Coalitions of Kruger National Park

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WILDLIFE REPORT
SINGITA KRUGER NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH AFRICA For the month of August 2017

We had an amazing month of game viewing at Singita Kruger National Park, with interaction between species, hunts, kills – you name it! With the concession drying up and the N’Wanetsi River and Gudzane Dam holding water, it can only get better!


Lions: (Article by Blaine Moolman)
This area has always been a place of incredible lion viewing. We are pleased to report that there are no changes on that front. In total, there were 83 lion sightings this month.
The iconic Shish Pride has been sighted often in August, though with a slight slump in the middle of the month when they followed the big herds of buffalo further west than our concession extends. We are pleased to say that they came back with a bang at the end of the month, after 13 mm of rain brought about a flush of green and the return of the buffalo herds.

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singita_This sighting of the Shishangaan pride was one of 83 lion encounters recorded in last month's Wildlife Reports at Singita Kruger National Park

The Shish Pride also brought down a giraffe not too far from the lodges during this period. It is not uncharacteristic for a pride of this size to fragment and then come back together. There was an interesting period when two of the older lionesses were seen alone a few times, most memorably unsuccessfully chasing a wildebeest bull right in the open in front of our guests on the Mananga Trail.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Photo by Brian Rode

A mention must be made of the white lion, of course. He is still with the pride and has occasionally taken a central role in their interactions. Though the numbers fluctuate, the number of lions in the pride seems to have remained at 19, though one of the young males is in poorer condition than the others. This is probably due to muscle atrophy in a bad back leg, and the malnutrition that comes along with this as he struggles to keep pace with the pride and loses out in snquabbles over food.


The Mountain Pride has been a bit of a mystery this month. Even though we have had regular high-quality sightings of them, their movements have occasionally left us scratching our heads. An example of this was once when we found their tracks heading right off our concession in a westerly direction where we could not follow, which is an area where they rarely go. Usually they are seen in the central sections of our traversing area. They are still often trailed by the Shish Male who has still not recovered completely from his injured right hip. The last remaining cub in the pride is still doing extremely well. She keeps up with the pride on small but strong legs, and was even seen on a full chase after an entire herd of impala rams. She is almost a year old now. We suspect that one of the females may have cubs in the rocky ridges in the centre of our concession, as the pride are spending an inordinate amount of time there.

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Photo by Margaux Le Roux
The Xhirombe pride have been seen quite a few times this month. In true Xhirombe Pride style, they have popped up when we least expect them. They managed to kill a large male kudu near the Mozambique border early on in the month. The younger female remains absent, and we suspect she has cubs in Mozambique.

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The Shish Males still call in the night, signalling their continued dominance over much of the area. They caught a buffalo right out in the open, near the lodges. They were found early in the morning, and the viewing and interaction around that kill, in the face of the rising sun, was nothing short of spectacular. Of course, so much happens we know nothing about, but in terms of our sightings and the lack of injuries seen on the Shish Males this month, it seems to have been relatively stable for them, with few intrusions from rivals.

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A member of the Shishangaan coalition grooms himself in the last afternoon #rays before setting off into the darkness to patrol his territory

*This image is copyright of its original author

Two unknown male #lions recently entered our area. The lion dynamics are constantly changing.

There were two days where unusual male lions were seen. On one occasion two nomadic males were found. These males have been heard calling in the past and may possible be threats to the Shish Males in the future. Also, three very nervous males were seen on a morning drive, though they were tracked off the concession the next day.

Articles by Jacques Briam, Margaux Le Roux, Blaine Moolman & Nick du Plessis Photos by Jacques Briam, Margaux Le Roux, Sean Bissett, Brian Rode & Nick du Plessis
Singita Kruger National Park, South Africa August 2017 Reply