The team was out in the field on the 1st of March when the newborn Kalahari lion cubs made their appearance with their mother in the main section of the Reserve.
The sighting of the little ones was brief, so unfortunately no photographs have been taken yet.

Once the cubs are a little bit older the lioness will start using her full range of the reserve again, enabling visiting guests to get a glimpse of our new foursome!

Melvin, who was abandoned at birth by his inexperienced young mother, was discovered on the reserve by Pumba Rangers and saved from a sure death.

The orphaned newborn giraffe has now grown into a boisterous young chap thanks to the positive energy and loving care from the Pumba Staff that went into raising Melvin. He still demands his two bottles of milk per day and we are confident that he will grow to become a member of the current journey of Giraffes on the Reserve.
Large male giraffes can reach up to 4,5m – truly tall order!

• 10ml Dry Bread crumbs
• 300g Cake flour
• 10ml Baking powder
• 7.5ml Bicarbonate of soda
• 15ml Mixed spice
• 5ml Salt
• 315ml Oil
• 4 Eggs, at room temperature
• 500ml Grated carrots

ICING:

• 500g Icing sugar
• 5ml Vanilla essence
• 250g Cream cheese

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 180c and butter a loose bottomed spring form cake tin and sprinkle with bread crumbs to coat lightly.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients twice.
3. Beat the oil, sugar and eggs together till well combined, add carrots, nuts and apricot jam and mix well.
4. Sift the dry ingredients over the mixture and fold in with a spatula until mixed well.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared tins and bake for about 45 minutes.
6. Allow the cake to firm and cool in the tin for 10 min before turning out.
7. For the cream cheese icing, cream the butter gradually adding the sugar, vanilla and cream cheese. Do not over beat the cheese as it will become watery.
8. When the cake is completely cool, ice and garnish with walnuts

Baby lioness Sheba arrived at her new home after her heavily pregnant mother was inadvertently captured by a game relocation team performing an operation in the Eastern Cape. The lioness gave birth to 3 cubs in the relocation boma of which two died and the third being abandoned. Pumba Game Reserve were approached by the game capture team to enquire whether we were prepared to take the new born lioness into our Rehabilitation Center. We accepted the challenge on condition that the little lioness was to be fully adopted by us to try and save and if successful to rehabilitate her over the next 18 months with the objective of releasing her back into the wild to join up with the existing Pumba prides of lion.

We are proud to report that baby Sheba has showed a fighting survival spirit and has got through the critical period. The 1kg bundle of fur now weighs 4 kg’s and will be 5 weeks old on the 1st of April 2010. Her eyes are fully open and she has started walking.

Two days after receiving the baby lioness, we got another call – this time the sad story was that a pack of hunting dogs killed a female Caracal and the huntsmen discovered two tiny Caracal cubs of a day or two old in the den which were now left without their mother.
The huntsman saved the two little cubs from the hunting dogs, and being aware of our Rehabilitation Center called to ask whether we were prepared to accept the two little cubs. This opportunity seemed to be so coincidental with getting the lioness a few days earlier, that we immediately accepted as now we would have company for the lioness and each other as they grow up.

The two caracals have also proved to be little survivors and we named them Jack and Jill.

We are extremely confident that these three young cats will be able to be reintroduced into their natural environment to live the life that they were never destined to lead.

INGREDIENTS:

100ml Cream
30g White Chocolate

50g Butter
75g White Chocolate

190g Carrot Puree
5 Egg Yolks
65g Ground Almonds
50g Self Raising Flour
30g Walnuts

120g Egg Whites
30g Castor Sugar

METHOD

• Melt the white chocolate and cream, allow to cool then roll in a sausage shape and Freeze
• Cook the carrots and blend to make a smooth puree.
• Melt the white chocolate and butter together.
• In a clean mixing bowl whisk the egg whites and sugar together to form a stiff meringue.
• Combine the carrot puree, egg yolks, almonds, flour and the walnuts.
• Mix the chocolate mixture with the carrot mixture then gently fold in the meringue Mixture.
• In individual moulds lined with grease proof paper, spoon in the cake mixture, slice the Frozen chocolate roll into 1.5 cm disks and press 1 disk into the center of each cake
• Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 30 min

