Bush Report - June 2010
Wildlife and activities experienced in May
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| Photo courtesy of Caroline Selman |
Breaking News!
The translocation and release of five black rhinos from South Africa to the Serengeti was a huge success on May 21st. Please visit http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/176985/Rhino-Relocation to view a short presentation from the Frankfurt Zoological Society. From Dr. Markus Borner - "I visited the rhinos in their boma last week and they are great, in good condition and chattering with each-other in their strange high pitch fieping voices. Spoiled rotten by the two rhino whisperers. Good little group!" The next release will be in November of this year. The five rhino will be released into the northern eco-system in about another month and we are all hoping to see them in their new home.
More breaking news- there are now two packs of wild dogs near the village of Ololosokwan in northern Loliondo. The second and new pack is currently denning (they have puppies) and were just observed a few weeks ago and the Frankfurt Zoological Society is attempting to collar, track and protect this new pack. Both packs are located near Buffalo Luxury Camp. Unique Safaris is asking for donations to help raise $10,000 to allow a researcher to go up to the area to collar and track the dogs, as well as to being working with the local villagers to educate them to protect their goats from predation. Anyone interested in contributing can contact me directly and I will provide information for making a tax deductable donation to the Frankfurt Zoo. Buffalo Luxury Camp has already provided the first gift.
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| Photo courtesy of Caroline Selman |
Migration and Weather in the Serengeti
I was personally in the Serengeti for the last 10 days in May. The migration is about 6 weeks ahead of schedule so far, most likely a result of the strange weather in February, March and April. The herds had split due to the lack of heavy rain and they appear to still be divided and moving ahead of schedule. There were huge herds of wildebeest in Lobo, with wildebeest starting to follow. But, at the same time, there are still some large herds of both species in the Central Serengeti and Barafu Kopjes. The wildebeest rut is in full swing in May. The odd pattern of movement has meant that there are few herds in the Western Corridor, at a time when the area is usually bursting with wildebeest. There were only small numbers of herds even in the middle of May - again highly unusual. Earlier in May, herds were traveling between the Moru Kopjes and the Niaroboru Hills and then up to the area of Mbuzi Mawe, with high concentrations at the beginning of the month in the prime areas of the central Serengeti. There were large herds of zebra by Turner's Springs in central Serengeti. There was good water and green grass by Kubu Kubu and the Banagi Hills, near the Retima Hippo Pool and crossing the Orangi River (part of the Grumeti River) with waiting crocodiles at the beginning of the month. Rain has been good (but short rains instead of long rains) in the central Serengeti in the middle of May. The northern Serengeti and Loliondo are starting to fill up with animals and there is periodic short rain, also causing more animals to move in that direction earlier than normal.
Migration and Weather in Tarangire National Park
There were very few clients that visited Tarangire during May. Rain has been more abundant in this area of Tanzania and the grass is high, making it hard to view predators. However, elephants are excellent and are being seen along the Tarangire River and near the Silale and Gurusi Swamps. It is too early for the other herd animals to migrate into the park.
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| Photo courtesy of Barbara Fleming - leopards were all over in May! |
Safari Highlights
» Leopards were more easily seen in the month of May and clients came back with great photos. Leopards were also seen in the Lobo area. After hearing a particular bird call that is normally emitted after seeing a predator, the driver guide looked around carefully and found a leopard in a tree with a fresh kill of a zebra foal. Surprisingly, there were many zebras and wildebeest grazing and resting under that same tree, oblivious to the leopard above them. When the vehicle stopped to watch, the zebra were alerted and one zebra kept looking at the vehicle and then finally looked up into the tree and saw the leopard. The stallion gave a signal to the others in the herd and they moved away from the area.
» One very unusual sight was a small group of lions resting in the branches of an acacia tree with a well camouflaged leopard in a tree very nearby. The leopard would not normally be this close to the lions, but the lions came up into the tree without seeing the leopard and the big male remained very quiet without moving at all.
» Huge herds of elephants with very young calves were seen all over the Seronera River Valley in May. Herds ranged up to 300-400 individuals moving towards the area of Makoma Hill with many bulls mating with cows.
