WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA LAMAI, TANZANIA For the month of October, Two Thousand and Fifteen Lions: October provided some great lion viewing. The guides accumulated 29 sightings over the month. With the presence of the wildebeest migration in the Lamai area there was a lot of lion feeding activity. A highlight was two sets of mating pairs, positioned not more than 200 m from one another. Leopards: On a few occasions a female and her two little cubs were seen.
Cheetahs: The regularity of cheetah sightings came down this month and all of the sightings, bar one, were of the two dominant territorial males. The explanation for this is that the wildebeest migration spanned the Tanzania/Kenya border and the far-ranging cheetahs spent most of their time away from the area to avoid the wildebeest (not their typical prey species) and the lions and hyenas that follow in their wake. Elephants: As with the previous months there was great elephant viewing during October. It seems as though everywhere you went, there were elephants around. The Mara River is a huge draw for these animals that have vast appetites for food and drink. The guides had exceptional sightings of large breeding herds of elephants. The first occasion, early on in the month, was of a herd of 200, then later on a herd of close to 150 were seen congregated together. On one morning the guides and guests, travelling along the tributary near camp that feeds into the Mara River, were astounded by the amount of elephants that had collected along the banks. As far as they drove the elephants were spread out making the most of the riverine vegetation. Migration: October is typically the month when the migration starts filtering south out of the northern reaches of their march. But as we have come to learn, there is nothing typical about the migration. Throughout October there were still decent numbers of wildebeest to be seen gathered on the plains and, to top it all off, there were a number of crossings to be witnessed right in front of Singita Mara River Tented Camp!
A rainbow of animals
October was really a wide-ranging month for wildlife viewing. As mentioned before, there was great viewing to be had of all the lead characters in this remarkable ecosystem. And on some occasions the guides didn t even have to move terribly far at all to take full advantage of the spectacular wildlife the Lamai Triangle has to offer. Guides Gerald and Zack had a morning where they were both surrounded by an assortment of animals that guests travel all this way to see. At the centre of it all, a mother lion with her four little cubs enjoyed the remnants of a zebra kill. At the same time, in the immediate vicinity, a large breeding herd of elephants were busy feeding on the grasses the rain had stimulated to sprout. Grazing buffalo, seemingly also wanting to be a part of the action, were seen close by. And then, to make it even more amazing, a leopard, not 100 m away from the lions, was comfortably perched atop a tree, watching over all of the activity. Anyone, absolutely anyone, would have loved to witness this terrific event! Zack and his guests were also fortunate enough to have had a sighting of a lone black rhino bull that had made his way south from the Mara Triangle. We haven t seen rhino in Lamai for quite some time now, so it was really good to be see this and explain the challenges facing these unique animals that are so threatened by poaching activities across the continent now. As it stands there are only two strongholds of the East African black rhino in the Serengeti ecosystem, with a combined total of around 18 animals. There is a lot of wildlife that people rarely get to see or even know about. We had two sightings of servals in October. Servals are one of the smaller members of the cat family. They have a strong resemblance to cheetahs - but that's where the similarity ends. Once again Zack had an amazing hour-and-a-half sighting of a very accommodating serval. They were able to watch as it went about its business trying to find breakfast. It had a number of attempts at a variety of prey items, but by the time they had to leave it still hadn t succeeded.
What's around the corner? November should see the final departure of the wildebeest migration, going north as they head to their calving grounds in the short grass plains of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The rest of the wildlife will return to their usual ways and be left to carry on with their lives in relative peace and quiet until the hordes show up and cause chaos again next year... By Ryan Schmitt Singita Lamai Serengeti Tanzania Thirty-first of October 2015