The Leopard's Tale - October 2010
News From Zululand
Good day to all our Leopards Tale Readers
Spring has sprung... or has it? Already 1 month into spring and no rain cloud in sight, we will all be doing our rain dances soon!
This month we have been rather busy, we assisted with the Vulture awareness day done at the beginning of this month with some interesting results and some wonderful sightings of juvenile lappet faced vultures.
We also have great pleasure in announcing that we have been awarded with a GOLD by Diners Club for our Wine list, we are so proud and can't wait to share our, now an, award winning wine list with you all.
Don't Forget... Coming up this month
2nd October beach cleanup (Durban), visit www.sagoodnews.co.za
4th October world animal day, visit www.wessa.org.za
4th to 8th October weed buster week, visit www.wessa.org.za
11th to 15th October Save our seabirds festival, visit www.sanccob.co.za
Do your bit for conservation, check out these websites to see how you can help!
Leopard Mountain Awarded GOLD for Diners Club International Wine List Awards 2010
The 2010 Diners Club Wine list Awards winners were announced at ceremonies held across South Africa in recognising those establishments whose wine lists not only provide a balanced range of wines but that also best complement the food on offer.
The competition has played a major role for nearly 20 years in raising the standard of restaurant wine offerings and top performers received Diamond certification, followed by Platinum, Gold and Silver.
Commenting on the standard of the competition Dave Hughes, chairman of the judging panel, said that many of the wine lists that entered this year offered a wider choice in terms of price, with entry-level and mid-level wines providing a proper balance for the award-winning ones at the top.
Hughes also praised the closer correlation developing between menu and wine list. "Wine, after all, is there to complement the food but for years wine lists and menus were treated as unrelated offerings. Now more and more restaurateurs take a lot of care in assembling a range of wines they believe complement their food and then guide the patron by means of the wine list in making an appropriate choice."
Visit www.dinersclub.co.za for more details.
OUR RESERVE
As the temperature steadily rises, the game viewing seems to be getting hotter too!! With ever-expanding routes, the past month has been without a doubt the most incredible to date. The veld is brown and everybody is eagerly holding their breaths for the first rains to quench the thirst. This also generally makes for better good viewing, as the last 4 weeks have shown. Prepare to be amazed at the diversity of life that we have been privileged to view over the past month.
Black Rhino
The reserve's flagship species (and arguably the most elusive and endangered of all the African mammals) has not been disappointing in the past months. Officially, there were 13 sightings over the past month and more than 30 recorded sightings for the past 3 months. These kinds of numbers speak for themselves, as you would probably not find any other place which can offer guests such great opportunities of viewing these rare beasts in a huge part of unspoilt wilderness where they naturally occur. What is also worth mentioning is that many of these sightings were very close quarters and lasted for quite some time. Black rhino middens litter around almost every corner. It is awesome to know that there is such a haven for these truly great animals and that we can share it with so many other people.
White Rhino
Although it is more common (not as critically endangered as black rhino) and less skulking than its black cousin, these large animals are certainly not to be forgotten. As usual, sightings of white rhino are almost too numerous and frequent to recount. Many of them gather at our hide of late as it is becoming a critical water point for more and more animals. It is also great to note the large number of very young and sub-adult calves. A few new individuals which have not previously been identified have also been seen around.
Cheetah
After a quiet spell, the latter part of the month again delivered on the cat sightings. The last sighting of two males, dated 24/09, was an especially great one as we found them tearing apart a freshly killed Impala ram mere meters from the road. Although we have viewed these males numerous times before, seeing them on a kill at such close range is a truly memorable experience. The two southern cubs also seem to be doing well and erratic sightings of them were recorded at various places for the month.
Elephant There has been a lot of elephant activity, notably a lot of it on LM. Once again our hide played a significant role in attracting both the breeding herd and two solitary bulls. They were subsequently seen many times around the LM area and provided us with several highly entertaining hide trips when they graced us with their presence. The last four weeks has definitely been the longest that they have spent in the southern areas for quite some time and we are surely hoping the trend will continue.
Other Sightings of Note
Not to be forgotten are the smaller and even more elusive cats. It was a very good month for caracal sightings and at least four great encounters with them were had this month, all presumably with different individuals. Small-spotted genet is seen very regularly and there were also isolated sightings of serval. One of the more humorous encounters, was on our return to the lodge after a wonderful few hours at the Hide, we discovered that we have picked up a hitch hiker, a Rock Monitor Lizard, who found that the undercarriage of the Game Viewer was the best place to escape the heat of the day.
OUR ENVIRONMENT
Each 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 Black Shouldered Kite:-
Black Shouldered Kite:
The black-shouldered kite is a small nomadic kite with a short, hooked bill and wide gape, and typically hunts by hovering, dropping in stages to catch mostly rodents on the ground. Hovering is more energy intensive and they will also, therefore, still-hunt from perches. Overall, it has a blue-grey tinge hence the scientific name E. caeruleus, meaning blue. They are monogamous and territorial when breeding, with short-term pair-bonds due to nomadic or migratory habits. The male is mostly responsible for the raising of the chicks and the female has more than one mate.
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!
What is the difference between a Frog and a Toad?
