Mabula guides · Twelve months cheetah cubs, sighted at hunters dam, southern side of the property. What a beautiful coalition. Compiled by: Isaiah Banda (Wildlife Services Manager)

Compiled by: Isaiah Banda (Wildlife Services Manager) Page 1

Mabula guides

Madjuma male looking strongly at his brother and warning him not to come closer

Newsletter November

2015


As rain clouds filled the sky, rolling in from an almost unreachable horizon, they reminded us that summer is here. I

get a bit worried always when writing about the changing seasons and temperatures and colours. My main concern

is that the summer is bringing rain. Well, hopefully. And the rain means mud. And the mud means getting stuck.

A change in season and scenery transporting us to a time of plenty, impala ewes on the verge of bursting await the

looming flush of greenery. Soon, hundreds of miniature impala will demand attention and the “ooh”s and “aah”s of

onlookers will dominate conversation.


When you take a few moments of your day to sit and observe your surroundings, you’ll be amazed at how much

there is to see. Take a look at the pictures below and I hope you will enjoy reading and looking at these pictures.

One of the best pictures and the highlight of my career on brown hyena sightings on the reserve, I was very

fortunate to get such a beautiful picture like this, especially on a day light.

Brown hyenas are born with their eyes closed, and open them after eight days. Cubs are weaned at 12 months and

leave their dens after 18 months, unlike spotted hyenas; all adult members of the clan will carry food back to the

cubs. Despite often being likened to dogs, the Hyenidae family is unique from felines and canines


I came across this male giraffe on the early morning safari at Ngulubi dam, he wanted to drink and he decided to

pray first that he doesn’t get caught by a crocodile while drinking. Ngulubi dam has two massive crocodiles and

there are also baby crocodiles.

Now what could a giraffe be needing at ground level? Only one thing – water! To drink water giraffe have to adopt a

very ungainly position with legs widely spread as shown in the images. This places them in a position of extreme

vulnerability to predators for it requires much effort and precious time to get into this position and regain an upright

posture when they have finished drinking.


To say that I’m fascinated by birds is an understatement. For me, as I’m sure for many guides, birds are some of

the unsung heroes of a Bushveld experience, who are not always given their due. One thing I absolutely love doing

is trying to evoke an interest in birds in people who never had one before. It doesn’t always happen, but it is very

rewarding to have someone go from not caring about the difference between a vulture and an eagle on day one of

their safari, to lunging for the binoculars to try and identify a nondescript brown thing hopping around in the

undergrowth by day two or three.

Lilac breasted roller trying to catch a fly for a meal, the sexes are alike in coloration. Juveniles do not have the long tail feathers.


Although there is certainly a market for bird-specialist safaris, most of the more well-known game reserves have

guests visiting to see the more iconic mammal species like elephants, buffaloes and lions. Mention a woodland

kingfisher to most first-time bush visitors, and you’ll find it far down on the list of things to see, waaaay below zebra

and giraffe. That’s assuming a bird was even on the list in the first place. Which it probably wasn’t

I’ll always try to point out the various bird species to my guests as we drive along, focussing at first on the ones

more likely to pique their interest (eagles, storks etc.) and moving on to the smaller, possibly less colourful ones as

we get further into the safari.

Not everyone gets into their birding, and if I sense a lack of interest I’ll tone down the bird commentary.

When you have seen a woodland kingfisher a few thousand times, you get pretty used to what its flight pattern and

call are, so when something flies almost but not quite like a woodland kingfisher, and sounds almost but not quite

like a woodland kingfisher, you stop and consider knowing it’s something different.


This yellow billed hornbill picture was taken by Andrew Clark while on a game drive on Mabula private game reserve

We have seen many more youngsters emerging like the spring blooms here at Mabula Game lodge. With the

arrival of November, the season of newborns is almost upon us with impala,

Wildebeest, zebra and warthog calves, foals and piglets born at this time of year. Watching interactions between

these animals and their vulnerable offspring always reminds us just how important family is in the life cycle of an

animal.

Twelve months cheetah cubs, sighted at hunters dam, southern side of the property. What a beautiful coalition.


The above are two of our cheetahs males cubs cheetahs is poorly equipped to defend itself against other large

predators, with speed being its main means of defence.

