The MalaMala Wildlife CyberDiary

MalaMala Diary Entry: 16 February, 1998

Elephant sightings have been plentiful, both as a result of the marula trees being heavily in fruit and because of the lack of rain over the last two weeks which has resulted in a drying up of water-holes. Elephants encountered have included lone bulls as well as herds comprising females, youngsters and any "hopeful" males. The herd in the picture is one which has been seen on a relatively regular basis over the past few weeks and comprises nine animals, including two youngsters of no more than six months of age. As the marula berry season comes to a close and the grass dries up so the elephants will concentrate more on trees and it will again become commonplace to encounter roads blocked by trees pushed over by the ever hungry elephants.

Although the large and small herds of buffalo have still been seen regularly, there have also been many encounters with old males which have left the herd on a more-or-less permanent basis, tired of the bullying which they receive from the younger stronger bulls. These lone bulls are the ones which have established the reputation of the buffalo being a dangerous animal, the records of these lone animals charging when surprised by people on foot being too numerous to simply put down to popular story-making talk.

The long grass has resulted in rhino being seen less frequently as was the case some months ago when Mala Mala was covered with short and succulent grazing. As water-holes dry up, however, rhino may soon be forced to eat this long grass of lower quality as they go towards the Sand River which snakes its way through Mala Mala. The Sand River is really the only reliable perennial source of water in the area.

Wildebeest numbers in the Mala Mala area - and this includes game reserves surrounding the property - have decreased significantly over the last few years. These animals have suffered heavily from lion attacks, both as adults and juveniles. The remaining herds on the reserve concentrate in open areas, locations which allow them to see any approaching predators from a good distance away and which usually contain high quality grass. Such big changes in population numbers are common in conservation areas. With an increase in zebra numbers in and around the Kruger National Park, it could be expected that this will grant a reprieve to the wildebeest and allow population levels to increase.

Leopard viewing has been of high quality over the last few months with at least five females with cubs of five months old or younger. Two of these females, the Toulon and Selati females, have yet to show their cubs to the outside world, but the other three - the White Cloth female, her sister the Kapen female and the Mlowathi female have been providing some of the most consistent and high quality leopard cub viewing ever noted on Mala Mala. Although another female leopard, the Newington female is suspected of having given birth, she has not been seen over the past two months, so this cannot be confirmed. The nearly four-month-old cub of the White Cloth female is already quite confident in the presence of game-viewing vehicles and makes for some stunning viewing. The large number of young leopards bodes well for the future, providing Mala Mala with a new crop of leopards already indifferent to game-drive vehicles. Many other leopards are also still contributing to game viewing, some of these youngsters from some of the above-mentioned females. These youngsters are now independent but have as yet not headed off to establish an independent territory.