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News from Zululand
What an exciting month, the Zululand Rhino Reserve had a ceremony to celebrate our protected area status on the 15th of July. We are extremely proud to have hosted one of our country’s biggest icons, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, at Leopard Mountain Game Lodge. It was truly a very big honor, and an unforgettable event.
Bush Cuisine
Indian Pineapple Curry
This Sauce is lovely with lamb! But can be used for other red meat dishes as well...especially venison.
Ingredients:
1 cup Pineapple (cut small pieces)
2 Green chillies
1/4 tsp Chilli powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Salt
2 tbsp Sugar
1 cup Grated coconut
1/2 tsp Cumin seed
Curd - 2 tbsp
1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
2 Red chillies
7 Curry leaves -
2 tbsp Oil
Method
Cook pineapple pieces along with chilli powder, turmeric powder, green chillies, sugar and salt. Grind together coconut, cumin seeds and curd. Once pineapple is cooked and becomes soft, add the coconut paste and cook for 5 - 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and when they splutter, add red chillies and curry leaves. Pour this seasoning into the above curry.
Serve with rice or biriyani.
Have you ever wondered….?
Is the cheetah really the fastest animal?
It is probably the fastest land mammal, some antelope species coming close, but it’s definitely not the fastest animal.
Some dragon flies, bees and wasps can fly at around 100km per hour, and some falcons go much faster than 100km per hour, even over 200km per hour in a dive. It is always difficult to say how fast a species is, because like humans, individuals are slightly different and have different capabilities, but it is likely that the average cheetah can attain a speed of p – 100km per hour, Higher speeds that have been ‘recorded’ are probably inaccurate or exceptions.
Written with the help of “Beat about the Bush by Trevor Carnaby
Leopard
Panthera pardus
The name leopard originated from the Greek words ‘pardus’ for panther and ‘leon’ for lion which gives you leon + pardus and is then shortened to form leopard. Leopards are very solitary animals and the only times they will interact with one another is when a male consorts with an oestrous female and when a female has cubs. A female leopard can have 1 – 3 cubs with a gestation period of 3 or more months.
Leopards have a stocky, muscular body and shorter, powerful limbs adapted for a stalking and pouncing hunting technique where the prey is overwhelmed with sheer brute force. The larger head and neck are essential for holding, subduing and hoisting prey up trees. They can carry and hoist prey of up to 50kg into a tree. In silhouette, or from a distance, they are easily mistaken for lion.
Leopards defend territories against other leopards of the same sex but the territories of male leopards overlap with those of females. Occupation of a territory is advertised by marking with urine and faeces, clawing the bark of trees and by vocal signals. Leopards have a distinctive contact call that sounds remarkably like a thin plank of wood being cut with a coarse saw.
Leopards will prey on anything from as small as a dassie to as large as a kudu and they are outranked, only, by hyenas in their willingness to eat rotten meat and will feed on a stored carcass over several days. Leopards scavenge if they get the chance and can steal kills from cheetahs, lone hyenas and any of the smaller carnivores.
White-throated Robin-chat
Cossypha humeralis
This beautiful bird has been gracing us with it’s presence around the lodge and has become as permanent a fixture as the staff at the lodge. It is fairly shy and skulking but can be easily located by its wonderful song. It is an extremely accomplished mimic of other birds and has been recorded successfully mimicking at least twenty other species. They generally call at dawn because there is less noise pollution to contend with. This mimicking serves as a mechanism to defend territories and for males to impress females with their vocal skills.
Their main food source is small invertebrates and they search for these mainly on the ground among leaf litter, scraping it aside with their bills and feet. It is usually a solitary rooster and feeder but it is also monogamous, mating with one partner for life and forming protracted pair-bonds. All Robins are highly territorial throughout the year and will vigorously defend their territories against intruders, especially other Robins.
The female is mainly responsible for the building of the nest and the incubation of the eggs, but the male only assists with the feeding of the chicks. Chicks stay with the parents for approximately three weeks and thereafter move off to establish their own territories.
