M.A.C in Africa: A long overdue update from the bush

In true african wording, "sho", it's been a long time since I last wrote an update. And what a mix of adventures, excitement, emotions and unbelievable sightings it has been.

Don and I watching the Sand River in flood...in awe!

Thinking back over the last few months, one of the things that stands out most has to be the rain and floods. The rains this year were a little late, hitting us full force in late February, early March, but boy did they hit us hard. At one period, we had some 180ml of rain in 3 days followed by a torrential overnight downpour of 150ml. It was not surprising that, following all that rain, the western sector here in the Sabi Sands was up to its neck in mud and flooding rivers! Facing first a battle with the roads to get to the lodges, us Ulusaba rangers were up against natures forces to take guests out on game drive. And out on game drive we went! With huge proportions of the reserve out of action and cut off by thunderous flooded rivers, those areas still accessible were marred by bogs, rivers where roads once existed, huge gullies and pot holes and more mud then you've ever seen before. Looking for adventure? This was where you wanted to be! Drives were ones of discovery and unbelievable sights, finding out which drainage lines were crossable (and which definitely were not, que tow-ropes), which roads still existed and which were traversable, and then on top of all that, the challenge of finding game presented itself. But fear not, we're operating in the Sabi Sands! Ahh, leopards I hear you say. Spot on (excuse the pun). On one particularly challenging morning, my favourite young leopard, the Scotia female, saved us all with a magnificent show. In her effort to get away from the water saturated ground, she headed upwards into a beautiful dead tree where she sat elevated, safe from rising waters with a view to die for. And being the glamour puss she is, we got treated to a full runway show as she expertly manoeuvred her way around the branches, finding the most comfortable spot for a snooze. Looking fat and healthy, my little Scotia female at just a year and a half has done incredibly well, and what a winner for knowing to go up, rather than sit in thick bush in a drainage line (cough, Dawane male leopard, who we tried in vain to follow but got no-where except stuck).

Some of the guys getting stuck at river crossings!

This was Phil...we had to get the tractor on this occasion

My Scotia female up her tree

Scotia faaaast asleep

Scotia female...beautiful

Scotia giving us a show

Scotia female...always entertaining

That whole period, looking back, was probably the most enjoyable time I've had in the bush so far. In one week, Don (my tracker) and I got stuck 5 times in 4 days, and after digging ourselves out on far too many of those occasions , we soon caved in and called in for help instead...much less messy and far faster! Being the only female in the western sector however, you can well imagine the "women driver" jokes I had to endure, but it was me who was laughing upon listening to other rangers getting stuck, it all unfolding on the radio, and then waiting for the critical point to call and offer my assistance, to which was met with radio silence, a heavy sigh, and a mumbled "yes ok please, thanks". Hahahahahahah. WINNER. I remember on one occasion, I was sitting with some Giraffe when Rico, one of our Ulusaba rangers bumped into a male leopard just round the corner. He called in Ryan (another Ulusaba ranger) who was closer, and I took a first stand-by. I listened to their radio chatter, and their discussion as to whether or not to follow the leopard off road. They decided to go for it and less then 2 minutes later, I heard two "uh-oh's" on the radio. Laughing hard to myself now, as it was these two chappies who particularly teased me about getting stuck, I put on my girliest voice and asked if "you boys would like assistance". They very quickly turned it down and said they could get themselves out, but 10 minutes later, my radio crackled into life and that mumbled cry for help came my way. Of course I saved the day, towing out not one, but both of them, and needless to say they stopped teasing me after that! Those were the early days, because soon everyone was getting stuck so often no-one had a leg to stand on. In one particularly bad incident, we had 3 land-drovers, one land cruiser and a tractor stuck, and just to complicate matters, there was a leopard in the vicinity and 3 huge male lions, one lying next to each stuck vehicle, as if there to watch and laugh at the show.

Most of the time we get stuck when we go off road following animals...which meant getting out is extra tricky because you have to avoid getting eaten as well!

Eventually the roads began to dry out again, and game drives once more resembled more their usual state. Game viewing also improved, with herds of elephants, rhino's, leopards, cheetahs and buffalo keeping us busy. More recently there has been a huge territorial war between our resident coalition of 3 Selati males and the 4-strong coalition of Majingilan males from the North, who have been trying to move into our area and take over from our current males. My heart has been in my mouth on many occasions because if these males succeed in taking over, they will kill all 14 of the lion cubs that live in this area, in order to remove all traces of the old males and bring the females back into oestrus. All three of our males went through a period of looking very beaten up, with one of them lying up in one spot for almost 2 weeks recovering. I am pleased to say though that they are all looking healthier again now and hopefully they've built up enough strength to continue to keep those other bully males at bay. All the action has not only affected the males however, with both resident prides shooting north of the Sand River to get away from the males, and as a result have also clashed with each other, resulting in some nasty injuries on both sides. As i write, the most recent battle this week saw the 3 Ximungwe females split up from their 6 cubs, of whom we haven't yet been able to find...so everything crossed they have managed to survive and are safely in hiding somewhere. Watch this space for more news.

As for the leopards, there have also been some big shake ups. The females have all been keeping a very low profile, with reports that Hlab'nkunzi is denning in Singita and her daughter (my favourite leopard) Scotia is also spending more time that side, too. The Metsi female has not been seen for some time and we are starting to wonder if she is still alive. The young Boulders female continues to give us the run around, being quite skittish and difficult to track. Dam 3 has been giving us some interesting shows though with her continuous mating with the males, but no signs of pregnancy yet. Talking of pregnancy, I was sitting with the Klangisa female the other day, who was sporting a very swollen tummy and teats, so maybe we'll have some cubs in the area again soon.

One the male front, our main man Dawane had a big battle with an intruding male, of whom he fought off but walked away with a nasty leg injury. In the last month his injury has got progressively worse, and he now has not only a very swollen paw and wrist but a very bad limp which is beginning to affect his ability to hunt. Saying that he continues to do a good job stealing everyone else's food! The Nyaleti male has been featuring prominently in our sightings of late, and it looks to me that both he and the Torchwood male are taking over some of Dawane's territory. The mighty Kashane though is still the biggest boss and swans in from time to time to check part of his 94km sq. territory in our area!

So life goes on in the bush, never a dull moment, and always lots to look out for and observe. As I write the wild dogs are also in the area - the first time we have seen them for a good few months as previously we were cut off by the river to the north where they usually traverse. Watch this space for more updates which I promise will become more frequent again, and I hope you enjoy some pics from the last few months.

Until next time... MAC over and out xx

Black Mamba sighting

Cheetah male & female...sighting have been fantastic

Cheetah male & female

White back vulture... we saw loads of vultures in a tree one drive and
went to investigate, and the fight that ensued between vultures and
hyenas over a wildebeest carcass was incredible