The Leopard's Tale - November 2010
News From Zululand
Good day to all our Leopards Tale Readers
A big thank you to all our guests who have sent the rain clouds our way. We have finally received rain we so desperately need. The dust has settled and sure enough small splashes of green are starting to emerge. While it has been almost wintery cold some days, we are preparing ourselves for the hot humid days that always follow.
NEWS FROM OUR ARTIST Leopard Mountain's very own artist and professional photographer, Kim Steinberg, has done exceptionally well in the prestigious Getaway Magazine Photo Competition in their Desert Category and ran away with First and incredibly Second place. She followed this up with an art exhibition in Eshowe where she was chosen out of approximately 20 artists and photographers to display her art permanently in the resident Gallery.
A fine honour indeed. Well done. Kim's art and photography can be viewed on the Leopard Mountain website under "African Art" or alternatively http://www.leopardmountain.co.za/africanart
Don't Forget... Coming up this monthDo your bit for conservation, check out these websites to see how you can help!
|
|
21 November 2010, World Fisheries Day!!
World Fisheries Day aims to draw attention to the necessity of changing the way the world manages global fisheries to ensure sustainable stocks and healthy oceans ecosystems. There is a call for us to ensure that fisheries are there tomorrow!!! So, do your bit and Click Here, to ensure the fish you're eating is GREEN! IT IS IN OUR HANDS!!! |
|
|
27 November 2010
26th Sappi BirdLife South Africa Birding Big Day
The annual Sappi BirdLife South Africa Birding Big Day is a fun, yet competitive day for South Africa's bird-watchers, while at the same time raising much needed funds for BirdLife South Africa's important bird conservation work. |
| Please consider the environment before printing and posting your entry form! Click on Entry Form (1.2MB) to download a Word version that you can fill in electronically and email to
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
|
Download the Birding Big Day checklist Click here to view a list of the exciting prizes on offer Please contact Sadie Halbhuber for more information. Tel. +27(0)11 789 1122 or email
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Your participation helps bird research and bird conservation! Our Reserve
It is with great pleasure that I again have the opportunity to share all the awesome events and happenings of our little paradise with you. The first good rain has thoroughly quenched the land and there is abundance of life in any shape and form you can imagine. As the complexion of Leopard Mountain rapidly changes into lush, fluorescent greens, we are continuously astounded by what the bush here has to offer us. Here are just some of our highlights for the last month.
Birding There hasn't been a comprehensive birding report for quite some time so I will spend some time on our avian friends. Even seasoned twitchers cannot help but be impressed by the variety of local specials and endemics we have to offer. All the common cuckoo species have arrived en-masse- there are constant good sightings of Klaas's-, red-chested-, black-, diederick's-, African- and Jacobin's cuckoo's.
African emerald cuckoo can generally be heard more than seen. Sand forest species are well represented as there are lots of Rudd's Apalis, Yellow-breated Apalis and Neergaard's can also be found. The thicket contains a lot of eastern nicator, pink-throated twinspot, red-capped robin-chat and grey waxbill. The European bee-eaters and broad-billed rollers add beautiful color to the bush and soon the European rollers will also join their ranks. Lesser-, greater-, and scaly-throated honeyguides have all been spotted in the last few weeks. The African pygmy- and grey-headed kingfishers also call the reserve home in summer. It is also interesting to note that there has again been several good sightings of Stierling's wren-warbler in the broad-leaved Combretum areas. Raptor viewing is amazing, and apart from the African crowned, brown snake, African hawk, Wahlberg's and tawny eagles, black-chested snake-eagle has also been sighted lately. This is just a small handful of the incredible species we have here at LM.
Black and White Rhino
After the fall of good rain the white rhino population seems to have undergone significant shifts in grazing areas and territories. It will be interesting to see how these movements develop.
The density at which white rhino occur is evidenced not only by the constant amazing sightings, but also by the middens that are scattered around every corner and the tracks that litter the road. Large sections of the south were burned and after the rain it is here where you can often see large groups congregating. The keen eye will also note many black rhino tracks and dung scattered, often sharing middens with their larger cousins. Here again it has been an incredible month. Fourteen individual Black Rhino sightings were recorded for the month, most of them of really amazing quality. The last morning drive we saw both a single, very relaxed large Black Rhino male as well as two other Black Rhino adult bulls. There have also been several new calves born, which is really exciting stuff!!!
Elephant Prior to the good rain, the elephant breeding herd as well as the two large bulls were staying very close to the lodge and adjacent riverine areas. We had many great hours viewing the majestic animals and had many very close(and truly awesome) encounters. On one occasion we met up head-to-head with one of the bulls going up the riverbed. Space was at a premium and some anxious moments were had before the(fairly) docile animal decided to give us just enough space to pass. The cows with young seem to have relaxed considerably and will now afford you a good look at their beautiful offspring.
Cheetah
The earlier part of the month saw an amazing amount of kills being made by various cheetahs across all our traversing areas. We were lucky enough to find the two-male coalition on two of these kills, both Impala rams. The carcasses were literally all over as they also utilized the burnt areas for hunting. A fairly shy female cheetah was also discovered on a Nyala kill on the LM area, not far from the lodge. Uncharacteristically, she seems to be active mainly in the Msunduze riverine area.
Other sightings of note
Many smaller but equally impressive sightings were also had this past 4 weeks. There were regular sightings of large-spotted genet, thick-tailed bushbabies and the leopard tortoises have also become active after the rains. One morning drive was suddenly drawn to an intense scream emanating from the dense forest floor. It turned out to be the cries of a thick-tailed bushbaby fighting a losing battle against the vice-like grip of a 2,5 m African rock python. Guests were able to sit and view this spectacle for 30 min without disturbing the snake. You just never know what's waiting around the corner. Elsewhere on the reserve an ecological team was also fortunate enough to watch an attempted kill by a leopard on a grey duiker. After the dust settled a slightly limping duiker managed to scamper away otherwise unscathed. Black and white rhino continue to be seen regularly at the hide.
