Makalolo Plains - May 2007
05 Jun 2007
Weather
The beginning of May brought with it cold mornings and freezing evenings. The days have now grown shorter and the nights have become longer. Guests and staff now gather around the fireplace to keep warm in the setting sun. The maximum temperature of the month was 33°C and the minimum was 2°C.
Vegetation, Landscape and Water
The vegetation has made a dramatic change as the start of the winter months takes its toll on the plant life. The colour of the bush has turned from a rich green to beautiful shades of gold and orange-yellow. The fruits of the False Mopane tree have now ripened and animals such as baboons and vervet monkey are feasting on them. In a similar case we can see elephants are now shaking the Acacia erioloba trees to dislodge the swaying grey pods.
Unfortunately the grass has begun to wither away and has lost much of its nutritional value. In some areas the grass has been replaced with thick layers of sand and fine dust. The once green vleis (marshes) have been transformed into a semi-desert landscape and vast clouds of dust can be seen following massive herds of buffalo searching for water. The lack of grass has caused elephants to start stripping bark of the trees and turning them over to feed on the roots for the nutrients which they need to survive.
The lack of the rainfall in our wet season has resulted in the Wilderness camps pumping for water from boreholes earlier than usual. The pumps run 24 hours a day, seven days a week just to keep up with the amount needed to keep the wildlife alive.
Wildlife News
Sightings for May 2007 were as follows: aardwolf, bushbuck, reedbuck, caracal, small spotted genet, honey badger, Selous mongoose, slender mongoose, white tailed mongoose, African wildcat, vervet monkey, white rhino, side-striped jackal, dwarf mongoose, leopard, roan, bat-eared fox, spotted hyaena, eland, banded mongoose, common duiker, lion, sable, giraffe, buffalo, kudu, black backed jackal, elephant, impala, baboon, scrub hare, springhare, hippo, tree squirrel, steenbok, warthog, waterbuck, and zebra.
In both the Makalolo and Linkwasha concessions five young male lions have been seen in front of the camps. These males will soon be competing for the territory against our four resident males. Although the new five are young, their size and strength is awesome. The original number of these brothers was seven but last year a run-in with the territorial Ngamo Boys left them with five. This conflict between the two groups will be very interesting to see and some revenge could well be in the future.
Two lionesses were seen in front of camp at the Samavundla Pan. To our surprise the lionesses were not alone and at a closer look we discovered that they had nine cubs with them. The cubs presumably belong to one of the resident males who we saw courting the lionesses between November and December last year.
At Makalolo's front pan there have been two lion kills made in the last few weeks. The first was a buffalo by the new male lions. The buffalo skeleton, which can still be seen along the vlei, served as a reminder of the event for the rest of the month. The second was made by the three lionesses on a wildebeest which happened outside one of our guest tents. At 03h30 the guests awoke to the sound of a stampede followed by the sound of a wildebeest crying out, shortly thereafter followed the sound of crunching bones. In the morning hardly any remains of the carcass could be seen as five hyaena had taken what the lions did not finish.
Birds and Birding
The total number of bird sightings for the month of May was 120 species.
The two kills that happened in front of camp invited a lot of vultures. After feasting White-backed Vultures gave us a close view as they could not fly with full stomachs. The Capped Wheatear has finally returned to the plains and as always we are lucky to have the Lilac-breasted Roller still perching on the side of the road, displaying all the colours of the rainbow at a glimpse. Many juvenile Bateleur Eagles have been seen hovering together along with a pale form Tawny Eagle. The Dark-capped Bulbul and the Red-billed Francolins still cause havoc in the mornings during breakfast as they share cereal with the guests.
Guest Comments
"Thank you for your large variety and number of species of animals on the plains in front of the camp, and the elephants drinking from the swimming pool. Best guides and management I've seen." K&JS, USA
"We had a wonderful bush experience with talented and knowledgeable guides, friendly service and excellent food." N&P, UK
Thanks you all for being with us this month.
Best wishes
Raymond Ndlovu, Ellis Parry and Dickson Dube
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