Ramblings from Ruaha
December 2010
It is fantastic to be in Ruaha again, especially as I get to be here for the emerald season!
Having taken over from Steve who spent the best months of the dry season observing some extraordinary sightings, I can already see change in the bush due to the first, albeit later than usual rains. Stunning colours late afternoon along the Mwagusi with rain falling over the Escarpment was our first introduction to precipitation.
Although the rains are later than previous years, the plants and insects reacted violently to the nourishing moisture which triggered growth and emergence.
Some incredibly beautiful Weevils and Long-horn Beetles have erupted as well as an astronomical amount of Giant-African Bullfrogs! With all the insects and amphibians around, the birds have arrived in droves with massive flocks of Marabou, Yellow-billed and Abdim Storks as well as numerous Steppe Eagles to utilise the bounty.
As per usual however the lion sightings remained amazing and we even had two spectacular leopard sightings! This large male spent 2 days consuming an Impala he killed and provided us with great photo opportunities.
Lesser kudu is a special in Ruaha and regular sightings around camp has been very welcome. The diminutive Kirk’s Dik-dik is also often seen and always prompts a response of “Oh how cute”. With rain filling puddles everywhere, tadpoles are growing fast and already the calls of frogs at night is deafening.
The rising moon last week made for an awesome sight and made a typical backdrop for the roaring lions and whooping hyaena. An interesting side-effect of the rains has been the reduced sightings of elephant in the usual places due to water being available everywhere, allowing them to disperse and feed in areas previously too dry to reach. With the cessation of rains for 10 days however, things dried out again and the eles are back at the wells they dig in the dry riverbeds. The birds also feverishly building nests like this Paradise Flycatcher in camp.
There has been quite a bit of mating amongst the lions and we were treated to some very private moments on a few occasions. If the females conceives now, we should have a new set of cubs arriving just as the season draws to a close...watch this space...The warthogs on the other hand have all just given birth and the piglets are just too damn entertaining!
Obviously with the rains, we have had other side-effects, like getting stuck. This will become a regular occurrence as the season gets wetter. Fortunately we are well versed in dealing with these situations but Simon and Heather were enthusiastic enough to help collect wood and rocks...thanks.
Little Bee-eaters have had a field-day with all the butterflies erupting after the rains and they are truly amazing aerial acrobats!
We stopped for a bush breakfast close to the confluence of the Ruaha and Mwagusi where we were interrupted by 2 ele bulls walking around, shaking palm trees to drop the fruit which they love. Giraffe feature quite often on the lion’s menu, this bull however managed to escape with more interest shown by the cubs than the two expert lionesses. One of the 4 males from the Kipungi Pride allowed us to get quite close and personal with him one late afternoon, I took artistic liberty to emphasise the most indelible feature of a lion if seen at proximity...
All the greenery has caused the tortoises to become very active and we found this male desperately following a female, he didn’t seem shy at all and we surmised that he has definitely come out of his shell... Oh yes, did I mention that as sense of humour is as important as a pair of binos?
Yesterday afternoon there was a short but spectacular storm which came from the East and swept across the Mwagusi Valley. Here are some images of the event...and oh yes, we got soaked to the bone! It was an incredible experience though and highly recommended.
Looking forward to seeing you out here and sharing the brilliant colours, smell, sounds, sensations of wind and rain and joyous occasion of LIFE in Ruaha with you...
Yours in Nature.
Marius Swart.
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