Idube News Articles

LATEST NEWSLETTER

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:19:10 +0000

We are now in April and the rainy season seems to have finished with a spectacular thunderstorm at the end of March. Totalled up,the rainfall for the season was about average, despite the floods in January. The dams are still holding water well and should see us and the animals through to the next rainy season at the end of the year. The impala rutting season has begun and the sounds of the rams snorting and grunting are already a part of the constant background music of the bush here.
The last month has been dominated with the story of the fall of the Mapogo male lion coalition and the rise of the Selati coalition. That subject has been extensively covered in all formats already so there is not much need for all the details again here! The lions’ stories will instead continue from after the fight between the two coalitions.
The Ximhungwe pride have been avoiding the new coalition as much as possible but there have been two instances of contact between the two groups of lion as the new males try to establish themselves in the territory. The first, a daylight encounter ended badly for the smallest male in the Selati coalition as he unwisely left his brothers to pursue the lionesses. The four lionesses stood together to protect their cubs and presented the male with a ferocious beating that left him a lot more bloodied and scarred than the battle against the Mapogo did! The second encounter was not witnessed but the same male was seen walking away from the pride with a deep scratch in his nose, a floppy ear and a slight limp. For the most part the pride has done well to avoid the males, moving away when they hear them roaring and generally keeping a low profile. They have been eating well, their biggest meal being a wildebeest bull brought down close to the lodge. It may even be possible for them to avoid the Selati males for long enough to raise the current litter. After all the females of the pride were all cubs born before the Mapogo takeover and survived that themselves.
The Othawa pride has been seen infrequently and their four cubs, being a lot smaller than the Ximhungwe cubs are much more at risk from the Selati males. A quick takeover of this pride may be beneficial to all the lions in the area but we shall have to wait and see how everything pans out.
The Selati males themselves have been moving all over their new territory, scent marking and roaring regularly, apart from the two minor clashes with the Ximhungwe pride they seem to be content for now. Two buffalo kills have also played a part in keeping these four males fairly settled. The first was a small cow but the second was a nice big bull that they kindly brought down in an open space in broad daylight!
The two remaining Mapogo did make a brief appearance in the western sector. Tracks showed that they may have even joined up with the Ximhungwe pride for a short time. The two old boys seem resigned to the fact their territory is gone and have been reported wandering far and wide over the Sabi Sand Reserve, trying to avoid the other coalitions of males that are spread around. We may yet see them again but as nomadic males they will now be just passing through.
The leopard population still seems to be reorganising itself after the flooding. There have still been no confirmed sightings of either the Xinzele or Mashiabanj males and both the Kashane and Dewane males have been pushing north up to the river. The Xindlevhana male has been called in but as he was always a shy male it is not certain if the big shy male that has been seen is actually him. A few years ago a similar situation occurred with the Kinky-tail male leopard – all shy big males were called in as the Kinky-tail male without a positive ID, hopefully we will avoid this being the case again. As both Xinzele and Mashiabanj frequented the banks of the Sand river, it is a possibility that they have been lost in the floods but it is also possible that their territories have just shifted to the less frequently driven areas of the reserve, only time will tell.
2 big male leopards were spotted in the Sand River recently, circling one another. Last year we could have guessed that it was Xinzele and Mashiabanj, but now we have no Idea which two leopards it was as they were too far away to ID and the river crossings close to where they were seen are still not crossable so there was no way to follow up at the time.
Another shift in territory is that of the Shangwa female. She seems to be spending a lot more time to the west of the area that we would usually expect her to be. It seems she has swapped places with her daughter Xikavi, who now seems to be concentrating further east. Shangwa is still often seen with her son, now 2 years old, and we hope that this handsome young male makes his home in the western sector eventually.
The Hlab’nkunzi female has also been spending more time in the centre of her main territory since she lost her cub, (apart from a few excursions following the Dewane male to mate or at least try to get him to mate – it took a while to convince him!), and this has meant that we have been seeing the Ravenscourt female around the lodge fairly frequently. Ravenscourt is known to have cubs to the east of the boundary and it is only a matter of time before she brings them west.
The Metsi female has also been mating with the Dewane male and has often been seen a lot further north than usual as she follows his scent. This has brought her into contact with the Tlangisa female on a couple of occasions but so far there have been no serious confrontations. With Metsi spending time further north the Tassleberry female has pushed herself further west and is now seen much more frequently and is a lot more relaxed.
The Dam 3 female has also been seen regularly and she too is chasing after the Dewane male, for the most part Dewane has seemed uninterested to downright annoyed with the attention from all the females!
All in all the slight shifts in the territories and even the possible loss of some individuals has not affected the frequency or the quality of leopard sightings in the area which just goes to show what a special place it is!
As the bush is starting to become more open we have been seeing more of the smaller creatures - Mongoose (banded, Dwarf, White-tailed and slender), Serval, Genet etc. We had a very special sighting of a young side-striped jackal catching flying termites one evening too.
With all the waterholes being fairly full there has been plenty of opportunity to have drinks with hippos and occasionally other animals coming to quench their thirst too.
Buffalo have been sighted regularly, not just when the lions have been feeding on them! There are plenty of small groups of bulls along the riverine areas as well as the big herd making regular visits to the area, even coming past the front of the lodge a couple of times.
Elephants have been all over the reserve. Some huge bulls have been spotted regularly and, on the other end of the scale, plenty of tiny babies.
Many of the migratory birds have been seen for the last time this season and those that are still here should have started their trek north by the end of the month. There will still be plenty to see for the bird lovers; resident species far outnumber the migrants!
As always, the bush will continue to entertain, regular sightings updates can be found on the blog and on facebook along with videos and pictures.
Until next time,
Best Wishes,
Rob The Ranger

