Sightings
| February 2010 |
Week One | Week Two | Week Three | Week Four | Total Days Viewed |
| Elephant Breeding Heard | Seven | Five | Seven | Seven | Twenty Six |
| Elephant Bulls | Five | Five | Five | Five | Twenty |
| White Rhinoceros | Seven | Seven | Seven | Seven | Twenty Eight |
| Cape Buffalo | Three | Five | Four | Three | Fifteen |
| Lion Pride | Five | Four | Three | Seven | Nineteen |
| Cheetah | Two | Three | Three | Four | Twelve |
| White Lions | Seven | Five | Six | Seven | Fifteen |
| Wild Dog | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
| Leopard | Two | Three | Two | Three | Ten |
| Hyena | Three | Two | Three | Two | Ten |
| Giraffe | Seven | Seven | Seven | Seven | Twenty Eight |
| Hippopotamus | Seven | Five | Five | Seven | Twenty Four |
Other Sightings:
The reserve has transformed in appearance following very good rains received over the past few days. In total the reserve had 50mm of rain, which is clearly evident when driving through the lush green plains.
The conservation department has made an exciting discovery of four new lion cubs which were seen a on game drive in the main section of the reserve, being overlooked by the two Lion. The department first became aware of the cubs, when tracks were noted along with the lioness tracks three weeks ago, although no one had actually seen them. They were playing under the watchful eye of their mother in an open clearing called Bruce’s Green, which is bordered by thicket. This is typical behavior of lion with young as cover can be easily accessed if a dangerous situation arises i.e. Hyena, who could be potentially dangerous towards the young lion cubs. Hopefully the Lioness will start utilizing her full home range, making sightings of the young ones more frequent for our visiting guests.
The southern section of the reserve has also provided some very good sightings for guests on game drives. The White Lion one morning was seen chasing the two Cheetahs along our eastern boundary, repeatedly roaring while the confrontation took place. The Cheetah though being very aware of his presence moved out of the area, unscathed. Two days later, the Lion and two Lionesses confronted the White Lioness thankfully with no physical contact being noted, though the stamping down of authority and dominance was clear, with the Lioness and Lion scent marking the area and roaring around her.
The Buffalo being a rare sighting have been seen regularly this week wallowing in the numerous water holes found on the reserve, coating themselves in mud. The breeding herd of Elephant, and in specific the calves, continue to entertain onlookers as they busily go about their daily activities of causing chaos and mimicking the older members of the group.
Posted By: Richard Pearse
Date : 01st March 2010
pumbarangers: The Lioness in the southern section of the reserve where seen chasing Giraffe through the plains, though not showing any interest in hunting
pumbarangers: Guests embarking on walking trails are continually amazed by the smaller aspects of the reserve, combined with encounters of Hippo and rhino
pumbarangers: The Hippo provide a good opportunity for all to observe, particularly from the cover of our birdhide, the site of many nesting Darters.
pumbarangers: The new elephant calf, can not be mistaken for a male as he playfully learns the skills of fighting and mock charging, with the other calves
pumbarangers: The White Storks which abounded our plains in the past couple of weeks, are slowly making their way back northwards towards our east cost.
pumbarangers: For the interested twitchers, Pygmy, Malachite and Half Collared Kingfishers are frequently being seen in the Brookhuizenspoort, amazing all
pumbarangers: The White Lioness, though not with the pride at present, is settling in, and providing amazing sightings for guests venturing into the south
pumbarangers: The herd of Elephant continue to focus their foraging habits in the thicket vegetation that engulfs the Cariega Lake and supporting rivers.
pumbarangers: Three Hyena, where observed feeding on a Kudu, which is suspected to have been killed by them. Sightings of this opportunist are improving.
pumbarangers: The White Lion successfully killed a Blue Wildebeest on the weekend. With full bellies and a need for water they were viewed at Blesbuck dam
pumbarangers: The new born elephant calf, brings much laughter to a sighting for guests as it nears the end of its first month since birth.
pumbarangers: Very interesting birds have been noted this week, with the highlight being the beautiful metalic green Malachite Sunbird, not been seen past
pumbarangers: Pumba has been receiving most welcomed rain over the period of January, with a total of 58mm being recorded to date, we still await more.
pumbarangers: The White Lioness has been seen on more than one occasion with the pride, though still currently prefers to move around on her own.
pumbarangers: In addition to the Cheetah, the White Lion have spent the past two days at Blesbuck Dam feeding on a wildebeest which they killed.
pumbarangers: The past two weeks sightings in the reserve have been exciting ones, with cheetah photographed killing a sub adult wildebeest.
pumbarangers: On Wednesday morning a ranger manage to view the White Lion, Cheetah, Rhino, Buffalo and the herd of Elephant on a un-foregetable game drive
pumbarangers: The Hippopotamus continue to wow guests staying at the water lodge, as they forage on the banks of the Cariega Lake during lunch on the deck
pumbarangers: A Crowned Eagle was observed actively hunting Helmeted Guineafowl, with success. The bird dived from the sky unbeknown to the birds foraging
pumbarangers: The new elephant calf grows by the day, with frequent sightings of it playing with the additional family members, or mimicking the adults.
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