Warthog’s babies feeding, piglets begin grazing at about two to three weeks and are weaned by six months.

It sounds a little crazy to have favourite trees. Then again, I’ve never claimed to be normal, so, yes, I do have

favourite trees and not just species, but specific individuals. Several of these are on Mabula, and one of them is a

strangler fig. You drive past it as you come to Modjadji plains, western side of the Mabula Private Game Reserve.

Strangler fig on Modjadji plains, there two of them, one on southern side of the plain and one on northern side, beautiful trees indeed.


The ground is carpeted with layer on layer of leaf and loam, crunchy on the top, soft and yielding underneath.

Dominating the small clearing is a fluted column, flaring to the base, trailing a beard of roots along an outstretched

branch, crowned and canopied in green.

Nature’s sculpture, laid for you to see, spreading its peace and glory over you as you stand below.

The years of growing can be traced within the bulges and extrusions of the bark. The threaded roots reach down

towards you. The ground invites you to sit, back braced against the tree’s great trunk, held safely in its peace. A

soft breeze sighs in the leaves above as you listen, spellbound, to the many whispered tales of the tree.


For the easy access to nature in its glory, for the moments of afternoon heat endured and eased by shade. The

bush is always there. When I am able to return, the strangler fig will be there waiting for us to stop by and enjoy a

nice shade.

Beautiful strangler fig, photo taken on Modjadji plain, this tree has seen couple of years already.

Look at how zebra baby camouflages herself next to the mother, long legs that are as long as the mother, so that

their stomach can be the same as the mother, thus will make it difficult for the predators to see the baby.


The African buffalo is not an ancestor of domestic cattle, and is only distantly related to other larger bovines. Owing

to its unpredictable nature, this makes it highly dangerous to humans. These large herds of Buffalo take strain in

the absence of consistent rain.

Mirror picture, reflection on the water, many animals are nervous when approaching a water source, I’m always

amazed that each zebra has its own stripe pattern, just like our finger prints!


Working in a game reserve helps one get the most out of a wilderness experience elsewhere. Learning the habits

of various animals helps predict their movements.

We count ourselves very fortunate to be able to have experiences like this.

When everyone is scared of you, they stay awake all the time, while you enjoy your peaceful sleep, they become

your bodyguards while you relaxing, as with these lions above, they were enjoying their afternoon nap while blue

wildebeest watching them on a distance, what a beautiful game reserve we live in, we are always on a holiday.

Nevertheless, the Bushveld still speaks to us and reveals its readiness for new life. In particular, impala ewes and

wildebeest cows are bulging at the belly, and the search for the first lambs and calves of the season amongst the

ranging and tracking heats up!

Time will tell. For now, weavers continue to build their nests, Storks resort to stabbing into the mud for hidden

amphibians and vultures ride thermals immediately after daybreak. In patient anticipation, the wildlife persists.


On your next visit to Mabula game lodge, be sure to go on a bush walk with your guide.

It will open your eyes to the myriad of smaller denizens that inhabit this environment, and being on foot is one of

the best ways to immerse yourself in the bush.

The galloping heat passes for the day, fading away and over the horizon, highlighting the distant mountains

surrounding the Mabula private game reserve and Waterberg region.


A group from France that consisted of 80 guests enjoying a sundowner drinks at Christmas hill, after a long day at

Mmamakwa primary school in Bela Bela, where the school got a donation from the guests.

What a wonderful and a beautiful way of ending your trip on mabula game lodge, this one of the best sunset we

had at mabula game lodge. What a beautiful country we live on.


So when out on drive at Mabula, ask your guide to tell you about some adventures he or she has been on in the

last years. I’m pretty sure they’ll have some stories to tell…

As we wind down to the end of the year, we remember the importance of our own family connections and what

family means to us. We hope that as you enter the last part of the year, you too will enjoy quality time with the

people who matter most to you.

That’s all I have for you this month, until next month again, enjoy reading.

From Isaiah Banda & Wildlife team.

Bushveld greetings

Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

Mabula guides · Twelve months cheetah cubs, sighted at hunters dam, southern side of the property. What a beautiful coalition. Compiled by: Isaiah Banda (Wildlife Services Manager)