The Beginning of the end - Goodbye Mr T

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 08:21:34 +0000

A sad and emotional day today! The Mapogo Coalition appears to have been vanquished by the New Southern Coalition of 4 male lions. Radio chatter started early this morning with tracks indicating that the 2 different coalitions were on a crash course to come into contact with each other in the south western sections of the reserve.

This is eventually where they were found, the 4 younger stronger Southern Males circling the already wounded Short Maned Male ( Mr. T ) from the Mapogo coalition. Taking turns to rush in and bite at the exposed rear end, they eventually managed to incapacitate him by damaging his spine. The numerous puncture wounds indicated that they then went on an all out assault, trying to eliminate the completion as quickly as possible. Although they left him alone near the end of the drive, still breathing, and in obvious discomfort, his pain was short lived as he died whilst being observed less than an hour later. His 2 remaining coalition mates, one already suffering wounds from a previous encounter with the Southern Males, headed east, and did not stop running until they had crossed over our boundary, moving into the central regions of the Sabi Sand Wildtuin.

Time will tell about their fate, but the expectations are that we will not see them again in the Western Sector, and their survival time is now what is often referred to as “ Borrowed Time”.

We have shared the fact that the Short Haired Mapogo Male was killed in a fight with the Southern Male coalition of 4 Males this morning. Many of our followers and supporters, including us lodge personnel and rangers are sad to see his departure, and the demise of a coalition known for so long by so many as, THE MAPOGO. We do want to share our sympathy with those that feel a loss, but at the same time would like to make a few points with regards to the history, and why on an ecological level, nothing better could have happened to the Western Sector of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve.

Casting my mind back a few years, 6 to be exact, the Mapogo first made an appearance in March 2006 in the Western Sector, after having floated about the central portions of the Sabi Sand Wildtuin. The anticipation was growing amongst the rangers, following news of the 6 New Male lions creeping ever nearer the Western Sector. What was going to happen? When would they arrive? Where would they cross over? What would happen to the resident Males, and their respective territories? How would the prides be affected?
They arrived, and so the slaughter began!!!!

March 2006 – What a treat to drive around the Western Sector, 4 Different Lion Prides to choose from as far as viewing was concerned! As a ranger, would you go to the Sand River Pride of 2 Females and 8 cubs ( 10 ), would you try and find the Ravenscourt pride of 3 Females and 7 Youngsters (10), how about the Ottawa Pride of two groups of 2 Females and 6 Cubs each ( 16 )and lastly the most resident and impressive Ximungwe Pride of 7 Females and 16 youngsters (23). Add to these numbers the Nhlanguleni Male, The Castleton Male and the Sand River Male, and there were a total of 62 Lions to be seen and viewed, excluding the 6 new arrivals! Lions were flourishing, and the dwindling numbers of lions in the wild were being added to by the very successful breeding of the fertile prides in the West.

