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Moditlo Wildlife Estate

From the Board of Directors:

Dear Member,

This is the first message from the Chairperson of the

MEHOA (Moditlo Estate Homeowners Association)

that will appear in our newsletter. It is in line with a

decision of the BoD (Board of Directors) to improve

the communication with all members of Moditlo.

A very pleasant get-together for all residents was also

held and at the function a need was identified to

create a Whatsapp group for immediate

communication between residents. If you want to

belong to the group please contact Andriette van der

Merwe at 082-576-9528. Quarterly get-togethers for

residents and other interested members are planned.

A very big thank you to all people, who worked very

hard to make it happen.

This year was an extremely hot and dry year with

unpredictable rain falling here and there. The BoD

would like to urge all residents to use water sparingly

especially as to waterholes for game as there is

enough field water available.

Consideration is currently underway to extent the

road network of the residential area to increase the

game viewing experience of all members.

Professionals will be contracted to map the roads. It

was also indicated that they will start soon to further

develop the main gate. Hopefully it will be concluded

in near future. Discussions are underway to take a

final decision on the Contractors gate.

The Architectural Guidelines have been rewritten to

be more organised. Although nothing material has

changed, the new guidelines will be distributed to all

members once scrutinised by the directors for

adoption at the AGM. A huge word of thanks to Albert

Schmidlin for the re-draft. In terms of the

Memorandum of Incorporation the BoD may impose

fines for breaches of the rules and regulations of the

MEHOA. Work is in progress to look at the process

and to draft a schedule of fines for adoption by the

AGM.

The finances of MEHOA are very healthy with most

members paying levies regularly. The BoD has

therefore rescind the decision that application could

be made for liquidated stands to request a once off

payment of R 20 000.00 in respect of arrear levies.

Various proposals were tabled for capital projects for

2016/17. It is worth to note that the development of

Eiland Dam for the use of all members has been given

top priority. Road surfaces will continually be

improved.

I would like to urge all members of MEHOA to be

actively involved in the affairs of the HOA. You are

welcome to contact me at vdmerwes@netactive.co.za

for any queries/inputs. If the input is a request for a

change in any rule and or regulation, it will need to be

supported by at least 10 members, as decided by the

BoD, in order for the proposal to be considered by the

BoD. As the BoD has also received numerous queries

from various stakeholders, a decision was taken

to draft a professional marketing flyer for Moditlo.

May Moditlo go from strength to strength through the

combined input of all its members.

Dr Paul van der Merwe

Chairperson: MEHOA

Newsletter 6 March 2016

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Lack of rainfall

South Africa's current drought is the worst the country has faced in 30 years. A mixture of climate change and the El Niño effect has created weird weather patterns all over the world. In some parts of Africa, the summer rainy season came and went with little rainfall.

As harshly Darwinistic as it sounds, the weaker members of the species are a lot less likely to survive and that leaves the stronger to carry on a healthier species. "There is a pecking order in the ecosystem, and it is definitely good for the ecosystem in getting rid of excess animals and keeping the system healthy," a spokesman from KNP told the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

"Usually only the strongest animals survive such droughts ensuring that the gene pools are healthy. In terms of ensuring that excess animals are rid of, the system actually does that, so the drought is beneficial there," the spokesman from KNP added.

Foraging and grazing animals are expected to be the worst hit - not because of a lack of water but because the vegetation they rely on won't be able to grow.

We shall still hope for rain and am sure it will come, but please do not feed the animals. This is where the Conservancy is amazing, the game can move on the 15,000 hectares in search of vegetation.

Release of new game

After spending some time bonding in an enclosure, 14 wild dogs were

released on the Conservancy in February by the Endangered Wildlife Trust.

They have all been inoculated against Rabies and hopefully we will be

seeing them on Moditlo soon.

What is interesting is the number of Hooded Vultures that were ever

present at the enclosure. These Vultures are uncommon and regarded as

Vulnerable in South Africa. They are primarily scavengers at carcasses.

Hooded vultures are known to follow packs of wild dogs (Roberts Bird

Book) and pick through their droppings in search of tasty morsels as well as

feeding on the carcasses left.

The face of a hooded vulture is normally a light pink colour, but when

stressed, challenged or when breeding, the face will flush a deep pink

colour.

A female Brown Hyena from Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre was also

released. Unfortunately shortly after her release this Brown Hyena ran

south and last heard she was close to Ohrigstad which is about one hour’s

drive away. Brian from Moholoholo suspected she ran home, so she

probably came from there. Brown Hyena have been seen on Moditlo, so

look out for them!

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The Cheetah and her three cubs are doing well and are often seen on

Moditlo! They have grown and are probably just over a year old now. It

was reported that they were chased by the male lion, but managed to

escape.

Talon Grappling : This is the behaviour where two birds grab each other’s

feet in flight. It is usually initiated by one bird (the aggressor) flying down

at a steep angle (sometimes called stooping) from above and behind the

bird it intends to attack (the defender). The result is the two birds lock

talons, instinctively gripping and holding on, and together they then start

to plummet to the ground. Source: Beat About The Bush: Birds; Trevor

Carnaby.

Joy Scheepers found this Common Buzzard, Buteo buteo, lying on the side

of Nyala road. It looked as though it had a leg injury, as it struggled to

stand and it moved away, almost hiding its face. Not sure how it got hurt,

but she saw another buzzard flying overhead, but it is usually the Eagles

with powerful feet and talons that do this talon grappling. When she

returned later that morning the Buzzard was no longer there. Hopefully it

flew away safely.

These photos are of an amazing plant, Black-stick lily (Monkey’s tail) or

Bobbejaanstert, Xerophyta retinervis that grows here on Moditlo, on rocky

outcrops, and it becomes green overnight (pictured below) when it rains,

nature is awesome! It is also one of the first flowers to bloom in spring; it

has a deep to pale mauve flower and flowers from August to February. The

dried roots are smoked for asthma relief or smoke from the whole plant is

used to stop nose bleeding.

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From the Estate Manager:

When last did you visit Moditlo Estate? 23

houses have been completed thus far and 7

houses, including an extension to Vuyani Lodge,

are under construction.

Speed signs were

erected on all our

entrance roads, please

obey the speed limit

because for the safety of

nature, our animals and

our fellow road users

I would like to add on to the current drought issue

and the water usage on the Estate. We are

pumping from three boreholes on average of

3400 Kilolitre per month of which 2500 Kilolitre

on average is used by the owners. Our 37 water

points, which includes the two Lodges, use on

average of 67.5 Kilolitres per point.

We would like to urge you to use water sparingly.

We request that you stop filling your water holes

and watering of gardens on a daily basis. The

water holes in the Carousels will be managed by

Management.

It is the responsibility of everybody to conserve

our water resources during this drought period,

for the benefit of our Estate and its environment.

Thank you for your co-operation in this regard.

Ernst Scheepers