Wildlife Report. For the month of September, Two Thousand and Thirteen

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1 Singita Grumeti Sasakwa & Faru Faru Lodges Serengeti House & Sabora Tented Camp Explore Mobile Tented Camp Tanzania (Photo by Mishi Mtili) Wildlife Report For the month of September, Two Thousand and Thirteen Temperature and Wind Rainfall Recorded Average maximum 30.5ºC (86.9ºF) Sasakwa 89.8mm Average minimum 15.3ºC (59.5ºF) Sabora 125.2mm Average wind speed 0.5m/s Faru Faru 160.3mm Samaki 35mm Risiriba 72mm The rains that finally came at the end of August after a long dry season continued to fall every few days in September. The burnt areas that were turning green became fully rejuvenated. The leading herds of the great migration slowly filtered back through the property, now heading south for the short grass plains of Ndutu where they will arrive around December/January to calve. Wildlife on Sasakwa Hill was the main theme of September. Herds of elephants and the Butamtam Pride of lions were seen on a regular basis throughout the month.

2 Crossings (All photos by Mishi Mtili) It may not be the mighty Mara River, famed for the annual migration crossings where wildebeest and zebra risk being eaten by crocodiles or simply drowning from the strong currents (also the location of Singita s Mara River Tented Camp), but don t think sights at Grumeti are any less spectacular...

3 As the migration moved back through Singita Grumeti, guests were lucky enough to see a crossing across the Grumeti River. The excitement was very much alive as the wildebeest gathered along the bank readying themselves for the cross and then lunged forward swimming as quickly as possible to get to the other side and away from the uncertainty of the water.

4 A visit to the stables (All photos by Mishi Mtili) The elephant herds that frequented Sasakwa Hill during the month were not shy at all, and seemed to enjoy popping up around the lodge and the horse stables to say a quick hello to all! Although the Equestrian Centre s Alison and Martin were happy to welcome the large visitors, the elephants left a bit of a 'fixer-upper' situation in their wake...

5 As Martin explains, Elephants make an annual visit to the stables and leave behind their trademark devastation of the broken plant pots, uprooted trees, and anything else that might taste good. The horses are becoming accustomed to sharing the paddock with them. The elephants also made regular visits to the waterhole at Sasakwa Lodge for a refreshing drink.

6 Happy hippos (All photos by Joe Kibwe) Guide Joe Kibwe and guests were lucky enough to see two hippos mating one day. Luckily we have expert guides like Joe because to the untrained eye one would most likely not know it was happening! The male was clearly visible, but all that could be seen of the female were her two nostrils placed strategically above the surface, in order to breathe. The rest of her was dunked under the water.

7 Close encounters Sasakwa Assistant Lodge Manger, Tansy Vaughan, was having a fairly normal evening hosting dinner. She was making her way from the kitchen to the Sasakwa front lawn where the guests were seated and enjoying some gourmet meals. At least, that s where they were when she left to check on the kitchen... (Photo from Singita website) Upon Tansy s return she found tables with empty chairs and the guests making their way up from the lawn to the concierge. Tansy quickly made her way to the concierge area and found two wildebeest, one in the entrance way and one a little further down the hall. Both were skidding and falling on the freshly polished wooden floor, which was not agreeing with their smooth hooves! Tansy quickly called the Askaris (security guards), and they were able to herd the wildebeest out safely. But what was the cause of this action-packed scene?

8 (Trail camera at Sasakwa Waterhole) The Butamtam Pride of lions had been hunting near the lodge and was stalking the two wildebeest. They chased them right up to the lodge entrance and the wildebeest kept running. The lions stopped, knowing that if they went any further they would encounter humans. (Contrary to what many believe, lions are very intimidated by humans.) The lions later made a wildebeest kill on the grass near the tennis courts - a far more practical location! We don't have any photos of the actual event, but we've included some photos from our trail camera of the lions spending time at the waterhole at Sasakwa Lodge, and of the cubs learning the ways of the wild. (Photo by Adas Anthony)

9 (Photo by Braya Masunga) (Photo by Joe Kibwe)

10 (Photo by Braya Masunga) (Photo by Mishi Mtili)

11 Tulia (Photo by Joe Kibwe) At Singita Grumeti female leopards seem to be a lot less relaxed than their male counterparts. A lot of the time, when they spot a game-viewer approaching, they will slowly make their way in the other direction, not quite comfortable with the immense foreign object in their territory. However, over the past couple of months our guides have had regular sightings of a very relaxed, extremely beautiful and photogenic female leopard in the Sabora area. She is not at all put off by the vehicles and, because of her completely carefree demeanour, she has even earned herself a name. We call her 'The Tulia Female.' ('Tulia' is a Swahili word meaning 'relaxed'.)

12 (Photo by Bray Masunga) (Photo by Joe Kibwe) We hope we continue to see her around for a long time to come.

13 Sightings report (Photo by Joe Kibwe) Lion: Leopard: Cheetah: Elephant: Rhino: Buffalo: 64 sightings 23 sightings 34 sightings 55 sightings 1 sighting Multiple sightings daily Special sightings: One crocodile with a Thompson's gazelle kill on the Grumeti River, downstream from Faru Faru bush breakfast site. Big herds of migration of zebra and wildebeest on Sasakwa Plains. A breeding herd of 300 elephants along the Grumeti River, all the way from Faru Faru down to Colobus Crossing. By Lizzie Hamrick Singita Grumeti Serengeti Tanzania Thirtieth of September 2013