Yesterday Rosemary kindly drove me the 45 minutes from Hoedspruit to the gate of Manyaleti Game Reserve, a spiffy facility that’s right next to Kruger. There are no fences, so they share wildlife. I’m staying in a tented camp for the next five nights, and it’s quite luxurious, including electric blankets to take the chill off the very cold nights (see the link for an idea of the facilities). More important, the place is teeming with birds and mammals, and includes what people call the “big five“: lions, rhinos, leopards, elephants, and African buffalo. This seems unfair to me, as surely the list should include giraffe, hippos, and, of course, warthogs.
More “game” below, but firat a few more pictures from Hoedspruit.
An unknown lizard on the fence in Hoedspruit (perhaps Greg or an African herper can help):
A mother warthog and her two babies in the yard:
On to the game reserve. This is what I saw beside the swimming pool when I checked in at the main center. And thus I knew I was in for something special. (Elephants drink from the swimming pools regularly, and we’re told to step aside when we pass them. They are quite used to humans, but are still wild animal and you must stay far away from a mother and its baby.)
More came to drink:
We began the drive after lunch (there are two 3½-hour drives a day, at 6:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.) by seeing a hippo skeleton. I suppose it died of old age, as I doubt they have natural predators here:
A proud male impala (Aepyceros melampus):
Some kind of ground-dwelling bird. I ask readers here to help me identify it:
African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus)! Colorful, social, and predatory, we were told these carry rabies, and, ranging widely, spread the disease throughout the parks:
From Wikipedia:
The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), also known as the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus Lycaon, which is distinguished from Canis by dentition highly specialised for a hypercarnivorous diet and by a lack of dewclaws.
It is estimated that there are around 6,600 adults (including 1,400 mature individuals) living in 39 subpopulations, all threatened by habitat fragmentation, human persecution and outbreaks of disease. As the largest subpopulation probably consists of fewer than 250 individuals, the African wild dog has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1990.
The species is a specialised diurnal hunter of terrestrial ungulates, which it captures by using its stamina and cooperative hunting to exhaust them. Its natural competitors are lions and spotted hyenas: the former will kill the dogs where possible whilst the latter are frequent kleptoparasites. Like other canids, the African wild dog regurgitates food for its young but also extends this action to adults as a central part of the pack’s social unit. The young have the privilege of feeding first on carcasses.
We were lucky to see this rare species of d*g!
Another male impala. The landscape, you see, comprises low brush with occasional trees, and is exceptionally dry this year:
Another rare sighting: a black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornia). From Wikipedia:
The species overall is classified as critically endangered (even though the south-western black rhinoceros is classified as near threatened) and is threatened by multiple factors including poaching and habitat reduction. Three subspecies have been declared extinct, including the western black rhinoceros, which was declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2011. The IUCN estimates that 3,142 mature individuals remain in the wild.
These magnificent (and HUGE) creatures are poached purely to procure their horns, which are used, among other things, as powdered additions to Chinese herbal medicine.
More from Wikipedia abut their size (I suspect I’ll see more of these as I have four more nights here):
An adult black rhinoceros stands 132–180 cm (52–71 in) high at the shoulder and is 2.8–3.75 m (9.2–12.3 ft) in length. An adult typically weighs from 800 to 1,400 kg (1,760 to 3,090 lb), however unusually large male specimens have been reported at up to 2,896 kg (6,385 lb). The cows are smaller than the bulls. Two horns on the skull are made of keratin with the larger front horn typically 50 cm (20 in) long, exceptionally up to 135.9 cm (53.5 in)
Our first lion (Panthera leo), a female:
A female and a young male (yes, lions, like all animals have only two sexes). They are remarkably inured to the presence of the safari vehicles (we aren’t allowed to get out), and we can often drive within about ten feet of them. Other animals, like antelopes, are far more easily spooked, perhaps because they evolved to fear predators.
