving their junior ranger certificates for spotting the animals on game drive!

 

 

 

And Best for Last…..

Kids at Tuningi, all the way from Finland, had a visit from Farther Christmas!

What a surprise!! The Jolly Old Man had a close shave with lions at Tlou Dam when he stopped to water his Reindeer, but Father Christmas still made it to Tuningi.

     

Well that is it for 2013!

We wish you a splendid 2014!!!

We know at Tuningi the year will provide us with even more fun and excitement and hopefully lots of return guests! J

Best Regards

Christo and the T-Team

 

 

 

After a wet start to the game drive this morning, all our luck turned…

After a quick tracking session and teamwork we located the Naledi male lion, which was hiding in the wet grass.  Lucky for us he got up, something this old guy can’t be bothered doing to often, and we could follow him for a while.

The highlight for me and my guests was the Wild dogs we found not far from the lodge.  This pack has been hanging around the lodges close to us for a few days now but keeping track of them through all the rocks proved challenging.  As we got to them they were in an open area full of white flowers called “String of Stars”.  There were great interaction between the dogs and a heard of Zebras, the Zebras did the chasing.

 

 

 

Happy New Year to all our friend and family.  May you have a wonderful and blessed 2014.  We hope to see you back this year to join us in all the exciting happenings at Tuningi.

From the T-Team

Yesterday was another cool and wet day after the rain we had the day before.  For weather like that we had an amazing game drive.  We saw lion cubs, a big herd of elephants, a male elephant in musth that caused some excitement and a herd of Buffalo.

But the best was when a White Rhino joined us having a Gin and Tonic.  We all stood close to the vehicles as he passed through the clearing with an amazing sunset as the backdrop.  

 

The year is almost at an end but at Tuningi the excitement never stops!!! 

These Dwarf Mongoose were our highlight one afternoon.  Although we saw big things, these little guys entertained us for a long time as they played in a massive Leadwood stump they used as their playhouse for the day.

They were in and out of all the holes trying to figure out if it was safe to come out.  After a while they had the confidence and moved to another spot.

It is not always just about the big cats. Yesterday we spent some amazing time with a clan of Hyena’s that was fooling around in the cold morning air. They are denning in the south of the park and although there are hyena cubs we have not been lucky enough to see them yet.

Our luck changed when we stumbled upon a Black Backed Jackal den. The 3 puppies were very relaxed with us there and continue to play around their burrow and eventually went to gnaw on a baby impala head that the parents brought back to the den.

We were spoiled to see these guys again yesterday afternoon.  After they disappeared from the south of Madikwe a few days ago, they were finally found.

As we planned our game drive to the north they were gone.  Full of hope, we decided to go in any case.  To all surprise they popped up at Tlou dam.  All of Madikwe saw them as they enjoyed the last warmth from the sun.