Ranger Report December 2010 and January 2011 : General Sightings

Hannibal the cannibal

We were following tracks for our dominant male lion in the northern parts of the property early one morning after a thunderstorm when we came across a Verreaux's Eagle Owl on the ground inside one of our dams that's wall had recently broken.The owl looked drenched and hobbled off away from us along the ground with its wings held out.It was pretty drenched and we initially assumed that the owl was wet from the storm.We moved further down into the dam to carry on tracking and then we saw something extraordinary.The owl we had seen had just killed another Verraux's Eagle Owl in what appeared to have been a fight over a female or dominance in a area were a nest is located.If that wasn't unique enough to have found, upon closer inspection of the dead owl we noticed that the victor had started eating its rival in an act of cannibalism!We watched for a while but the victor had shied away in the shadows on the rivers edge.On return to the site in the afternoon we discovered that the owl had eventually returned to the carcass and finished its meal.It then proceeded to fly away and appeared to have escaped serious injury.We can only assume that after the fight the owl was exhausted and that was why it couldn't fly.It then decided to take advantage of the meal in front of it as grizzly as it was, and recoup some of the energy it had expended in the conflict.

African Rock Python

It was a warm morning and we were on our way back to the lodge after a great black rhino sighting when one of the rangers spotted an African rock python in a tree.We Made our way over to get a view of this beautiful rare snake.To everyone's delight it was in low tree and we could all get some great views of it.It was a young snake and was about 5 feet long.We could all see the heat pits that the snake uses to help find and detect prey in low light conditions quite clearly.These snakes can reach lengths of up to 4.25meters but individuals of this size are rare now days in the wild.It was a real privilege to have seen one out in the wild.

Room with a view please

We were sitting with the pride of three lionesses in the evening as they started waking up and rolling around from another 17 hour nap when they one by one began moving off into the bushes.We started following them in the cool evening air and it looked as if they were going to head off to a water hole.Suddenly one female began sniffing the base of a large Marula tree.She then without any hesitation went straight up the tree to everyone's surprise!Lions are known to climb trees but because of their size they aren't the most graceful of climbers.They would normally do it to escape a threat such as a buffalo herd or to steal a kill from a leopard but these were just playing and looked as though they were enjoying the brisk evening air as much as we were.Eventually though they came out of the tree although not gracefully I might add.We followed them a while further but eventually left them to the night and started making our way home.

Great birds

Over the last few months we have been treated to host of visiting birds from all over the world.One of the prettiest is the Carmine bee eater.Its kite like appearance is very distinct against the sky as the dive and swerve catching insects.Our Woodlands Kingfishers have been a regular wake up call in the morning and they will be missed as the winter slowly sets back in.The hornbill's populations have exploded as all the youngsters emerge from their nests where their fathers have brought them and their mothers sustenance over the past few weeks.

A great addition to many an avid birder out here was the recent sighting of a Long Crested Eagle, the first recorded on Thornybush!

These beautiful eagles with their distinctive long feather crests on their heads are usually found in forested areas and this one had probably come across from the heavily wooded areas that border the Drakensberg Mountains off to our West.

We look forward to seeing if he stays around for a while or was merely passing through.