A closeup of the female:
And the male, whose mane is only beginning to grow out:
A cub! Not a tiny one, to be sure, but not nearly of adult size:
Below: the largest eagle in the area, the Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus). Sadly, according to Wikipedia, it’s also endangered:
. . . it has feathers over its tarsus. One of the largest and most powerful species of booted eagle, it is a fairly opportunistic predator that varies its prey selection between mammals, birds and reptiles. It is one of few eagle species known to hunt primarily from a high soar, by stooping on its quarry. This species, an inhabitant of wooded belts of otherwise open savanna, has shown a precipitous decline in the last few centuries due to a variety of factors. The martial eagle is one of the most persecuted bird species in the world. Due to its habit of taking livestock and regionally valuable game, local farmers and game wardens frequently seek to eliminate martial eagles, although the effect of eagles on this prey is almost certainly considerably exaggerated. Currently, the martial eagle is classified with the status of Endangered by the IUCN.
Our guide told us that it can take small antelopes:
The guides communicate with each other by radio to each party know where the animals are, and they sometimes drive off the road to afford us a better view.
Our guide, Dan, said he was going to take us to a “lion wedding party”, which I thought would be a pride of lions. It was instead a pair of lions about to copulate. How Dan knew this I have no idea, but a mating pair of lions copulates every 20 to 30 minutes, doing the deed up to 50 times per day! I don’t know why copulation is so frequent. Perhaps it’s a bonding mechanism, or perhaps the male is trying to displace the sperm of a previously-mating male. I’m sure one reader will know the answer
The nuptial pair of lions resting on the ground:
. . . . they then arose and repaired to a nearby tree. “Why don’t we do it in the shade?”
THE DEED. The female lay down and the male was instantly on her. Copulation lasted only a minute, punctuated by a squealy roar that I presume accompanied ejaculation.
As soon as the deed was done, the male lion rolled over on his back and smoked a cigarette. Then both lions rested:
A happy male lion who has satisfied the imperative of all the genes that go to make up all lions: reproducing more genes that give the recipe for lions.
Awesome photos and text! Thanks for sharing. I almost feel like I’m there with you.
Awesome is right – ROARRRRR! This is a new level of travelogue adventure for sure!
🦁🦁🦁
.. and the “🦜s and the 🐝s” … hey, it’s Nature.
Great series!
Amazing photos! What an experience this must be.
Great stuff, Jerry!
Umm, because they can? 😉
The females are just as responsible for the high mating rate as the males. In fact, there are a number of funny videos showing female lions trying desperately to interest exhausted males in having another bout. The blurb to one video says this: “The female may mate approximately every 15 minutes when she is in heat for three days and nights without sleeping, and sometimes with five different males. This often leads to physical exhaustion of males when only one or two are involved.”
E.g., this is an oddly engrossing video of one night in the life of a lioness in heat as she constantly travels between two males.
https://www.reddit.com/r/therewasanattempt/comments/10bat6g/to_entice_a_male_lion_to_mate/
On edit: oops, that’s a link to the wrong video. I’ll try to find the one I mean.
As to why the females are so determined to mate so often and with multiple males, part of the reason is surely to protect their pups from being killed by those same males. Maybe multiple matings are necessary to ensure that the thick-skulled males can’t forget that they could be the dad of the female’s pups.
Nice writeup Jerry.
A few clarifications.
Manyeleti Game Reserve is a wilderness gem and a somewhat well kept secret, abutting KNP (Kruger National Park). The fencing between Manyeleti and KNP are down, meaning the animals are free to roam back and forth – there are positives and negatives to this aspect – the increased potential for poaching being one of the negatives.
Manyeleti Game Reserve itself is not “spiffy”, it’s a (dilapidated though spectacular) reserve owned by the local Mnisi tribe (Hluvukani/Welverdiend communities), and managed collectively by the community, the private lodges (catering to tourists) and (largely) by the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency on behalf of the communities.