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Frogs
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Toads
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Generally speaking, though, when we think of frogs, we generally picture what are called "True Frogs"....
members of the family Ranidae, containing more than 400 species.
These frogs have the characteristics of:
• two bulging eyes
• strong, long, webbed hind feet that are adapted for leaping and swimming
• smooth or slimy skin (generally, frogs tend to like moister environments)
• Frogs tend to lay eggs in clusters.
Frogs from this family can be found on every continent except Antarctica. They are referred to as the "true frogs" because of their generalized body form and life history: the so-called generic frog.
Members of this family include the bullfrog, common frog, green frog, leopard frog, marsh frog, pickerel frog, and wood frog. |
The term toads tends to refer to "True Toads"....
members of the family Bufonidae, containing more than 300 species.
These types of frogs are characterized by:
• stubby bodies with short hind legs (for walking instead of hopping)
• warty and dry skin (usually preferring dryer climates)
• paratoid (or poison) glands behind the eyes
• The chest cartilage of toads is different also.
• Toads tend to lay eggs in long chains. (There are some toads (genera Nectophrynoides), however, that are the only types of anurans to bear live young!)
True Toads can be found worldwide except in Australasia, polar regions, Madagascar, and Polynesia, though Bufo marinus has been artificially introduced into Australia and some South Pacific islands.
Besides Bufo, the family includes 25 genera, all of which, like the frogs, are anura! |
BUSH CUISINE
Creamed Mealie Soup
Serves 10
Ingredients
1 large Onion, diced
1 Celery stalk, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 tsp Paprika
4 tins Whole Kernel Corn, drained
+/- 1 Liter Chicken Stock
2 Cups Cream
Method
- Sautee the Onion, Garlic and Celery in butter till soft
- Add Paprika and fry 1 minute
- Add the Corn, Cream and enough stock to just cover
- Bring to a boil and simmer 30-40 minutes
- Remove from heat and puree
- Adjust consistency with cream and season with salt and pepper
- Garnish with Red Pepper essence
FUNNY BONES
The Mime & the Lion
There is a mime out of work and is looking for a job and finds himself walking from place to place asking for employment. Later he finds a very good spot at the down town zoo where lots of family's and school groups like to spend quality time viewing animals. He finds a very good spot on a corner of a path and begins to pull a crowed. The zoo keeper see's this happening so he asks the mime to please step into his office. The zoo keeper explains to the mime that there gorilla has died recently and offers the job to dress up as the gorilla and receive a salary, of course the mime accepts the job.
The mime begins to enjoy this job sleeping around doing nothing all day to occasionally teasing onlookers. He begins to draw a crowed till one day he notices the lion next door to his cage is attracting more viewers. The mime decides to move across to the lion`s cage and sit above him teasing the lion making him angry, this starts to make the lion upset but the number of viewers gets larger and the two begin to become a very well known attraction, with this the mime receives a higher salary. Everything seems to be looking good for the mime till one day he loses his footing and falls into the lion`s cage. The lion sees the opportunity to get back at the mime in the gorilla suit and starts to hunt him down. Whilst the mime is running around with the lion chasing him in the cage he is screaming asking for help! At this point the lion brings the mime down with the mime screaming at the top of his lungs, 'please don't eat me!', at this point the lion replies, 'hey just relax buddy and play along!'
THIS MONTH'S 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 20th October 2010 terms & conditions apply):
Solve this Riddle:
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?
LAST MONTH'S WINNER
Thank you to everyone who responded to our competition! The winner of our LEOPARD MOUNTAIN competition is Tony Gibbs. Congratulations - you have won yourself and a partner a free night.
Last Month's competition was:
Three lives have I.
Gentle enough to soothe the skin,
Light enough to caress the sky,
Hard enough to crack rocks
What am i?
Answer - WATER
BEST GUEST COMMENTS FOR THE MONTH
Andre & Madga Slabert – Balito 18/09/2010
What a wonderful experience on our 25th Wedding Anniversary!!!
Janette Okker 01/09/2010
Thank you so much for an awesome experience and so good to meet you all. We had such a stunning time and I will definitely be back. The service and hospitality really made our trip and what a gorgeous place words fail. Johann/Riley thank you for the game drives really great drives; next time thought best you track those cats for me.
Tony & Bev – Balito 19/09/2010
Awesome! What a wonderful two days! We'll be back!
GOING GREEN
In the world today we all need to make an effort to help our environment recover from the damage we have caused. Some of us look at this and head for the hills as we think that only a huge project will make an impact, this of course is not the case any effort, no matter how small is a start!
THIS MONTHS TIP
Hopefully any day soon the rain will come, isn't it wonderful to see how things quickly transform from a dry dusty earth to a brilliant green full of life. Water is something that we cannot do with out and there is no alternative. While we wait for the rain we have become more and more aware of how quickly we waste water.
Did you know that in South Africa the average rain fall each year is just over 400mm? If you had to catch this rain that runs off your roof, you will have about 120 000 litres of water for every 50 square meters of roof, enough for about 160 showers.
Start thinking about how you can catch this water…. It's free!
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH
'We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.' – Thomas Fuller.
…till we chat again next month...
Editor
Melissa van Rooyen
All pictures courtesy of Ivor van Rooyen & Riley de Charmoy Bouchet
