Month: October 2011

A couple of days ago we were out on Safari and looking for the Elephants. We came across a very Large Kudu Bull which had been killed very recently.

At first glace I thought that the Wild Dogs had killed it as only the better more succulent cuts of meat had been eaten. The left shoulder and rump were gone as well as some of the organs such as the heart, lungs and liver.

We all became very excited hoping that we would get to see the Wild Dogs returning to the spot where they had left their puppies and see them regurgitating food up too feed them. Upon closer inspection we saw that the Kudu had in fact been killed by the lions. Not entirely sure why they had not finished their meal … Probably because they were very full from a previous meal or had maybe been disturbed by the Elephants.

The kill was very fresh and even still warm to the touch, so we figured we would have a look around in the area to see whether we could find the lions.

Not 20 minutes later looking above we saw that vultures were starting to move toward the area of where the dead Kudu Bull was located. Hoping to see some action we raced back the kill sight to have a look.

Upon our return it became apparent that we had missed a whole lot already as there were approximately 50 Vultures already feeding on the carcass.

It is said that a White Backed Vulture can consume around 3KG of meat in around 5 minutes, there were around 50 of the guys there so u can imagine what was left of the Kudu after only this very short time. We sat there there for a while watching the commotion and were later joined by a couple of Cape Griffins and a few of the smaller Hooded Vultures which clean up the small scraps left behind by the bigger Scavengers.

Here are some Before and after pics. Not for the faint-hearted! 😉

Hi all!  It has been some time since I have posted on the Blog. Thanks to Henry and the rest of the Vuyani Team for keeping you all up to date with the happenings and safari sightings in and around the camp. It has been a hectic last few weeks with Yolande and myself finally tying the knot after six years and all the arrangements and things leading up to it. All in all it turned out to be a fantastic day with great friends, family and weather.

Since being back on the conservancy, I have been back in the driver’s seat and managed to see and experience a whole bunch of cool things with our guests on safari
One sighting really was cool, last week after a long tracking session we finally managed to find the 3 Sub Adult Male Lions. They had really given me the run around. I managed to find them on foot once or twice but could not get the car into the sighting and on the other occasion upon seeing me walking towards them they got a fright and moved off. On drive that afternoon, and bumbling around in the area we I had last seen their spoor; we came across them spread out in the shade next to one of the bigger dams. In the dam there was also a Crocodile as well as a Hippo Bull we had named George. After spending some time with the 3 adolescents and getting some great shots with the setting sun, we decided to head off for a drink and return after dark to see if we could catch the Lions in action.
The sunset turned out great and everyone was chatting to one another showing off their pictures and discussing the awesome sighting we had just had of the Lions. It started to get a bit dark so after packing up the snacks and dead soldiers, we loaded up into the Game Viewer and began the night safari part of our drive. Heading straight back in the direction of where we left the Lions. We saw some nocturnal species such as African Wild Cat, Large Spotted Genet, Bush Babies and a couple of Scrub Hares. Rounding the bend leading to the Dam we found that George had left the safety of the water and was on his way out to do some feeding. He must have not realised but where he left the water was exactly where the 3 Male Lions had been resting that afternoon. Upon closer inspection we saw that George was surrounded by the Lions and was having a hard time getting to his dinner arrangements.
Coming around the corner had drawn the Lions attention briefly from George to us and had given him the break he needed. On a ticky he had turned around and dashed back to the safety of the water. Entering just to belly depth he stood there grunting and showing his disapproval toward the tormenting young Lions. He was thrashing about in water and making quite a scene, much to mine and the guests’ delight. All the commotion brought the sneaky Nile crocodile onto the scene. He was swimming up and down the bank for the duration of our sighting, mostly likely hoping for some or other unsuspecting creature to wonder into his range of attack.

We also had a great sighting of our breeding herd of elephants. They were in a big open area feeding along the tree line. It was great to be able to see how they utilize all parts of there anatomy such as feet and toe nails, tusks and trunk in order to get to the parts of the plant or tree that they desire. Sightings of all the other general game has also been great especially of this very chilled out, old Warthog Boar. When it comes to safaris, it doesn’t get much better than this!

Quinton Chick – Vuyani Lodge Manager and Head Ranger

We’ve recently received another boost to our biodiversity on our game reserve! Two Cheetahs are currently in a boma (enclosure) getting used to the sights and sounds and smells of their new surroundings before we release them back into the wild.

This is all part of our expansion program, reintroducing animals that would’ve previously naturally occurred here.

In the case of our Lions, Elephants and now the Cheetah we’ve had to intervene and reintroduce them into the reserve. In the meanwhile our lions and elephants were introduced a while back have been doing very well, and they are having offspring already.

These two male cheetahs are brothers and they will form a life long coalition. In general Cheetahs are solitary animals, except when there is a mother with cubs, or a coalition of males. Males and females only come together when the female comes into oestrus and she is ready to mate.

We hope to release them into the reserve in the near future, and we are only keeping them in the boma to allow them to settle down into their new environment. Once they’ve been released, the intention is to then bring a female into the boma.

Once she’s also settled and released they will form the nucleus of our breeding group.

We can’t wait for them to be released and to be able to view them roaming around freely. An exciting new animal to view for our guests when on safari with us in the very near future!