Our EnvironmentEach month we take a look at something that we find in our environment, whether it be a Tree, Bird or Animal, this month we look at the Red Fronted Tinkerbird:-
Red Fronted Tinkerbird
All Tinkerbirds were previously known as Tinkerbarbets. They fall under the genus PONGONIULUS which means 'bearded and diminutive' as in the size of the bird, tail and wing size giving it a direct flight. There is no sexual dimorphism between the male and female so they basically look identical and both sexes live solitary only coming together to mate.
These birds feed much like woodpeckers starting from the base of the tree working their way up to the top of the canopy. They feed mainly on small fruit and are a vital agent when coming to the dispersing of the mistletoe and will occasionally take nectar and hawk insects out of the air. Both sexes living solitary, they will excavate a hole in old tree stumps and usually under it for the protection of predators. Males will use a preferred call-site or song post where they will advertise there calls to invited females. The call sounds somewhat like a fruit bat but the note being closer together in the call, think of a satellite bleeping. When a hole is excavated the left over wood chips will be collected and placed in the nest so if any water so happens to enter the hole the wood chips will help soak the water up. With these wood chips the female will also remove them with the feaces that the chicks have created. Tinkerbirds can at times be double brooded, meaning other birds will lay there eggs in other birds nests for them to raise.
Have you ever wondered:- Is there something that you have always wondered and never been able to answer, let us help, send us your questions and we'll send the answers!
Is the Whale Shark a Fish or a Whale?
- The whale sharks are actually fish and not whales.
- They are the biggest fish in the world and a fully grown whale shark can be as long as 15 metres in length and weigh 20 tones.
- Whale sharks are estimated to live 60–100 years.
- Another unusual aspect of it from other types of sharks is that they entire body has to be used for swimming.
- It is the slowest swimmer too at a rate of only 3 miles per hour. For people who come into contact with it, their first instinct is to swim away as quickly as it can. Even with the size of it though the whale shark doesn't pose a threat to humans.
- The correct species name of a whale shark is Rhincodon typus with "Rhincodon" meaning "rasp teeth" - which is what the whale sharks 4,000 tiny teeth look like (a rasp). The teeth are about the size of a match head or 0.3cm high. They eat only plankton and other small fish and are not interested in eating other things.
- The shark sucks in a mouthful of water, closes its mouth and sieves prey as small as a millimetre through the fine mesh of the gill rakers. They are able to open their mouth wider than a metre, which optimises feeding. However, unlike the megamouth and basking sharks, the whale shark does not rely on forward motion but can hang vertically in the water and 'suck' in food.
- Interesting facts about whale shark is they pay no attention to boats. At their size why would they? So boat owners and captains need to be careful where whale sharks are and it is up to the boat to avoid "accidents".
- The Japanese fishermen are careful not to catch a whale shark. They call the whale shark "ebisuzame" which is a good luck symbol. In Vietnam whale sharks are called "Ca Ong", which means "Sir Fish". Sir Fish is a God the Vietnamese fishermen pray to for protection and good catches of fish.
- People are the biggest threat to the whale shark population. Hunting is banned in most countries but illegal fishing still exists. In Taiwan, whale sharks are known as 'Tofu fish' because of the taste and texture of their flesh, and their fins can fetch up to US$15,000 on the black market for use in shark fin soup. Whale sharks are also vulnerable to boat strikes as they often swim at the surface. Though little is known about natural threats to whale sharks, predatory sharks and killer whales have been known to attack whale sharks and there have been two reports of juvenile whale shark tissue in a blue marlin and blue shark.
- The whale shark is protected in Australian waters under State, Commonwealth and international legislation and it is illegal to disturb, harm or fish for whale sharks. The population of whale sharks is unknown and the species is listed as vulnerable to extinction in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- When snorkelling or diving with whale sharks you must follow a few simple rules: stay 3 metres away from the animal's head and 4 metres away from the tail, and do not touch the whale shark or use flash photography. If you are taking a picture try to photograph the whale's left side behind the gills, then send it to www.whaleshark.org so it can be added to a global database. Whale shark researchers will then try to match your image with other photos sent in by people around the world, to try to shed some light on where whale sharks go when they leave our waters, which means you'll be doing your bit to help protect and understand these amazing creatures.
Bush Cuisine SPICED CARROT SOUP Ingredients: 1 Onion, diced
1 Clove Garlic, chopped
1kg Carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tsp Ginger
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Curry Powder
Zest of 1 Orange
1 tin Coconut Milk
Vegetable Stock
Method: - Fry off the Onion and Garlic
- Add the Ginger, Turmeric and Curry Powder and fry 1 min
- Add the Carrots and stir until coated with the spices
- Add the Orange zest, Coconut milk and Vegetable stock
- Simmer till Carrots are cooked then puree
This Months Competition:-
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 25th November 2010 terms & conditions apply):
Solve this Riddle: When young, I am sweet in the sun.
When middle-aged, I make you gay.
When old, I am valued more than ever
What am I?
Last Months Winner was:
Thank you to everyone who responded to our competition! The winner of our LEOPARD MOUNTAIN competition is Shivani Sewraj. Congratulations - you have won yourself and a partner a free night.
Last Month's competition was:
Only one color,
But not one size,
Stuck at the bottom,
Yet easily flies.
Present in Sun,
But not in Rain,
Doing no harm,
And Feeling no pain,
What am I?
Answer – YOUR SHADOW
