Latest News We darted our Elephant Bull to treat the wound under his foot for a third time on the 8th November 2006 and we are hoping that this last treatment will pull him through. Interesting Animal Sightings
2nd Leopard tortoise male at Luthuli The Common Emperor or Cabbage larvae (Bunaea alcinoe) - was found on a Cabbage We enjoyed 130mm rain for this month and we are really blessed and grateful. As I was unable to spend much time in the bush this month there were only 5 black rhino sightings on Abu Madi this November. No. 67 was observed only twice, scar-face once. The head wound has opened up again with a scab beginning to form. Her ear was abit drooping on her right side, otherwise she appeared in good condition. No. 67 is very much better having put on quite a bit of weight. No. 72 was observed but did not hang around, running off into thick Dichrostachys. No. 560, I think, (4 cuts off left ear, nothing on right) fat and also shy and ran off. We recorded 5 sightings of buffalo, all looked fine, two lots of 4 each. I caught a fleeting glance of the back view of a leopard disappearing between two low bushes at midday out on warthog plains. Nine leopard tortoises were seen on Abu Madi this month, 5 male and 4 female. There are two ways one can tell the sex of a tortoise. The under part of the shell of a male is concave whereas the female has an absolutely flat shell underneath. A male's tail is also much longer, reaching almost to the edge of the shell where the leg begins; females have a short stubby fat tail. The young of both sexes have flat shells underneath, so its not always easy to sex them. Leopard tortoise lay very round hard eggs which they bury in hard ground. The ground is softened by the female wetting the soil with her urine and digging a hole into which her eggs are laid. These are covered and stamped down by her back legs. These eggs take up to a year to hatch if they are not discovered by a Nile or Land Monitor in the meantime. Mongoose will also dig eggs up and eat them if they discover them. Dung beetles are out in force as well. Have you ever watched a dung beetle rolling a ball after rounding the dung by rolling and patting, he reverses up to the ball pushing backwards. Watch one next time. They have three pairs of legs, the front two pairs of legs pull him forward while the back two only push, whilst with a tortoise both front and back legs pull him forward. Dung beetles were not the only beetles out this month. We were invaded by thousands of tiny black beetles smaller than a ladybird. These descended on all the aloes and succulents in the area. They excreted some type of substance that caused a bacterial infection in the plants causing them to rot. Thankfully these beetles have not made reappearance. There has also been an invasion of NMR beetles, those yellow and black ones you see every year around this time. They attacked the Erithrina blooms, reducing them to black stems, in one single morning. Birding -wise Abu Madi has seen the return of the Red Backed Shrike, some Namaqua Doves, Lilac Breasted Roller, a pair of Rock Bunting who seem to appear every year at this time. Speckled Back Weaver and Masked Weaver still very active nest building and feeding their young. Scarlet Chested Sun Bird has 3 chicks, Colard Barbet feeding young. I notice them carrying in the beautiful red fruit of the Jacket Plum or Papea Capensis. The fruit is edible and is fairly sweet. The Harlequin Quail and Button Quail are running around in pairs. The Button Quail are quite different to most other birds in that the male is slightly smaller than his mate, more colourful and he does the incubation of the eggs and rears the chicks himself. Crested Francolin are hatching their chicks this month. I see them from day old to some of 3 to 4 weeks old. I was also fortunate enough to see 6 or 7 Crested Guinea Fowl with about 20 day old chicks last week. Crested Guinea Fowl are also peculiar to other game birds in that as soon as the chicks hatch the parents join a flock, other game birds remain in pairs with their chicks until they are quite big before joining a flock. The Egyptian Geese are back in the old Hamerkop’s nest again this year. The nest is approximately 5 meters up and it is amazing to know the tiny gosling’s drop that distance onto hard ground without harming themselves. Abu Madi records of birds of prey for November include the breeding pair of Wahlberg Eagle, Bateleur Eagle, a magestic Marshall and some Steppe Buzzard. Thousands of Quelia Finch arrived this month being the most I have seen on Abu Madi over the past 15 years. It is interesting to watch the flocks heading for their roost from about 5.30 pm in the afternoon till dark. The later the birds pass over the faster they seem to fly. I thought they would be roosting near the Jozini Dam but I was wrong. They all seem to be heading towards the reeds near Mkuze. Those from the North and South seem to be going to the one destination. Plant-wise Jacket Plum are fruiting profusely this year, an attractive red cherry like fruit, quite fleshy and sweet. Cordia monica (Ovata), another attractive shrub with an orange fruit, also quite sweet and tasty, leaving a sticky feel to the roof of ones mouth. On the 19th of November all the Acacia tortilis came out in bloom. A beautiful sight, much like snow on the treetops. Sadly the snow like appearance lasted only a day or two, turning to a duller colour. A few Crinum delagoensis flowered for a few days but were devoured by hungry insects. Heurina histrix and Heuria zebrena are also in bloom. Star like succulents growing in rocky outcrops. Barleria elegans a small weed like plant full of white flowers in disturbed areas,are asight, they are browsed by Nyala. A few Mozambique Cobra are out as well as a few Vine Snakes who have kept themselves busy around the weaver's nests. An exciting sighting by one of our guests was that of a Rattel or Honey badger. I have seen three on Abu Madi over the years, so it is nice to know they are still around. On the 18th of November Abu Madi saw its first impala lamb. The next few days saw numerous ewes on their own nursing their newborn. By the 22nd of the month all these ewes and lambs have come together forming nursery herds of 15 to 20 lambs watched over by 4 to 6 does. A fantastic time to be in the reserve to witness this annual event. Foam nest frogs (Chiromatic xerampelina) have started building nests this month. You may have seen these white clusters of foam on reeds or grass overhanging ponds or puddles, and wondered what they are. These cream coloured frogs are often found hibernating in homes. Yellow eggs are laid in the foam masses and after 5 to 6 days the developing embryos drop into the water as the nest structure breaks down. The larval period is completed in the water as normal dark tadpoles. Black rhino monitoring report We have been blessed with more good rain and the reserve is lush green, the roads are becoming overgrown and the bush is so alive. The Luthuli rhino are staying in the same area, they have settled in and we are planning to take the fence down mid January 2007.
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