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News from Zululand
Warm greetings from Zululand!!
We would like to wish you a happy new year, may 2010 be filled with joy, peace, excitement, health and success.
News from the rangers by Johann Lotriet
Our stunning reserve continues to amaze us all by delivering more and more special and surprising sightings of all kinds. Calving season is now in full swing and all the local animal species are boasting many youngsters.
A really special place to come and view these animals at close range is Leopard Mountain's wonderful hide. Apart from being visited by rhino's, buffalo's and occasionally elephants, it is an absolute hive of activity at almost any time! Here you are constantly surrounded by drinking wildebeest, zebra, waterbuck, reedbuck and the warthogs are a pleasure to watch as they mud-bathe together with their new-born.
The birding at the hide is also of very high quality and many special species frequent the dense forest around the hide. Lesser honey-guide, red-faced mouse-bird, bearded scrub-robin, terrestrial brown-bull and the scarce pink-throated twinspot are all frequently seen at the hide. A group of eight Marabou storks have also been calling Leopard mountain hide their home for a few weeks now. The short trip to the hide also delivers good birding with Jacobin's cuckoo, black and brown-crowned tchagra's, dusky indigo bird, African harrier-hawk and long-tailed paradise whydahs only a few of the many great species to be seen. Other birds frequenting the hide include: grey and common waxbill, African and Jameson's fire finches, African pygmy kingfisher and plenty of red-billed oxpeckers which are attracted to the many mammals that visit the waterhole.
The reserve continues to be a great place to view cheetahs and we had numerous encounters with two males which were seen in the same vicinity for quite a period. Leopard sightings across the reserve were up a little and one of our drives encountered a beautiful specimen crossing the road. Black rhino's were a little more elusive of late, but white rhino's abound across our game drive routes. Smaller groups, mothers and calves and solitary bulls are usually seen, but occasionally you could also encounter large "crashes" consisting of up to eight rhino's. All the rhino's are in very good condition and many calves are a good sign that they do breed well in the ZRR. Our resident rhino bull has also returned to his favorite waterhole near the lodge after a scuffle with another big bull. We've done a few late-night drives recently and have been able to view some elusive nocturnal animals such as porcupines, genets, white-tailed mongoose and bush-babies. There are also many special feathered nocturnal friends such as grass owls, spotted thick-knees and fiery-necked nightjars. We again eagerly wait to see what the next month will hold. Certainly it will be a good one....
Bush Cuisine
Summer Salad
4 cooked Beetroot
1 peeled Papino
1 cup cubed Feta Cheese
Generous handful of rocket
4 or 5 springs of fresh mint
Method
Roughly chop all the ingredients and toss together with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Sprinkle with toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds.
Serves 2
And finally...enjoy!!!!
Have you ever wondered...?
About the Waterbuck
Kobus Ellipsiprymnus
Despite the name, the waterbuck is not truly aquatic nor as much at home in water and swamps as is the Sitatunga or Lechwe. Waterbuck inhabit areas that are close to water in grasslands, forests and woodlands. However, these habitats not only provide sustenance but long grasses and watery places where the waterbuck would take refuge to escape predators.
The Zulu name for Waterbuck is IPHIVA.
The waterbuck is a large, robust animal. The males are generally about 25 percent larger than the females and can weigh about 250 kilograms where the females weigh about 180 kilograms. They have large, rounded ears and white patches above the eyes, around the nose and mouth and on the throat. Only the males have horns, which are prominently ringed and as long as 40 inches. The horns are widely spaced and curved gracefully back and up.
The waterbuck is mainly a grazer and occasionally browses leaves from certain trees and bushes. The waterbuck also requires a large amount of water and they feed in the mornings and at night.
Waterbuck are associated in herds of up to 50 or 60 individuals, and they are not territorial animals.
The waterbuck is distributed in Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Dusky Indigobird
Vidua funerea (Latin)
Old Roberts' name:Black widowfinch
This indigobird is distinguished from other indigobirds by its white bill and red legs. It is an easily overlooked species, mostly seen in summer when their breeding plumage makes them much more apparent. As with many other birds in its family (whydahs), they attain striking plumage in the summer when males attempt to attract females. Despite their small size, they become very aggressive towards other males and even other species of much larger birds. Another common trait it shares with its family is that they are polygynous, with males sometimes mating with several different females. Indigobirds are all brood-parasites and very host-specific, the dusky indigobird parasitizing the African firefinch and also occasionally mimicking the call of that species. They will often perch conspicuously but they feed mainly on the ground where they search for a variety of seeds. They prefer forest edges, riverine scrub and denser thornveld and are a regular visitor to the Leopard Mountain hide.
Funny Bones
Two Zebras Pondering
Two Zebras are talking and one asks the other, "Am I black with white stripes or white with black stripes?" the other replies, "Well I don't know. You should pray to God about that and ask him. "So that night he did and God replied, "You are what you are." The next day he said to the other Zebra, "I still don't understand what I am because God just said, you are what you are." The second Zebra responds, "You must be white with black stripes or else God would have said Yo is what yo is."
.........You could be the lucky person to win yourself and a partner a free night including dinner, bed & breakfast and game drives at the lodge. You may email us your answer to
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
(competition closes 20th December 2009 terms & conditions apply):
This month's competition:
I am, in truth, a yellow fork
from tables in the sky
by inadvertent fingers dropped
the awful cutlery.
Of mansions never quite disclosed
and never quite concealed
the apparatus of the dark
to ignorance revealed.
What am I?
Thank you to everyone who responded to our November competition! The winner of our Leopard Mountain competition for November is Marlise Venter. Congratulations - you have won yourself and a partner a free night at the lodge including dinner, bed & breakfast as well as game drives!
Last Month's competition was:
I can sizzle like bacon,
I am made with an egg,
I have plenty of backbone, but lack a good leg,
I peel layers like onions, but still remain whole,
I can be long, like a flagpole, yet fit in a hole.
What am I?
Snake
Thank you to everyone who responded to our Photo competition! The winner of our Leopard Mountain Photo competition is Julie Bigara. These are stunning photos.
Congratulations - you have won yourself and a partner a free night at the lodge including dinner, bed & breakfast as well as game drives
Best guest comments of the month
Thank you for an amazing stay. We adore this stunning setting, and you are all so friendly and welcoming – made us feel right at home!
An experience to be savored! Thank you for a truly memorable & amazing weekend... the personalized attention has been remarkable!
Stunning views, brilliant décor, divine food & excellent service, be assured that your resort will be recommended to all!
Love it, love the staff, and love the experience. Thank you so much. Amazing!!!
Thought for the month:
"Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver."
~Anonymous~
Good Wishes until we chat again next month...
Editor
Hilke Klingenberg |