Turn out once cooked and serve immediately, serve with white chocolate ice cream and candied hazelnuts

Currently the new lioness is being held in a rehabilitation boma, where she will be able to acclimatize herself to her new environment. Once acclimatized she will be introduced to her new family by capturing the dominant lioness and placing her in a rehabilitation boma next door to her to allow them to get to know each other and bond. Once the two have got to know each other through the boma fence, they will be allowed into the same boma to have physical contact. This is the crucial period for the introduction, as only at this stage will it be evident whether the dominant lioness has accepted the new lioness. Once the two lionesses have spent 5 days together in the boma and demonstrated that they have bonded the two will be released to join the pride. This is an exciting programme for Pumba, and the survival of our white lion pride

In the first two weeks of September Pumba welcomed two Giraffe calves to the reserve; who are doing well to date. One of the Hippopotamus cows is showing signs of being very heavily pregnant so it won’t be long before a new member of the Hippo family can be spotted wallowing in the waters of Lake Cariega. In addition to this it is suspected that the matriarch of the breeding herd of elephant is also pregnant.

With the calving season commencing in November we are expecting a bumper season of new births on the reserve

Furthermore last year’s rhinoceros calves are doing extremely well, growing at a rapid rate and developing into boisterous little individuals. The four lion cubs from the white lion pride are now 8 months old and doing very well.

Our leopard breeding program is also yielding good results with a young 3 year old female and her 4 month old cub in our rehabilitation enclosures, being prepared for release into the reserve.

“Water Lodge welcomes a new GM ”

Pumba Water Lodge has just appointed a new lodge manager – Paula Howarth. Paula has been part of Pumba Private Game Reserve since its inception and she knows how it was built with a lot of passion and enthusiasm from the owners. It is with this same passion and enthusiasm that she intends to run the lodge.

It is also with great excitement that Pumba Water Lodge approaches the summer season. While the winter months were here the Water Lodge did a spring clean with a fresh coat of paint in the rooms, new paint techniques on the walls and newly recovered furniture with glamorous scatter cushions, all of which have added a bit of panache!

“Birds of Prey return to Pumba Private Game Reserve”

Past agricultural practices in the area, resulted in misuse of pesticides and poisons, which saw a drastic decline in raptor numbers. This cycle has done a full circle. Since the reserves inception in July 2004, the Flora in the area has rejuvenated, encouraging an influx of rodents, avifauna and primates, which form the basis of many of the raptors diets. In addition to there being an abundance of prey species on which to prey, the invasive alien flora clearing program has improved the area for better raptor nesting sites to be established. The reserve provides sanctuary to these majestic species of birds, allowing them to seek refuge in an area where they avoid persecution and disturbance.

More than 70 species of diurnal and nocturnal predatory birds – eagles, buzzards, hawks, harriers, falcons and owls – occur in SA as residents, migrants or vagrants. Pumba is home to 55% of this specific class of avifauna, particularly providing protection to three of Africa’s largest raptor species, namely the Martial Eagle (Largest raptor in South Africa), Crowned Eagle and Fish Eagle, all of whom are nesting and breeding successfully on the reserve.

The Pumba ranging department plays an active role in the Birds In Reserves and Bird Atlasing 2 projects, which are run through the University of Cape Town, with specific reference to the Avian Demographic Unit and the Fitzpatrick Institute of Ornithology, all of whom are trying to make a difference in the protection of this vulnerable family.

“Chef’s Corner”

Red Wine Braised Lamb Shank with Sweet Potato Puree

(serves 6)

Ingredients:

• 6 lamb shanks
• 1 bottle red wine
• 2L good beef or lamb stock
• 2 onions quartered
• 3 carrots split lengthways
• 1 bulb garlic halved
• 3 leeks roughly chopped
• 3 sticks celery roughly chopped
• 2 large springs rosemary
• 4 bayleaves
• 1 tsp black peppersorns
• 200ml redcurrant jelly

Method:

1. Dust shanks in a little seasoned flour and fry till golden brown. Remove from pan. Add vegetables and herbs and fry till light brown.
2. Transfer meat and vegetables into deep roasting dish, pour over wine, stock and jelly, cover with foil. Put into oven on 160 and slowly braise till shanks are soft and tender, about 4 to 5 hours (depending on the size of the shanks).
3. When the shanks are cooked remove from the dish, stain the liquid and reduce by half to make a thick rich sauce. Skim of all the fat.