March 2012 – Oh how the excitement of the Mapogo arrival was overrated, based on the social structure outcome to the population dynamics of the lions in the Sabi Sand Wildtuin. Yes they provided formidable viewing and photographic opportunities, undoubtedly serving as a huge attraction to a multitude of guests wishing to view and photograph lions of such infamy, but from a species survival point of view, they have done unmentionable damage to the breeding and survival ecology of the lion species in the Sabi Sand Wildtuin, thereby affecting the total African lion population.

Of the original 62 Lions that were present in the Western Sector when they arrived, there are now only 3 origionals left, all belonging to the Ximungwe pride. The remaining lions are, 1 Lioness from the Ximungwe pride that joined from the Tsalala Pride, 4 Youngsters from these females (total - 8) and 2 Ottawa lionesses, both being Mapogo offspring. The Ottawa pride have 4 small cubs( total - 8 ), which in all likelihood will be killed by the Southern Males (to force the females into early oestrous), as will the Ximungwe pride youngsters we suspect.
Ximungwe Pride – 6 Years and not a single cub ( nil – zero – 0 ) has yet to be raised to maturity. That is a shocking statistic when it comes to the fathering and protection abilities of the territorial coalition, the Mapogo. They were more absorbed with their internal conflicts and dominance status within the coalition that they would kill each other’s cubs, the main culprit co-incidentally being the one killed today, Mr.T.

Remaining pride now currently numbers 8, including the 4 Youngsters whose fate hangs in the balance.

Sand River Pride – Debatable as to whether pressure from the Mapogo pushed them out of the reserve where they died. No Survivors
Ravenscourt Pride – 1 origional lioness of a pride of 10 survived, now part of the Ximungwe Pride.

Ottawa Pride – Presently we only see 2 Lionesses and their 4 cubs. None of the original Lionesses remain.

Sharing these stats I hope to make it clear that the Mapogo, although they will be missed, displayed an inability to increase the lion populations in the Western Sector of the Sabi Sand Wildtuin and this serves as an indication as to their failures over a six year period. With the new coalition, we may see natural lion dynamics return, which will include the sizes of prides increasing by: improved fertility, and possible, superior paternal instincts to protect their young, in order to promote survival to adulthood, and grow a strong bloodline with an improved gene pool.
We are sad to say goodbye to a warrior today, but we are anticipating a bright, and much more successful future for the lion prides in the West.

A lion may have died today, his body no longer moving and breathing, but what he can be proud of is that his legend, and that of his coalition will live on for years and years. His life may be no more, but his story will never be forgotten, and lips will move long into the future as they mouth the words – MAPOGO!

Regards
Rudi Hulshof and The Idube Team.

Latest Lodge News

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:37:26 +0000

The New Year certainly started with a bang, then a trickle, followed by a gurgle, and eventually a torrent of water flowing, not only from the skies, but also in all the streams, rivers, and even over the plain old ground surface.

Wednesday the 18th of January will go down in history as a day that the Sabi Sand Game Reserve flooded. Rivers rose to levels higher than those recorded in the devastating floods of 2000, but fortunately the flow was not sustained, as it was just over a decade ago, thankfully causing less destruction than before.

There were lodges that were severely impacted on, even damaged or destroyed, but we at Idube were fortunate not to have suffered any damage, other than a few roads being bumpier than before because of the sheet and water erosion that went hand in hand with the rain. Operations were halted for a mere 4 days, mainly as precautions to prevent our guests from having a compromised experience, by not being able to access areas, because of water logged roads and uncrossable streams and rivers. We are proud to say that most of the guests postponed their stays, and we were able to welcome them to Idube, even if it was a few days later. You all know what they say; rather late than never!

The culprit of the rain was an intense low pressure cell, later reclassified to a tropical depression, before forming a full blown Category 3 Tropical Cyclone. Dando, yes, they even get given names. Need I remind many people of another far more devastating Cyclone, one called Katrina that affected the USA a few years ago.

