Rainfall and Temperatures

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature for this month was 28°C / 82°F and the average minimum temperature 7°C / 44°F.  The average maximum temperature for June 2009 is slightly lower than June 2008, but 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 June was 34°C / 93°F and the lowest was 0°C / 32°F.

Rainfall

As expected during the winter period we did not receive any rainfall during the month.  A small green tinge can still be seen in some of the grass species due to the rainfall experienced during May.  As a result the total rainfall received during this rainfall season still remains at 770.5 mm and the total for 2009 remains at 390 mm.

Field

Maintenance

Maintenance during the month involved the repair of the water pump and pipeline providing water to Warthog Wallow Pan.  Many of the existing pipes were old and began to leak between the joins thus preventing fresh water from reaching the pan.  Towards the end of the month all the leaks were repaired and we began to pump the pan thus ensuring that there is sufficient water available to support the wide variety of animals at Lion Sands.

Roads

Only a small amount of road maintenance was done during the month as all efforts were concentrated on the repair of the pipeline to Warthog Wallow Pan.  As we are now in our winter season, the lack of rainfall provides and excellent opportunity to undertake routine maintenance on several roads in the Reserve before the rains return.

Routine maintenance was completed on Xingalaan and Zebra in the east as well as Konkoni and Treehouse in the West.  Routine maintenance involves the opening of mitre drains and the repairing of their associated humps as well as the filling of potholes and the removal of obstructions such as rocks.  This is very important as it facilitates the removal of water from the roads surface.

Vegetation and Water

With the lack of rainfall that accompanies the winter season, most tree and grass species are beginning the dormant phase.  Trees lose their leaves and grasses store their nutrients in their roots.  These are both strategies to save water and nutrients to allow for rapid growth when spring arrives as a result, the vegetation looks dull and dry making game viewing excellent!

More Impala lilies are beginning to flower, these are one of the only plant species in the Reserve to flower during the winter period when the plant is leafless and seem to only grow in the warmer drier areas among rocks or in sandy open woodland areas.  The flowers are very showy, white or pale pink in colour, with a pink to crimson red border making them an incredible sighting in the barren landscape.

The water levels in the main waterholes in the Reserve are high with all the pans full of water thus being able to support the wide variety of animals.  Most of the small natural pans and mud pools have now completely dried up, forcing animals to move to the waterholes and Sabie River in search of fresh drinking water.

Animals

Birds

Temperatures have remained warm during the beginning of the winter period and we therefore on the odd occasion still catch a glimpse of some of the migrant species which should have left during the onset of winter. 

These include species such as Eurasian and Purple Rollers, Lilac-breasted Rollers (images below) are a common very sighting.  There have also been several sightings of predatory bird species including Short-tailed Snake Eagles, Whitebacked Vultures, Blackshouldered Kites and Little Banded Goshawks.  Saddlebilled and Woollynecked storks can also still be seen at many of the waterholes feeding on the small crustaceans and vertebrates.

   

Reptiles

Reptile activity on the Reserve still remains low due to the colder winter conditions and the hibernation of many of the reptile species.  A few snake species have been seen during June, these are probably late hibernators in search of a safe location to spend the winter period.  Most reptiles can still be located on rocks and in the sunny areas where they rely on the sun to increase their body temperatures, allowing them to begin their day’s activities. Reptile sightings during the month include:

Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)
Tree Agama (Acanthocerus atricollis)
Puff Adder (Bitis arietans)
Serrated Hinged Terrapin (Pelusios sinuatus)
Water Monitor (Varanus niloticus) (Images below)

    

Special Sighting

Mother hyena reveals den

Spotted hyenas are not a common sighting on Lion Sands due to their low numbers and the inaccessibility of their den sites.  As a result any sighting of these splendid animals is a special one and we were recently treated to the most incredible sighting.

Whilst on morning game drive, Lion Sands Field Ranger, Kurt Bertels, located an adult female hyaena traveling down one of the roads at a rapid pace and decided to follow her and see what had grabbed her attention.  She followed the road to the Hilda’s Rock area and then moved off the road into the surrounding vegetation. There was lots of hyena activity in the area indicating that there might be a den in the area, vehicle in tow, through the vegetation, we located the den containing two 2-month old cubs at its entrance.

Hyenas usually bear litters of two to four cubs which unlike the other two hyena species are born with their eyes open.  Cubs begin to eat meat from kills near the den at about 5 months, but they are suckled for as long as 12 to 18 months - an unusually long time for carnivores.  This is probably a necessity as most kills are made far from the den and hyenas unlike jackals and wild dogs do not bring back food and regurgitate it for their young.  At about 1 year, cubs begin to follow their mothers on their hunting and scavenging forays.  Until then, they are left behind at the den with a babysitting adult.

This was truly and incredible sighting and we will hopefully have several more of the growing cubs.

   

Mammals

Lion

Certain members of the Hilda’s Rock Pride have been seen on several occasions throughout the month mostly in and around the vicinity of the Sabie River.  It appears as if only one of the three cubs reported on earlier is still alive.  What happened to the other two is still a mystery as they have spent a great deal of time in the neighbouring Kruger National Park.  The female and her cub can often be seen on the southern bank of the Sabie River but they have ventured as far as Warthog Wallow Pan in search of prey items as well as shelter from danger.

The Southern Pride was seen occasionally during the month with the pride fragmented over a large area instead of in one large group.  The pride now numbers 16 as one of the sub-adult males was killed by the neighbouring Charleston Pride when the rest of the Pride attempted to steal a kudu kill.  What’s strange is that the 4 members of the Charleston Pride managed to defend their kill from the far larger Southern Pride, numbering 17 at that stage.  Predation was average and a number of impala kills were recorded during June.

   

Leopard

Sandriver male, our dominant male leopard, hasn’t been seen for a while now and we believe that he has been preoccupied with mating with an unknown female on a neighbouring property.  We do not know who the female is as she is difficult to observe since she is very shy and elusive.  Predation has been normal this month and a few impala kills were witnessed.

The tracks of several female leopard and their newborn cubs have been discovered during game drives this month.  One female has three cubs, one has two and the other only has one.  All these females and their cubs look strong and healthy and are being seen throughout the Reserve.

We’ll keep you updated on the progress of our cubs as they fight the odds to survive to adulthood.

Other Interesting Sightings

Black rhino have again been seen crossing into Lion Sands from the Kruger National Park a number of times.  A female Serval has been observed hunting on several occasions, this particular individual appears to be very relaxed around vehicles and thus allows us to stay with her for longer than is common for Serval.  Nyala antelope have been seen mating and Cape Clawless otters have been seen along the river.

Civet, Large-spotted Genet and White-tailed Mongoose have been observed regularly after sunset.  An elephant bull was observed chewing on some bones - many large mammals do this to supplement their calcium and phosphate needs.

Big Five Sightings

	Lion	Leopard	Buffalo	Elephant	Rhino
Percentage	82 %	75 %	100 %	100 %	100 %

Table 2.0 Table indicating the percentage of Big 5 sightings in the month of June on game drives on Lion Sands Private Game Reserve.

Edwin Pierce

Ecologist
Lion Sands Private Game Reserve