Following last week’s good rains, the Timbavati once again changed into its green attire, and it’s amazing what a bit of rain can do to the bush! The dry landscapes that seemed set for the remainder of the year are once again vibrant and green. With the wallows full of water, the wildlife enjoyed a week of plentiful resources. It also made us realise that the change of seasons is upon us. The wonderfully cool evenings, combined with the crisp mornings that soon warm as the sun rises, gave us a reminder of what lies ahead with the approach of winter.
On the game front, it was another good one here at Tanda Tula, with good viewing across the board, even if the lions became a little scarce towards the end of the week. The River Pride were present for the first few days, and we found them close to camp on a couple of occasions. However, the lionesses dropped the cubs off in the central region as the week drew to a close and then headed north over our border, not returning for a couple of days. The cubs were seen sitting and waiting patiently for mom’s return, but to no avail; we await their return eagerly. The roars of the Vuyela males could be heard every night, and four of them spent most of the week in the eastern sections. The male with the injured eye is doing well, but his wound does seem to be bothering him. He was seemingly drawn to the sound of feeding lions tantalisingly close to our southern boundary one morning before he headed back north. From reports, it seems as though it was the eleven subadults of the Mayambula that were just outside our concession, but a couple of days later their tracks did return to the area for the first time in some time. Interestingly, that same morning they could be heard fighting over a carcass to the west, I could also hear lions fighting over a carcass in the east, but with the windy conditions and lack of tracks, we were unable to find them. Further west, the Sark Breakaways were around for a couple of days, but this was at the same time that the Giraffe Pride were also in the west – it was a case of if it doesn’t rain, it pours!
It didn’t quite rain dogs this week, but we were able to catch up with a portion of the large northern pack one afternoon when they popped into our northeastern corner. A few days later, their tracks were found running on top of where I had just driven, but they moved north over our border, and we await a longer return from them next week!
The leopards gave us a bit of a runaround this week, with only Dzindza, Nyeleti, and Mafufunyane playing along. Dzindza is starting to become a little star with her love of a good marula tree, and we hope this is a trait that she doesn’t lose! Nyeleti was found in the southern sections again this week, and it seems as though this area is becoming her territory, although we did bump into a leopardess walking down the road that Glen and I assumed would be Nyeleti, but upon drawing closer, she nervously disappeared into the bush, completely blowing that theory out of the water! That same evening, Ginger and Eric found Mafufunyane near the fig trees, and she gave them a very good sighting after dark; she was not with the cubs this time.
The flush of green drew the elephant herds into the area in a big way, and they were very abundant around all sections of the reserve, with daily visits from big herds to the camp waterhole. The large herd of buffalo remained active in the western sections, but oddly, the lions paid no attention to them. If we end up having a drier winter and these buffalos lose condition, I do wonder if the lions’ prey preference will change?
That’s it for now. We will update you all again next week, so be sure to check back for more images and stories from the heart of the Timbavati.
Until next time!
Cheers,
Chad