There are no public facility that are well maintained and reliable. Still, the same factors that lend the reserve an unkempt and decrepit vibe, also give it a “wild west” aura that is irresistible to the independent minded adventurer. You can drive yourself through the reserve, though, good luck doing that without a guide. 🙂
One the best descriptions of Manyeleti and the politics involved in its management is by Safari Guide Villiers Steyn. Here:
https://youtu.be/TEGwQj6g9ng?si=ZaQjzFfV28_eYiWh
In the midst of this (“wild west”) reserve are several private lodges, and Honey Guide’s Mantabeni Camp is one of them (https://www.honeyguidecamp.com/honeyguide-mantobeni-camp/). Jerry is staying at this camp – it’s a semi luxury tented camp which comes recommended.
Regarding the rhino: a cursory look will reveal that the animal has been dehorned to protect it from (reduce the probability of) poaching. A large number of rhinos within and outside KNP are dehorned.
Regarding the bird: it’s a Red-Crested Korhaan.
The mystery ground bird is, I’m pretty confident, a Bulbous Spackle.
It’s a Red-Crested Korhaan.
Thanks for the ID! And I apologize for my flippancy. You see, I suffer from a condition, neologistic Tourettism… oh, wait, there it goes again…
No worries.
I didn’t think you were flippant. 🙂
The bird is a Red-Crested Korhaan. The rhino is dehorned. I’ve made a few more clarifications (re: the reserve and the lodge itself) to the very nice post, the comment is awaiting moderation.
… and that proud male impala is about to take a poop! 😂
The comment is up now; have a look.
And the ‘lizard’ is a Gecko.
Likely a Common Dwarf Gecko Lygodactylus capensis.
(but I’m not an expert on non-feathered reptiles!)
PCC: your photography is excellent. If you have a minute could
you tell us what equipment you are using ?
Just a point and shoot: Panasonic Lumix DMX-ZS50. Inexpensive but with a long extendable Leica lens. It’s a great camera as it fits in my pocket and does long zooms well.
Yes. Common Dwarf Gecko.
Comment by Greg Mayer
The lizard is a gecko (sensu stricto, family Gekkonidae), but I can’t really hazard a guess as to genus or species. From the photo it seems to have a round pupil, no eyelids, and thin digits with moderately expanded tips. Unfortunately, I don’t have a good, recent, South African book.
The picture (like the others!) is quite good, and you can see a lot of detail if you blow it up. Note that the tail tip was recently broken off, but that the wound has healed and is starting to regrow.
GCM
PS-– I was checking what books I had and writing this comment as Martim and Rosemary weighed in with the specific ID– thanks! GCM
I love this type of insightful commentary.
I’m guessing the guide had seen or heard from other guides that the lions were mating. The females don’t go into heat often, but when they do they mate for several days (I’m not really sure what emoji I want to add there 😬). Our guide told us not to expect to see hunting from the lions during that time.
Our male seemed exhausted, but the lioness was persistent, pestering him and sashaying like it was closing time. We watched them mate twice. They paid absolutely no attention to the spectators in the vehicle.
Jerry, the photos are spectacular! I’m so happy you get to see these animals in their home. It’s an experience like no other.
Wow! Such a special place. I look forward to more from the park. hanks again.
Big Cats!!! Yeah!!!!
The next best thing to being there… Thanks again for sharing with us.
Love the swimming pool elephants. Do they go for a dip as well?
Nope!
I don’t do animal tourism (have one at home!) but I’m enjoying your spectacular trip.
About the Chinese medicine thing – it is probably one of the greatest dangers to wildlife we care about.
I wrote about this a few years ago.
Unlike the PRC, Taiwan is moving away from the “horn” nonsense.
To wit:
https://democracychronicles.org/traditional-chinese-medicine/
Keep reporting down there!
D.A.
NYC
The “medicine” from rhino horn is for erectile dysfunction, assumed effective for the obvious stupid reason. Its users might as well grind up their toenails and use that.
That “Richard” is I. A nearby farmer brought down the overhead line carrying my broadband. That seemed to corrupt all sorts of stuff on my computer, including some autocomplete functions. Can anybody here more, knowledgeable about IT than I, confirm if this makes sense?
