Wildlife Report. For the month of July, Two Thousand and Fourteen

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1 Singita Grumeti Sasakwa & Faru Faru Lodges Serengeti House & Sabora Tented Camp Explore Mobile Tented Camp Tanzania (Photo by Ryan Schmitt) Temperature and Wind Wildlife Report For the month of July, Two Thousand and Fourteen Rainfall Recorded Average maximum 33.1 C Sasakwa 15.3 Average minimum 13.8 C Sabora 19 Average wind speed 0.5 m/s Faru Faru 0 Samaki 0 Risiriba 64.5 Game, game and more game. That s the only way to describe the game viewing in July at Singita Grumeti. Finding a spot on the acre reserve where no animals were visible was virtually impossible. We already have spectacular loads of general game year-round, but these numbers were supplemented in July by the migration, and we re not talking about wildebeest. The wildebeest migration left our property in early June and by July was far north of us, covering the Lamai triangle of the Serengeti and the Massai Mara in Kenya. But if not wildebeest what migration are we talking about? The million bearded wildebeest are trailed by about zebra and about Thompson s gazelles. Although the bulk of the wildebeest migration had long left our property before July, at the start of the month the zebra had just arrived.

2 (Photos by Alf Ngwarai) (Photo by Stuart Levine)

3 When the wildebeest portion of the migration moves through an area it can be very dense and often you can drive for miles and not see any other species. When the zebra come through, they are everywhere, but a lot more dispersed and there is plenty of other game that can be seen amongst them. The net result is a colourful, diverse scene set upon a beautiful Serengeti backdrop. With a July like we had this year one thing is for certain: August has some seriously big shoes to fill! (Photos by Ryan Schmitt)

4 There s a party at Sasakwa Dam And you re invited! (Photo by Alf Ngwarai) July comes in the middle of the dry season. Access to water is much more widely available when rain falls on a regular basis. Once the dry season kicks in, water resources decrease and the wildlife begins to condense around areas where a year-round supply of water is available. (Photo by Ryan Schmitt) Sasakwa Dam is one of those places that provide a constant water supply. Every day in July attracted action at the water's edge.

5 (Photo by Ryan Schmitt) Thousands of zebra, with pockets of wildebeest, baboons, the occasional herd of eland or journey of giraffe, and several other antelope surrounded the oasis. And like clockwork, at midday various herds of elephants would move in from different directions of the property and congregate at the dam for drinking and the occasional swim.

6 (Photos by Alf Ngwarai) A pleasant surprise! In 2002, when Singita Grumeti started being groomed to become a photographic safari destination, wildlife was almost nonexistent. Any animals that were spotted on the property were extremely skittish and would keep a very far distance from any vehicle. Today, after years of commitment to anti-poaching, ecosystem management, community development, and low-impact tourism, the wildlife thrives and the animals are very relaxed. Some species do take longer to grow accustomed to game viewers than others. Leopards are a prime example. It wasn t until the past two years that leopard sightings have become a more or less daily occurrence, but the story doesn t end there. Female leopards are still particularly shy, although that is also slowly improving and relaxed females are seen more frequently than before. With female leopards still growing accustomed, their cubs are even harder to come by, which is why we were so delighted when head guide Ryan spotted a female and her cub near the airstrip, one evening. (Photo by Alfred Ngwarai)

7 The seven to eight month old cub was skittish; bounding from the tree it was in, with its mother lying below, once it saw the Land Rover. It walked away swiftly and into a thicket out of sight. Its mother remained relaxed. This was clearly one of the first times the cub had encountered a vehicle. Ryan made an educated decision and decided to stay at the sighting until after the sun set, even though the cub was not visible. His decision paid off and as it was getting dark, the cub emerged from the thicket and back to its mother, much more comfortable than before in the revealing light of day. Within about 10 minutes it was completely relaxed. The cub even left its mom to get closer to the Land Rover and investigate exactly what this new creature was. The best part about this sighting was that the cub is a female. Her early exposure and her mother s complete relaxed demeanour to the safari vehicle is very promising. When she is an adult we can bet she will be one additional relaxed female in the area, and hopefully we will be seeing her with cubs of her own in a few years. (Photos by Ryan Schmitt)

8 Theft Adas and his guests were on drive in the bush surrounding Sabora when they came across some hyenas chasing a herd of wildebeest. The next thing they knew, the hyenas had caught a wildebeest calf and eventually killed it. Instead of sharing the feast, the dominant female of the clan chased the others away. The rest would eat once she had her fill. Little did she know that although she may have won this battle, the war was not yet over. Adas was facing his guests seated behind him and answering their questions about the scene that they had just witnessed. In the middle of conversation one of his guests pointed in the distance, his face suddenly filled with excitement, and exclaimed, Lions!

9 Adas turned to see three male lions bounding toward the dominant hyena and its wildebeest carcass. The female did not stand a chance and she knew it. She did not even make a feeble attempt to guard or salvage her prey and neither did her four other clan members. She ran the minute she saw the lions coming, and was left to watch from a distance while the powerful cats devoured the hyenas hard-earned meal. (Photos by Adas Anthony) Closing Shot We couldn t end this month s wildlife journal without sharing some photos of the adorable cheetah cub that we first spotted in July. The cub and its mom were seen often over the remainder of the month. We hope they're here to stay!

10 (Photos by Ryan Schmitt) Sightings report Lion: 100 Leopard: 29 Cheetah: 27 Elephant: 66 Buffalo: Multiple sightings daily (Photo by Alf Ngwarai) 100 different lion sightings in July is a new record for lion sightings in one month at Singita Grumeti. An average of 21 lions were seen on a daily basis.

11 Special sightings 2 aardwolf on Main Ikorongo, near Main Mugumu Road. A honey badgers fighting with 2 black-backed jackals. The jackals eventually chased it into a termite mound. A caracal off Grumeti North Drainage. A caracal west of Explore Punda Milia Camp. A crocodile sunning itself on the bank of the Grumeti River, downstream of the bush site. Hyena killed a wildebeest calf south of Sabora tent 1. A serval at junction main Fort Ikoma and Watershed. Pair of side-striped jackals south of junction Robana Link and Sabora Access. By Lizzie Hamrick Singita Grumeti Serengeti Tanzania 31 July 2014