16th March – ...to predict what we would find!

On This Day

One of the Klaserie Males, and dominant males of the Voel Dam Pride (16th March 2008)

Voel Dam Pride (16th March 2008)

Voel Dam Pride (16th March 2008)

Voel Dam Pride (16th March 2008)

Klaserie Male, Kuvaviseka, who is also the believed father of the White Lions (16th March 2008)

Kuvaviseka, "Scar"  (16th March 2008)

Kuvaviseka  (16th March 2008)

Elephant calf in the green summer growth of 16th March 2009

Mtenga-tenga male rhino also enjoying the green summer of 16th March 2009

After the good rains for March and February 2010, the Dam in front of the Lodge almost filled up - although it dried up last week, we are still always hoping for that one big rain fall to fill it up in 2011 (taken 16th March 2010)

Morning Drive

(No Guests – staff drive)

3 x Lions (Mahlathini males with a buffalo kill) – Karan’s, Western Cutline

Afternoon Drive

(Herald)

3 x Lions (Mahlathini males with a buffalo kill) – Karan’s, Western Cutline

1 x leopard (Argyle Male) – De Luca, Crossing Below Mpela-pela

1 x rhino (unknown male)

1 x breeding herd of elephants – Motswari, Camp

Daily Synopsis

Not having any guests in camp, we had a slightly later start to the day, and continued helping with the Sharalumi Cottage refurbishment.  As we were getting new guests in camp in the afternoon, and thinking that the Mahlathini males would be on Scholtz somewhere, where only Motswari drives, we sent out Johannes, Petros and Difference to go and track them down to see if our predications would be correct...

Well, they were...almost!  They had carried on south-east towards Scholtz, but before they got there, they found the buffalo they were after and successfully killed it!  That set up the afternoon very nicely!  I took some of staff to go and see the lions and then waited for my guests to arrive in the afternoon; they did arrive late, so Herald was out on his own for this drive, but he did well!

He started off heading down to see the three male lions resting near their buffalo kill, then went back north to follow up on a report of a male leopard near our very northern boundary.  He relocated the leopard, Argyle Male, sleeping in the Sakarongonza riverbed.

Driving away from the leopard after Marka and his Java guests joined the sighting, Herald drove 100m down the road and found a male white rhino sleeping in the waterhole!  What a great surprise.  It wasn’t one of our regular rhinos, but he seemed only slightly nervous and hung around for a few minutes before moving off!