Late summer in the Lowveld area, here in South Africa, is always susceptible to the effects of cyclones, but most pass harmlessly over the Mozambique Channel, before veering in a South Easterly direction, harmlessly out into the Indian Ocean, where they eventually vanish. Occasionally we get frontal rain from the Mozambique Coast, and even less frequently the actual cyclonic effects. The total rainfall over a 3 day period when Dando moved over us was 338mm. Some areas north of Idube measured up to 450mm in the same period. Terrifying to us here, and even more so to the local communities that were badly affected outside the reserves.

Since Dando, we have continued with our daily operations, and as you can probably gather from reading Rob’s report, game viewing was in no way affected, and our guides went out there and continued to find the splendid sightings that keep our regular visitors coming back over and over, year after year.
One unique sighting that did transpire over that period, was that Hlaba Nkunzi female leopard decided for a short while to use Idube as a great, safe and dry den site for her single 5 week old cub.

At first she chose an old packing tool shed behind our workshop as suitable accommodation, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thRtDOE-w6U), before realising that far more luxurious lodgings were available at the lodge instead, and proceeded to move to Rooms 7 and 8. Once she had vacated the shed, Hlaba Nkunzi found small gaps in the outside room decks, and it was under the decks of room 7 and 8 that she then kept her youngster.

Fortunately for us it was during the rains, and thus we had no guests that could be endangered. Soon after the rains stopped and the rivers subsided, she left the lodge grounds and took her cub elsewhere. We have unfortunately not seen the cub since, and it has been well over a month, so the rangers are fearing the worst. We will continue to check, and as soon as we have an update we will announce it on either our Facebook page, or on the Idube Blog. Both of the previous mentioned options can be accessed via the buttons on the Idube Website.

The lodge benefitted greatly from the rain, and the garden and lawn really is lush and emerald green at the moment. The bush though is showing signs of the onset of autumn, and we are seeing the grass turn a paler shade of grey and brown as the last bits of moisture are burnt off by the relentless sun.

The lodge still has a fair amount of visitors in the form of wildlife, the Nyala females are looking pretty pregnant at the moment, and soon we expect a few additions to the other baby species running around the lodge, namely the warthogs and 3 baby monkey’s.

Other babies that were present during the month, albeit on the outskirts of the lodge, were the lion youngsters, that are actually growing up really quickly. It may be early days, but the 4 remaining cubs from the Ximhingwe pride seem to be over the initial danger stages of development, and may just have increased chances of surviving to adulthood. This though, is very dependent on the Mapogo Coalition remaining in power, which does seem to be in question with the arrival of 4 younger males, called the Southern Males, who originated from the Southern Part of the reserve.

The month also saw an unwanted visit by an Elephant Bull into the camp early one morning. It took 2 hours of herding him, but we did eventually manage to get him out. He was unhappy to have to leave the lodge, as this is an area where there were a few untouched Marula trees, still bearing fruit, which had been finished out in the reserve by the mass of elephants present during the marula fruit dropping season.

The Ranger and Trackers team have been working really hard this month, fixing stream and river crossings, and also making sure that the road repairs are ongoing. After our sad news last year regarding Elliot, it is with a warm heart that we extend our welcome to Lonnett to the Idube Tracking team. Lonnett may be familiar to some of you, as we used him regularly as a temp in the past, and we decided that his hard work, helpfulness, and supreme tracking skills warrant us giving him a contract at Idube. His big friendly smile waits for your arrival.
On a sombre note, we wish to also let our guests know the sad news that Willie, our ever dependable and dedicated bar man, has left Idube at the end of February. Willie’s wife suffered a setback in her health recently, and Willie has needed to make himself available to assist her in her rehabilitation on a permanent basis. We wish Willie well, and also send our well wishes to his wife in her recovery. Willie will be missed by all at Idube, and was a great character that not too many guests will ever forget.

On to a happier subject, the extended Idube Family grew by 2 in February, Ronald and Gloria, tracker and waitress respectively, welcomed their twin girls into the world in February, Gloria who is on Maternity leave at present will return around May, and all the staff at the lodge are champing at the bit to lay their eyes on the cute twosome. We wish to extend our congratulations to them on their new family additions.

We hope to see you all returning really quickly, and to meet our new guests even quicker. Our lodge is always ready to welcome you, and we strive to make your safari experience an unforgettable one, one that you cannot but, want to repeat over and over again.

Warmest Bush Greetings
Rudi, Melinda and the Idube Staff