MammalsNovember's predator sightings were probably our best ever and not only lion but also leopard sightings were basically a daily occurrence. We now have a female leopard with two young cubs residing in the immediate vicinity of the Lodge and a lioness with two young cubs as well, also making the immediate vicinity of the Lodge her home. To make things more exciting we had three young male lions frequenting the Lodge grounds on a few nights. It appears that these young males may be trying to take over the territory of our two dominant males of the area. So far we have only seen the young males around the Lodge and towards the east of the Lodge while two big adult males were seen only towards the west in the Kabulabula region. Male lions get kicked out of their natal prides between the ages of 2 and 3 years. From then onwards they normally lead a nomadic life moving along the fringes of known territories of other prides. They lead this type of life normally for at least a year or two until they have grown strong enough to contend for and defend their own territories. Young males often form coalitions, especially if they are closely related as this will give them strength in numbers not only when hunting but in fighting for and defending territories. The young trio around Game Lodge may start challenging (if they have not already done so) the older dominant males of our resident pride when they get big and confident enough to do so. Their superiority in numbers will give them a distinct advantage over the older males. If they succeed in driving the older males off, they will normally kill all the cubs in the pride of less than about 3 months in age. This is done to bring the females back into oestrus as soon as possible since the males know they may not be in charge of the pride for very long and want to sire their own cubs as soon as possible.
With the park times changing we were granted the opportunity to see some of the nocturnal mammal species getting active in the evenings. The gate closing times changed to 19:00 giving us more than 30 minutes after sunset to still be outside. At the hippo pools we managed to spot a pair of large grey mongooses (Herpestes ichneumon). They are also often referred to by the species name ichneumon, a Greek word meaning tracker after their habit on sniffing out and eating crocodile eggs. They are particularly abundant in the Sudan, where they have been discovered to be a reservoir host for black fever or parasites, the second largest parasitic killer in the world after malaria. This disease is reputed to have killed in excess of 100 000 people in the Upper Nile region in the Sudan in the late 1980's and early 90's with the village of Duar at the centre of the epidemic reportedly only having 4 survivors left out of a population of more than 1000.
On a more upbeat note: the first baby impala was seen on the 1st of November. The impala rutting season more or less coincide with the first full moon after the rainy season and the have gestation period of about 7 months, meaning the first babies will appear more or less when the first rains come. Many herbivore species give birth or at least have a peak in birth rate in the rainy season since this is when food is most abundant and the mother will be in her peak condition. |
