Ramblings from Ruaha
January 2011
A very warm welcome to the first newsletter for 2011 and may it be a fabulous year for all!
Where to start? It has certainly been an incredible month here in Ruaha, despite the rains still holding back and only falling enough to give us hope...
An incredible revelation was finding spoor (tracks) of an animal I would not have expected, especially where we did. About halfway between the Mdonya and Mwagusi Rivers, both still dry, on a road running past Kimilamatonge Hill we discovered these spoor which can only belong to a Cape Clawless Otter! The webbed 5 toed feet are characteristic but made for some confusing minutes while processing through all the spoor to continuously arrive at the same surprising conclusion. This young ele bull gingerly explored this palm trunk with his own trunk. Often bulls in musth (male sexual cycle) rub the temporal gland (gland between eye and ear) secretions onto trees and he was possibly smelling the scent left by an older bull. Another first for me was seeing this beautiful lillie popping up all over the place. After enquiring from a friend the identity was revealed as Cryptostephanus haemanthoides which doesn’t have a common name and is also endemic to Tanzania and Kenya.
Early mornings here is absolutely breathtaking due to the presence of clouds and make getting up predawn worth while!
One morning after a stunning sunrise, we heard a lion roaring just North of the Mwagusi River and drove there to investigate. Upon reaching the spot where we estimated the lion to be, we bumped into 3 cheetah! They were making their way down towards the river and headed off into the bush where we couldn’t follow. Deciding to continue a short distance further we turned around at a big baobab and started back when we suddenly found the male lion which we heard earlier, and he was right on the trail of the cheetah!
Sniffing the ground exactly where they walked he followed their every pace and started closing in! Now all predators will dispose of others as they compete for the same resource and obviously lion are much larger than cheetah. We promptly heard impala snorting in alarm, probably from seeing the cheetah, and the lion responded with immediate action trotting off towards the calls. Due to the restriction of not being allowed off-road in a National Park, we just listened for a bit and then drove around to the river to see if we could find them again but to no avail...the outcome will remain a mystery.
Besides all the exciting sightings of charismatic animals, which Ruaha is great at providing, there are some amazing small or abstract sights too. With the rains some of the amphibians have become quite active and one morning after hearing the calls around a pan, Festo and I scoured the grasses and found this Bubbling Kassina frog hiding under a knoll. A particular Tamarind tree provided some amusement with this “wood”-pecker or goose-like structure left behind where eles broke off a branch... Also just before entering camp, we often find a Spotted Eagle-owl and now there is a youngster hanging around.
With so much going on here in Ruaha, we spend a lot of time out and little in camp itself. Early mornings, picnic lunches and a cool-box with refreshments usually sees us through till sunset. There are some very picturesque spots to have our picnics and allows for a nice leg-stretch. Some days even granite boulders suffice as chairs and tables...
Due to all the insects around, we have seen a few flapped-necked chameleons but this hatchling is the smallest I have ever seen. No more than 2 inches long he would have gone unseen if not for dropping onto the bonnet of the vehicle from where we returned him to the bush. One morning we decided to explore an area I have not been in before due to various reasons and what a pleasant surprise! Really beautiful landscapes with huge Acacia trees, loads of baobabs, open plains and muddy pans. As we started descending the escarpment towards the Ruaha River, we found fresh spoor of a pride of about 6 lion heading the same direction. Driving slowly to keep an eye on where the spoor might veer off the road, we continued for about 1km before they did. After a quick investigation, we surmised that they must have taken a shortcut down to the river and made our way to where we would expect them to be. “There they are!”. All six of them laying along the river bank and being harassed by a troop of yellow baboons! Sometimes the baboons would venture precariously close the edge of trees and the lions only to then rush back up the branches shouting abuse when chased!
Massive flocks of Open-billed as well as Abdim, Yellow-billed and White Storks have been circling overhead and descending on the pools of water and open grassy plains to take advantage of the bounty which the green season produces. These flocks are spectacular to see at sunset and just listening to the wind passing through the feathers in their wings when they pass overhead is amazing. The highly toxic Flame Lillie have also popped up in the recent weeks and added incredible colour to the fold. There are few things as mesmerising as watching a full moon rise in the wilderness! We waited for a while for it to clear the cloud bank on the horizon but it was well worth it...