Funny Bones
One day, as a dog was walking past a store, he noticed a sign that said: “Now hiring: must be able to type 70 words per minute, and must be bilingual. “Equal opportunity employment”. The dog took the sign in his mouth, and brought it to the manager’s office. He set it down on the desk . When the manager realized that the dog was applying for the job, he said: “I’m not hiring a dog!” The dog put his paw on the section of the sign that read “equal opportunity employment.
Well said the manager, let’s see you type 70 words per minute. He handed the dog a document and watched as the dog perfectly duplicated the document, and well over 70 words. The man looked at the dog and couldn’t believe it. “Don’t tell me you’re bilingual too.” The dog opened his mouth and said: “Meow”
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Feel free to drop us an email with your favorite jokes to add into future newsletters. You can send them to
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Brain Teaser
This month’s competition:
A yellow green tree
I’m unique as can be.
With trunk and branches tall,
I drink quantities not small.
Associated with malaria,
Don’t let me scare ‘ya
My name quite deceiving…
But in the end,
I’m very good for feeding.
What am I?
Thank you to everyone who responded to our June competition! The winner of our Leopard Mountain competition for June is Peter Koch 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:
I’m flat and I’m quick,
I fit under a brick.
Mating is a dance,
Don’t take a chance.
You’ll also see me in the sky,
Usually I’m quite shy.
I can cause a lot of pain,
Though I don’t really live up to my killing name.
What am I?
A Scorpion
Stand another chance to win yourself and a partner a night at the lodge…Send no more than 2 of your favourite Leopard Mountain holiday photos to
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to see if your is the best.
This competition is running until the 31st of December 2009, winner will be announced February 2010.
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. Simply answer the riddle below to be entered in our lucky draw and email us the answer to
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(competition closes 20th August 2009 terms & conditions apply):
News from the Lodge
First of all, a huge welcome to Liz, the newest addition to the team, Liz is our new chef and will be ensuring that those taste buds stay tickled…
There are so many exciting things happening on ZRR that it’s hard to keep track of everything!!!! We are in the absolute heart of winter and that means that game-viewing is very good at the moment. The dry grass and leaf less trees have revealed just how abundant certain animals actually are on Leopard Mountain.
Almost every game drive now includes the beautiful red and grey duikers as there is much less cover for them in their preferred dense habitats. The ever-elusive aardvark has been sighted on a number of occasions by Leopard Mountain staff, their burrows littering the roads of the reserve. Because most of the natural water-holes dry up and food becomes harder to obtain at this time, the elephants spend a huge amount of time on Leopard Mountain where we have filled waterholes and a lot of beautiful riverine forest with ample food.
There is an exciting buzz around the lodge at the moment because of newly opened up routes and traversing rights. Leopard Mountain now has ten times more areas to drive on than previously and it is still growing!!! We have had awesome sightings of white rhino’s, big buffalo herds and plenty of giraffe. The best sighting for the month must surely be the juvenile leopard that was seen by some of the LM staff, absolutely brilliant. We suspect that it was approx. a year old but it seemed to be by itself. It was totally unbothered by our presence and was actually very curios.
I cannot, of course, finish without mentioning the awesome birding on Leopard Mountain. The last month alone has turned up specials such as Rudd’s Apalis, Scaly-throated and Lesser honeyguides, pink-throated twinspot, striped pipit, grey-headed kingfisher and lappet-faced vulture to mention but a few!
Click here to have a look at our online gallery of Leopard Mountain Lodge!
Best guest comments of the month:
What a Magical place! The food was fantastic, the view like no other, and we loved getting into the pre-heated beds at night! Thank you very much.
Thank you so much for looking after us so well! Our family has had a fabulous time. It has al been very special-Thank you Leopard Mountain Lodge.
Thank you so much, we had an amazing start to our holiday and I’m sure well be back! The food, service and people were incredible , Many thanks.
Thought for the month:
“Don’t ask for a light load, but rather for a stronger back.” -Unknown
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