What is the obvious stupid reason? (I know; I’m wondering what you think it is.)
“Erectile dysfunction” is a clue. Apologies for any perceived snark: I though that it is obvious.
Yes, that is the clue, but there are at least two possible interpretations.
Phillip, shape of the horn [sic]. What is the other one?
David,
+1. Yes, TCM in particular poses a grave threat to African (and South American) wildlife. The WHO (World Health Organization) shamefully buttresses TCM via its ICD/Chapter 26.
Re: Rhino horn, its usage and hot spots for usage have varied over time. Vietnam and China have consistently been the “thorn in the flesh” so to speak. The usage related to horn is not limited to the unsubstantiated belief that it is an aphrodisiac. All manner of magical properties are attributed to Rhino horn and SADC nations -particularly South Africa – are pushing to legalize international trade via CITES. Vast stockpiles of rhino horn are warehoused in the SADC region.
This is a good piece by EIA (Environmental Investigation Agency)
** Rhino Horn Stockpiles are Increasing – So is Their Role in the Illegal International Trade **
https://eia.org/blog/rhino-horn-stockpiles-are-increasing-so-is-their-role-in-the-illegal-international-trade/
How do they even know if it’s rhino horn after it’s ground up? Do they have testing labs? I bet there’s a lot of ground up toe nails being sold as the real deal.
Wow what great photos! Thanks for sharing (along with the notes).
In lions repeated copulation seems to induce ovulation. See https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/zoo.1430130403
Thanks! These photos are so exciting and the descriptions terrific. I feel like I’m in the backseat there.
I wonder how the smells of all the animals are there.
The smell of elephant dung is fantastic. 🙂
I don’t want to take up space commenting on a daily basis, but I’m loving all your photo posts of your travels and the plants and animals. Keep up the excellent work! Looking forward to lots more!
A question for animal behaviorists. Do you think the prey animals become conditioned to be on high alert whenever two or more safari trucks stop. What of the clicking of many camera shutters? This question came to me when I saw a video of a gaggle of trucks loaded with tourist watch a lion stalk a young zebra.
The guides here don’t stalk predators when they’re hunting as they say that drives the prey further from the predator. Occasionally they see a predation event as a byproduct of travel. But I do worry when a number of trucks surround a skittish animal, as you’ll see in the next post with respect to the leopard.
Within KNP (Kruger National Park), animals don’t -in general- get surrounded by a gaggle of tourists clicking away; though it can happen if a pride of lions -say- are sunning at the edge of a tar road. KNP is huge, the animals can get away if they feel uneasy and I assume most kills happen away from humans.
Within the adjacent/abutting APNR (Association of Private Nature Reserves) and the Greater Kruger region and depending on the rules enforced by a specific game reserve, vehicles can -indeed- surround an animal. Eventually, most animals (specifically the bigger cats) get used to multiple vehicles and the humans (inside the vehicles) and go about their business. If someone stands up abruptly in a game vehicle or gets off the vehicle, the behavior is bound to change radically.
The big cats (in general) don’t seem to care -at all- about the game vehicles. They are far more interested in other non-human animals, specifically in their own species or prey. I have no doubt they are keenly aware of the presence of one or more vehicles, but the degree to which their behavior is affected by the intrusion is questionable and context driven.
Time and consistency -in human behavior- are factors.
Despite the above, it’s not a pleasant site to observe multiple vehicles surround -say- a pride of lions or a pack of wild dogs – the dogs BTW seem more sensitive to the intrusion than the big cats. The crowding should not happen, but it does happen often – people want to see the big 5 and are willing to get quite close to make that happen.
Regarding Traditional Medicine (specifically TCM – Traditional Chinese Medicine). I resurrected this comment from several month’s ago.
+++++++++++++++++++
The organization I work with (https://gmfer.org/) has an ongoing campaign to mitigate/end the killing/poaching of iconic animals/body parts on behalf of TM (Traditional Medicine) and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) in the Southern African region.
