THE MASHATU RANGERS' DIARY

Mashatu Game Sightings April 2010

WEATHER AND VEGETATION

Some good rains were experienced during the month of April, especially at the beginning of the month. This has changed the beginning of the dry season completely, leaving things looking very much like it does at the beginning of the wet season. The total rainfall was in the region of 244mm, which is superb for this time of the year. The area is lush and green, with beautiful yellow flowers giving the impression that it’s the beginning of summer rather than winter. The rivers in the reserve are running nicely, offering plenty of water for the animals. Food is also in abundance and as a result the animals are in excellent condition. This greenery will see us through most of the dry season, meaning that unlike years gone by; the animals will not struggle for food this winter. The weather has been pleasantly mild, with average temperatures ranging between 15 and 30 degrees Celsius, although there were a couple of days where the mercury reached 37.  
 
GAME SIGHTINGS DURING APRIL

Thanks to the excellent rains providing an abundance of food and water for the animals, general game sightings have gone up tremendously. Zebras, wildebeest, kudu, giraffe, eland and large herds of impalas have been seen in big numbers all over the reserve. Elephants have been quite spread out, with herds as large as 150 being seen. They were seen on almost every day of the month.  

Lion sightings have also been fairly good this month. The Majale island pride (8) has been seen with their three cubs a few times, and the other lioness was also spotted with her two cubs. The dominant male was seen by himself on a few occasions, as well as with one of the lionesses a couple of time. His intentions were obvious, however she was clearly not ready because whenever he came close to her she moved away. The pride was also seen trying to dig a warthog out from its hole.

Despite the greener and thicker vegetation we managed to spot leopard on at least ten days during the month, and on three of those occasions we saw a mother with her three cubs.

Cheetahs were seen on eight separate days during the month. At one of those sightings we saw three cubs with their mother and then on three other sightings a female was seen with two cubs. Most of these sightings were in highly elevated areas that offered a good aerial view for prey.

Wild dogs were nowhere to be found and it seems likely that they’ve moved further south west of the reserve and outside our boundary, although still within a protected area. The Motloutse River came down early in the month, which prevented them from crossing back, but for now they seem to have settled on the other side. We’re hoping that they’ll return to the same dens they’ve used for the past two years as the alpha female was pregnant when they left our side of the reserve.

Sightings of the spotted hyena have been good for most of the month, especially at the den site where pups were seen with the adults on several occasions.