November 2021 Wildlife Report

Posted on Mon November 29, 2021 in Ranger Diaries.

I will be covering all the wonderful sightings that happened during November 2021.

It is summer, we had a few thunderstorms already and the bush is starting to change, beautiful fresh green leaves all over, short green grass is starting to show and so many flowers. Truly a beautiful time of the year with the sights and sounds of our migrant birds that has returned and also our very interesting little dung beetles, that you can sit and watch for hours.

All images in this article were taken by Ruan Ferreira, Adrian and Cherié van Zyl

Game Drives have been spectacular, we have had exceptional sightings very close to the lodge and throughout our traverse. With the grass still being nice and thin and the contrast of browns and the fresh new greenery, photography has been interesting, yet stunning.

Leopard:

We have been blessed with leopard sightings, moving through the camp and around the lodge itself. The female leopard, Manzi has been very active around the lodge and down by the Klaserie River system. Luckily quite a few of our guests got to see her and the cubs playing on the river sand and even with a kill or two. One of the large males, the Pale male who is the father of the cubs has also been seen sharing meals with mom and the two cubs. There have been other leopard sightings on our property also, like the windmill female and then also a young male that is nice and relaxed. Saseka has also been quite active on the eastern part of our traverse.

Lion:

We have had incredible lion sightings over the last month and very close to the lodge. They have also been spending time along the river system hunting buffalo in the river system and giraffe on the embankments. They have also been spending time in the Dundee Creek that runs past the front end of the lodge.

There is nothing like sitting around the fire at night or lying-in bed and listening to the lion’s vocalize, it is so powerful and with them calling from the creek, the echo that goes with it, is enough to give you goosebumps.

The pride itself is doing very well, providing regular and good-sized meals like mentioned above.

Elephant:

Our thick-skinned grey friends have been all over the place, not that we are complaining, they are such interesting animals to watch from a social perspective. Especially now after the rain, there is several mud pools around, and as most of us know, elephants love spending time at the “spa” getting themselves all muddy to help cool themselves down and to help with exfoliation.

It is also fascinating to watch the babies observe and learn and attempt to use their trunks. They will stand there, watch their siblings or mom and then try to copy that movement.

Hyena:

They are always very active around Makumu and we have an active Hyena den site close to Malembeni, with two little ones around 3 months old. The clan itself has been operating very well, not just scavenging but also hunting impala very successfully around the Malembeni and Windmill area.

Wild dog:

Probably our highlight of the month, we had them at morning coffee stops and around the lodge for two days. Two sightings that stand out was when they chased Manzi’s sub adult cub into the trees, yes trees, 3 different trees and with all that happening, the hyenas came and investigated.

The second sighting was the 2 days they spent around the lodge hunting impala out in the open, it is always such a rush to try and stick with the pack and see it all play down.