The WHO has been at this (pushing TCM/TM) since Margaret Chan was Director General of WHO (her alliances with the CCP – the Chinese Communist Party – are well established https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01726-1). She passed on her dubious ambitions to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the current Director General. The BRI (The Belt and Road Initiate) is China’s vehicle to push TCM (among other imperatives) throughout the globe. TCM is a billion dollar industry. China exported a total value of five billion U.S. dollars of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) products in 2021.
Chapter 26 of the WHO’s ICD 11 (International Classification of Diseases) included TM/TCM as an authoritative (complimentary) diagnostic mechanism. This happened formally in 2019. There were no exempted “ingredients”, namely no iconic animal/body part was exempted. The inclusion was unqualified. The effort was/is entirely unscientific and contrary to the WHO’s mission mandate – touted to be based on science.
From the days when Scientific American could be trusted to deliver good journalism:
“The World Health Organization Gives the Nod to Traditional Chinese Medicine. Bad Idea”
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-world-health-organization-gives-the-nod-to-traditional-chinese-medicine-bad-idea/
Close to 100,000 Pangolins are poached each year (on the high end) for TCM, that’s about 1 Pangolin every 5 minutes – on the low end, ~10,000 Pangolins are killed each year. Close to 500 rhinos are massacred each year for the same snake oil and ~100,000 African elephants have been killed for their tusks (for trinkets – in this case, not for medicine – with some exceptions) over the past decade. The demand comes from Asia, specifically China, despite commercial ivory having been banned in that nation since 2017.
Sea horses, shark fin, porcupine bezoar, bear bile and the body parts of tens of other species are used in TCM.
Insanely, the CCP administered bear bile to those suffering from COVID in 2019/2020. https://eia-international.org/news/chinese-government-still-promoting-coronavirus-treatment-containing-bear-bile/ and
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/chinese-government-promotes-bear-bile-as-coronavirus-covid19-treatment
The US contribution to the WHO needs to be revisited, Trump was right about this, and I am no fan of the Orange man. Chapter 26 of ICD 11 needs to be revoked and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus must vacate his seat.
TM/TCM (as practiced currently in Asia/China) is a death knell to iconic species.
Here’s another excellent (though somewhat dated) piece on TCM and animal body parts:
1) https://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/a-nobel-prize-does-not-mean-traditional-chinese-medicine-works/
2) https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/4/14/1508394/-How-Traditional-Chinese-Medicine-Is-Pushing-Species-to-Extinction
Endangered orchid species and other rare plants are also used in TCM and smuggled into China from neighbouring countries, such as Laos, where they are poached.
+1
Yes, that is correct.
Himalayan Viagra
============
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/himalayan-viagra-tibets-gold-rush-may-be-coming-to-an-end/2016/07/01/2e710d3a-2d8b-11e6-b9d5-3c3063f8332c_story.html
Quote:
“They are hunting — not for game but for a tiny brown shoot poking just an inch or two above the ground amid the retreating snows, revealing a mushroom known as the caterpillar fungus. This is “Himalayan Viagra,” and it is so sought after in China for its medicinal and aphrodisiac qualities that it can sometimes fetch its weight in gold.
Tibet’s annual gold rush is in full swing, school’s out and 47-year-old Chu Tsering has brought two of his sons and one daughter on his motorbike to take part in the search.”
+++++++++++
“Yet that lifeline is beginning to fray. Climate change and overharvesting have made the caterpillar fungus harder to find, say experts and locals, while an economic slowdown and anti-corruption campaign in China have depressed prices. Critics say the Chinese government is not doing enough to ensure the harvest is sustainable or to protect that lifeline.”
“”Many big Chinese universities have sent researchers, but they just want to know how to cultivate it artificially, to grow it in a lab. They completely ignore what it means for the Tibetan people,” said Daniel Winkler, an ethno-mycologist who runs the website Mushroaming.com. “How to ensure a sustainable harvest is still a big issue, and it’s not addressed. It’s unforgivable how the Chinese government is letting people down.”