Primates are always entertaining to observe and the constant power struggles on display amongst the ranks of the males can sometimes be quite vocal and physical. This high-ranking male asserted his status by posing conspicuously and shouting obscenities at all and sundry. We also had the privilege of finding this young leopardess under the shade of a baobab during the heat of the day. As we stopped, she remained which was surprising at such proximity. We suddenly noticed a cub, maybe 8-10 months old slinking away in the background and then it became clear. She stayed put to draw attention to herself whilst her cub made for safety and once there, she then slowly slipped away too. A rare sight.
Ele bulls, like the baboons, are very engaged in intimidation games and this one particular bull along the upper Mwagusi gave us a good adrenaline rush with his antics.
Sphecid wasps were also quite busy on these blossoms one afternoon and we also spotted this spider floating on a leaf in a pool, some spiders actually use the water’s surface tension and the fine hair on their legs to be able to exploit this niche. Swallow-tailed bee-eaters are not a common sight at all but there is a pair which we constantly find on our camp-road and we saw this one catching and eating a giant dragonfly, their agility is staggering to be able to take airborne insects like these.
One early afternoon we found a pair of lion, we deduced that the lioness was a bit bushed hence she was lion down...pardon the puns... Just down-stream from the dozing lion, we encountered a big group of eles drinking from the wells they dug in the Mwagusi River, some of them pushing and shoving and others just relaxing. The elevated vantage point made a perfect spot to enjoy the sight from and enjoy our sundowner drinks...life is great!
Just below camp on the edge of the upper Mwagusi, we discovered 3 lionesses and 3 cubs on a giraffe kill. There were quite a few vultures in attendance awaiting their turn.
The lioness below was very circumspect about their passing close overhead.
Whilst spending time there, we noticed a small herd of ele feeding their way towards the kill and it had promise to result in something exciting...and it did!
As the eles approached closer we could see the lions becoming increasingly restless and concerned. Then with an all mighty rumble which reverberated through our chest-cavities in resonance, the eles smelt the lions and grouped together to protect the calves. With a few loud trumpets and shuffles they rushed in on the carcass, sending the now fleeing lion into a flurry. As the eles reached the giraffe, they suddenly halted and bunched together even closer. They stood there looking on, sniffing the air, rumbling. And then they almost pushed the calves to the fore to “witness” a dead giraffe...obviously anthropomorphism is frowned upon in the scientific world but sometimes it is so blatantly visible that one wonders... Often we think we know...but do we...?
After departing from the carcass, the eles circled around us with caution and then gathered behind the vehicle close to the lions where they stood for another 10min before heading off into the riparian forest.
Fork-tailed Drongos are irascible, arrogant and uber-agile little birds which love to harass birds of prey like this largest of raptors, the Martial Eagle. With ease they out-maneuver them and deliver annoying pecks and blows... The Pretty Lady flowers have also emerged and attracted some African Bees with enticing colours, nectar and pollen.
Cheetah sightings have been plentiful this month and the contrasting colours of lush green grass, the yellows and black of the cheetah with a splash of purple provided by the a wild ginger blossom was particularly striking. The Grey Crowned Cranes were also doing their elaborate courtship dances to the appreciation of all in the vicinity, even a group of zebra...
With the rivers not flowing properly yet, the hippos are still under a lot of pressure as far as space is concerned and often males fight furiously and wounds inflicted result in injuries which may eventually be fatal. This was the case along the Ruaha River and we discovered this dead hippo being appreciated by one of the prides in the region. Even the cubs were climbing atop to ensure their share is had.
Commodores and Pansy butterflies are related and are fairly common but this specific Commodore specimen is a stunner which I have not seen before.
As you can see that even after 19 years of guiding there are still firsts around every corner!
Please come and join me in a quest to experience as much as possible and learn to appreciate everything encountered on every day and on every drive or walk.
Ruaha and for that matter Africa is waiting to share her bounty with you...
Yours in Nature.
Marius Swart.
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