Lion Sands Journals » 2008

Ecologist Report October 2008

Rainfall and Temperatures

Temperatures

Summer has arrived and with it the higher day and night time temperatures. The average maximum temperature for this month was 34°C / 93°F and the average minimum temperature 18°C / 64°F. The average maximum temperature for October 2008 falls within the range of temperatures that have been experienced during the previous years which gives the indication that temperatures are not increasing. The highest temperature recorded for October was 43°C / 110°F and the lowest was 11°C / 52°F.

Rainfall

The long awaited rains have finally arrived, with a total of 22 mm received during the month of October. Thus the total received, to date; during the year is 286 mm, 97 mm more rainfall than was received during the same period in 2007.
18/10/2008 8.5 mm
23/10/2008 10.5 mm
30/10/2008 3 mm
Field

Maintenance

The wetland outside River Lodge once again received some attention during the month, as the outlet pipe of the wetland got blocked on numerous occasions because of reeds and leaves in the system. This resulted in water becoming stagnant, and thus deoxygenated, causing excellent conditions for the growth of algae and as a result the water turned bright green. These leaves and reeds were removed from the pipeline and the rocks at the inlet were repacked to create turbulence which oxygenated the water. This has alleviated the algal growth from the wetland as water is highly oxygenated and can once again move through the system.

Roads

The habitat squad has spent most of its time repairing the road network of Lion Sands in anticipation of the wet season’s rainfall. Several roads underwent routine maintenance, whereby mitre drains are opened and their associated humps are repaired. Gravel patching also took place on several of these roads to prevent the build up of water and ultimately cause more damage to the roads surface. The roads that were worked of include, Ivory Access, Chawkleys, Euphorbia, Leadwood West, Puza Manzi, Kingsway, Piva and Nyamazane. Bonsela also received attention with mitre drains being opened and certain sections of the road being leveled. Several sections of this entrance road need the addition of mitre drains to reduce the amount of stagnating water on the roads surface.

Vegetation and Water

The long awaited rains have finally arrived with a total of 22 mm received during the month. This has done wonders for the vegetation and animal species alike. The dry, barren landscape described in Septembers Ecological Report, has been transformed into an oasis of ever increasing green grass and plenty of natural pans scattered throughout the landscape. Almost all of the tree species have now begun showing signs of growth, and it is only a matter of time before they once again possess a lush green canopy.

As a result of the rains received during the month, all of the four major waterholes contain large amounts of water. This is essential as all of the animals in the Reserve depend on water for there survival, either by being directly dependent on the water or being dependent on the animals attracted to the water.

Animals

Birds

A rare sighting of a Narina Trogon (Apaloderma narina) was the highlight of this month’s bird activities on Lion Sands. Other not so common species seen this month were a pair of Southern Ground Hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri), Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), image below, and Wolly-necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus). A Scops owl (Otus scopsi) was seen feeding on a large locust it had caught. Large raptors that were seen this month included Wahlberg’s eagles (Aquila wahlbergi), Tawny eagles (Aquila rapax) and Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus).

A photograph of a Saddle-billed Stork on the hunt for small invertebrates at Warthog Wallow Pan.

Reptiles

With the warmer spells and temperatures experienced in Lion Sands over the past month, reptile activity is on the increase. As conditions warm up, more species should become active and hopefully our reptile sightings should increase. Reptile sightings during the month include:

- Black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis)
- Olive Whip Snake (Psammophis mossambicus)
- Southern Africa python (Python natalensis)
- Leopard tortoise (Geochelone pardalis)
- Flap-neck chameleon (Chamaeleo dilepis)
- Giant plated lizards (Gerrhosaurus validus)

Mammals

Leopard

Leopard sightings have been on the increase during this month, with several leopard sightings recorded during the month. Most of the sightings have been of females, which is excellent, as this could result in cubs being born on the Reserve. The Sandriver male has also been seen on numerous occasions; he had a rather badly injured right front paw and was seen in the same area for over a week as he had trouble moving around.

The cause of the injury was unknown, but it was definitely natural and it was therefore decided that we would let nature take its course. It seems to be a cruel course of action to follow, but the less we interfere with nature’s processes, the better. Surprisingly, we have had reports from the neighboring Reserves which have let us know that all is well with our dominant leopard and that he is making a full recovery. We will keep you update with the progress of our Sandriver male.

A photograph of the Sandriver male at Xigamba Crossing

Lion

The southern pride spent most of the month on the neighboring properties, and we only had sightings of the pride towards the end of the month. The pride males continue to move between the Southern Pride and the Hilda’s Rock pride, looking for opportunities to mate. Of the thirteen cubs that were born into the pride during the beginning of the year, only nine remain, what caused the death of the cubs is still a mystery, but large mortalities in the cubs first years are not uncommon.

The Hilda’s Rock pride were a more common sighting during this month, they could be seen moving along the Sabie River for much of the month, with several sightings of the entire pride directly in front of River and Ivory Lodge.