» Although there were not huge herds in the Western Corridor, the area remains excellent for big troops of baboon eating the leaves of the fichus trees, western black and white colobus monkey, giraffe and crocodiles. The crocodiles were numerous at the Grumeti River, waiting for herds to cross and spending their time fishing. Crocodiles fish by opening their mandibles, letting water flow through and then closing only when a fish, mostly catfish, passes through.
» Crocodiles and leopard were not the only predators hunting. Cheetah hunts were abundant during May and there were successful kills witnessed in the Serengeti and down in the Crater. One set of clients were lucky enough to watch the hunting strategy unfold for one solitary female. She was watching some Thomson gazelles in the Gol Kopjes and trying to decide which to pursue and when to begin her chase, when abruptly a cape hare popped out from a thicket where she was crouched. The cheetah rushed rapidly, with immediate reflexes and grabbed the hare by the neck. While waiting for her bigger prey, she spent less than 5 minutes to have her appetizer of cape hare.
» Clients also watched a coalition of two cheetah brothers that just brought down a wildebeest calf. The dominant brother started to open the soft belly of the calf, while the subordinate brother waited and rested after the tough kill. Cheetahs are "nervous" eaters, and they are always on the watch for other predators (lions, hyena, even jackals) that might smell the kill and steal it away. You will notice that cheetah often pop their heads up and look around as they are feeding. The dominant male needed to rest after a while and gave his subordinate brother a chance to eat, while they traded roles and were on the look-out for predators that might be approaching.
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| Photo courtesy of Cathleen Burnham |
» The Makoma Hill lion pride is one of the largest prides in the Serengeti. Clients camping at this location are often treated to either the sights or sounds of the pride at night. Campers saw three lionesses with tiny little cubs of less than two weeks. The three were watching the nearby herd of wildebeest when two of the females began stalking and the third lioness remained with the cubs, most likely the biological mother. The "babysitter" moved the cubs by their neck, one by one, to the shelter of the vehicle, while her pride mates hunted the wildebeest. They were not successful, but it is rare for clients to see such young cubs and have them so close to the vehicle, which the mother obviously felt provided some additional protection.
» And of course, clients saw the huge concentrations of wildebeest as the herds were coming together for the rut. One client commented that it was one of the most special things she has ever seen in her life and the sense of life and nature was overwhelming to her.
» Many people are afraid they might encounter snakes on their safari, but the truth is that snakes are very hard to find, since they often move away from the vibration of the vehicles and sighting some of the reptiles of Tanzania can be very exciting. Some clients were lucky to find a 4-meter rock python resting under a tree. The driver guide turned off the engine and the snake made its way across the small road. Amazing! These same clients, who luckily did want to see snakes, also later found a black mamba in Lake Manyara National Park. The snake was crossing the road, but felt the vehicle approaching and stopped by a small bush to hide. The driver turned off the engine and waited so the clients could get photos when the snake began to move again.
» An interesting lion kill near the Moru Kopjes in the middle of May - two lions with a very fresh eland kill, most likely early morning, just before sunrise. It was 6:30 am when the driver guide found the lions with the kill and they were just beginning to open the belly and feed. What made this interesting to watch, was the two lions were surrounded by a pack of six hyenas, curiously watching the lions feed and waiting their turn. Hyena can often challenge lions for their kill, so it was curious to the driver guide that the hyenas were not challenging the lions, even outnumbering them to this extent.
» Lions can be so entertaining, despite the fact that they often sleep 20 hours a day! In the Seronera Valley, five lions (1 male and 4 female) were resting next to a waterhole when a solitary buffalo approached to drink. The buffalo spotted the lions and instead of changing directions, he charged all five of them away from the water, and continued to chase them until they were a comfortable distance away. Five lions should be able to intimate a solitary buffalo, but this must have been a combination of a very ornery bull and five cowardly lions!
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| Speke's Weaver |
Birds seen in May
Grey backed shrike, Fischer's love birds, black headed oriole, white headed buffalo weaver, dark chanting goshawk, brown snake, eagle, crowned eagle, fish eagle, tawny eagle, wattled starling, long-crested eagle, bataleur, ostrich, migrating European stork, hammerkop, little bee-eater.
We welcome you to submit your images for our next Bush Report. If you have a photograph you are particularly proud of or want to share with others, please email images to meg@uniquesafaris.biz and we will be happy to include them in the next reports and credit you for the image. It is wonderful to share your pictures and experiences and we would love to include them in our future reports.
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