Sweet Potato Puree:

Ingredients:

• 5 medium size sweet potatoes
• Butter
• Salt
• Pepper
• Nutmeg (optional)

Method:

1. Wrap the potatoes individually in tin foil and bake in oven till soft.
2. Scoop out the soft flesh of the potatoes into a bowl and mash till smooth. Add a good knob of butter and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Optional: add a small pinch of nutmeg into the mash.
4. Serve the shanks on the sweet potato puree with reduced sauce.

The note, usually placed somewhere near the complimentary shampoo, reminds one that water is precious and washing towels unnecessarily is wasteful. So you pick up your towels, feeling satisfied you have helped in some way. But in a time when more tourists are thinking green, is the towel policy – now virtually standard in all lodges – enough? Or do luxury game lodges have to go beyond service levels and style ad incorporate initiatives that offer social and environmental sustainability to stay in the game?
More often now, game lodges boasting good environmental credibility pip the post to those offering the traditional Big Five. And then there are those that offer both.

Pumba Private Game Reserve is one such destination. Situated in the Malaria free Eastern Cape, Pumba aims to offer its guests a 5-star experience, fine dining, luxury accommodation and exciting game viewing which includes “specials” like cheetah, wild dog and white lion. But it also aims to put in place long-term, sustainable initiatives that will benefit the environment and the community.

Since its creation, owners Dale Howarth and Trevor Lombard have endeavored to return the once famed land into its natural state. In conjunction with the Eastern Cape’s Working for Water project, they have started removing invasive species, this in turn increases the levels of water in the Cariega River, that not only benefits the reserve, but also the Eastern Cape. Clearing the invasive species also allows the natural flora to recover and eco-systems to stabilize. Pumba has also started reintroducing animals that previously inhabited the area as well as monitoring the already existing populations. This means that not only are many of the endemic animals protected from possible extinction, but bloodlines can be diversified (especially in the case of Pumba’s pride of breeding white lions).

Although still a young reserve, Pumba is already seeing the benefits of these measures. The reserve has recently embraced the Green Leaf Standard in the management of both Msenge Bush Lodge and Pumba Water Lodge and in 2008 achieved an enviable rating of above 75%.

Many of their big game species are successfully breeding and raising young and as a guest one feels more than comfortable with the environmental footprints they leave by visiting the lodge.

By: Annette Bayne

Thank you to Lin-Marie that arranged this weekend so quickly.
A special thanks to our Game Rangers, Vuyani and Portia, thank you for our game drives. We really learnt allot. It was a wonderful experience seeing the animals so close. To the restaurant staff, thank you for all the divine meals that have been prepared for us. Edward, Stephen, Nandi & Jacques, and thank you for always making sure that we well were looked after. Words cannot convey our gratitude.

Thank you to everyone who made this weekend possible. It is a memory that will never be forgotten.

Kind Regards

Russell, Lurezia, Kayla & Keegan Moore

Where: This reserve is an hour’s drive from Port Elizabeth, and 25km from cultural hotspot Grahamstown. It boasts the Big Five and should be on your top-10 list for a special breakaway.
Put on your boots: Reconnect with nature on a guided bush walk through river courses and Afromontane forests that abound in the area or learn how to distinguish and identify animal tracks on the way. The abundant wildlife guarantees that you’ll spot the Big Five, 21 antelope species
and the African wild dog, as well as other threatened animals. You’ll even be able to see white lions, as part of the Reserve’s white lion rehabilitation programme.
Relax and unwind: There are two luxurious camps to choose from. Msenge Lodge comprises 11 thatch-roofed glass enclosed
chalets, so it feels as though you’re living in the bush. You can also lap up the luxury while watching the hippos wallow in the cool, deep-blue waters of Lake Kariega at Pumba Water Lodge. Its 12 exquisite chalets each open up onto a private deck with a plunge pool and an outdoor shower.
What it costs: From R3 700 per
person sharing.
Find out more: 046 603 2000;
www.pumbagamereserve.co.za