‘Gang of Five’ pay a visit

Regular readers to the blog will be waiting to read about the promised elephant encounter that had interrupted breakfast for our lucky guests.......

Ezulwini enjoying his favourite euphorbia plant by Duiker hut

It began with us hearing branches breaking before one of our guests spotted an elephant through the bush between us and the neighbouring property.  Breakfast was quickly finished and we sat down to wait and watch, hoping that what we thought was a single elephant would come closer.  However, as we got a better view we recognised them as the ‘gang of five’ – two big males, namely Soshangane (with a radio collar) and Ezulwini, and three smaller males who are often seen with them. 

Ezulwini spots a tempting, overhanging branch of the marula tree...

Our guests, John and Colin standing on the deck enjoying the spectacle

They made their way through the bush and came out by the corner of Duiker hut.  Ezulwini then proceeded to feed on one of his favourite euphorbia plants close by the wall of the hut. 

The smaller elephants made for the bird bath and drank, and one sampled the very spiky Y-thorn bush beside the bird bath.

The young bulls drink at the birdpool and try the VERY  thorny Y-thorn bush

The marula tree by the splash pool was too much of a temptation for Ezulwini and he broke off one branch before we gently shooed him away.  Marula trees are a great favourite with elephants during the dry season and Ezulwini has several on his list when he comes visiting Leopard’s View.  Unfortunately, a marula tree is no match for a determined elephant and we were slightly worried the tree would come off worst and end up in the splash pool.  We have learned to keep an eye on Ezulwini when he is here and to take action whenever he tries to target our trees - one strong word from Neil is usually enough to deter him. 

Some of the action was picked up by our birdpool camera trap.

Picture from camera trap of the 'Gang of five' moving off into the bush.

We were delighted to be able to share this 'elephant encounter' with our guests - an unforgetable experience.

Return of the Eles

Ezulwini and three smaller bull elephants emerging from the early morning mist

Regular readers of our blog will remember Soshangane and Ezulwini visited the waterhole a couple of weeks ago.  This week they were back again accompanied by three young bull elephants.  We first became aware of them on Tuesday night as we were sitting around the fire after dinner.  The crack of breaking branches always sounds extra loud in the cool evening air and we were all watching and hoping to see elephants coming into the open area or down at the waterhole. 

One of the smaller elephants

Unfortunately, we were not to see them that evening, but early the next morning, with the mist still hanging in the valley, Ezulwini and three smaller male elephants came to the waterhole and drank.  It was a magical sight. 

They then slowly made their way up the hill towards the lodge and our house. 

  

Ezelwini enjoying a branch from his favourite
marula tree

Soshangane, the other large bull, arrived at the water hole and joined the group.  

Ezulwini has a favourite marula tree on the corner of our house and this is where he was headed. Luckily he only took down one of the small branches and then headed off with the others down to the lodge where they stopped outside Kudu hut and fed on another favourite, a euphorbia plant.  These particular plants receive regular pruning from the elephants, and seem to grow ever bigger because of it. 

Ezulwini outside Kudu hut

The group then turned and headed past our entrance gate, thankfully deciding not to come inside, and then made for the water tanks, where they took a drink from the overflow tank - another favourite stopping point. 

Ezulwini at the gate

 Ezulwini then took another turn around our house, removing several raison bushes whilst the others headed off down the road. 

Bush clearing!

It was another marvellous wildlife encounter for us.  Our final view of the group was on Friday lunch time when they were seen far off on the distant ridge.  We look forward to their return. 

Elephants bath and scratch

We have been treated to a very good elephant sighting in the last few days.  Sitting outside our house a few days ago, we heard the familiar crack of breaking wood and saw a large tree fall over down in the valley.  We quickly went up to the top of the viewing tower and scanned the bush to see if we could see any sign of what we thought must have been elephant activity.  There was nothing to be seen, but as the bush is very thick in places we would not see them unless they were browsing in an open area.  We decided to investigate further and drove down to the waterhole in the game drive vehicle.  Two elephants had arrived before us and had obviously been enjoying a bath as they were very wet and muddy.  We recognised the two big male elephants.  One has a collar and is called Soshangane and the other we knew to be Ezulwini.  They moved away from the waterhole and then spent some time using the trees around as scratching posts – their skin sounded like sandpaper rubbing against the trees.  They then carried on up the slope towards the lodge and passed close by one of the huts before moving off.  We were very pleased to see them as it has been a little while since the elephants have visited the water hole.  
 



Soshangane and a view of the lodge decks

Elezwini enjoys a final scratch

Elephants!

The knobthorn tree below our deck,
next to the birdpool before the elephant.

Leopard’s View birdpool is a magnet for many species of birds and some mammals as well.  Visiting birds make use of a couple of knobthorn trees and a Y-thorn torchwood bush for perches and for cover.  On Thursday 20th, mid-way through the afternoon, two elephants appeared at the Lodge, the Reserve’s biggest bull, "Ezulwini", and a much smaller companion.  The large one proceeded to push over the big knobthorn just to the left of the birdpool, snapping the trunk completely -  no mean feat given that the diameter at that point was 40 cm, although there were signs of rot inside. 

The big bull and the felled tree

However, we were not pleased since this tree was important visually and also for the birds.

The big bull behind Kudu Hut

The two elephants then browsed on the fresh foliage (since the rain of two weeks previously) before doing a tour right round the Lodge and our house, eating fresh grasses and raisin bush leaves and stems. 

Who needs building inspectors?  "Ezulwini" checks
out work on our new septic tank for the kitchens.

They returned the following morning and at least had the decency to eat much of the remaining foliage from the knocked-down tree (elephants often push over a tree, eat a couple of mouthfuls and then move off.) 

The big bull below the decks:  waterhole in the background

The same pair reappeared on Tuesday 25^th, again doing a tour right round the camp.  The smaller bull is relatively nervous but the large one is very relaxed around buildings, fences and the people inside them, and will feed very close by without showing any signs of tension unless one makes a sudden loud noise or sharp movement. 

The young bull or "askari" that goes round
with the big one.

"Ezulwini" outside Duiker Hut

Wonderful viewing but one beautiful, mature tree less!

Dung beetles

In the bush, nothing is wasted. A carcass, for example, when finished from our point of view is nothing of the sort. Horns are broken down by the larvae of horn borer moths, old bones are sucked and chewed by a variety of animals from giraffes to leopard tortoises providing vital nutrients.

A dung beetles rolls his ball away

Similarly, dung is not finished with once it hits the ground. The eating of dung, or ‘coprophagia’ is exhibited by a number of animals such as warthogs, scrub hares and leopard tortoises.

But the creatures best-associated with dung are of course the dung beetle species. Yesterday, following the visit of an elephant, we were able to witness the beetles at work, up close and personal! Within minutes of the elephant defecating several dung beetles had arrives on the scene, rolling large balls with incredible speed and precision before rolling them away. 

These balls will most likely be used by female dung beetles to lay their eggs in. Only one egg is laid per ball, keeping male dung beetles busy as a single female may lay up to 60 eggs per season.

These two dung beetles were having a scrap over a particular dung ball

Happy Easter

Elephant beside the water tower

This morning began in quite a different way to the traditional egg hunt: a lone bull elephant appeared on the entrance road to the lodge and spent over an hour working his way around our house.

Feeding by the veranda

Being used to viewing elephants from a vehicle it was wonderful to watch him from the ground, gaining a completely different perspective. We could see every hair, eye lash and wrinkle, not to mention really get a feel for his size.

Towards the end of his round he discovered a freshly dug trench which will form a new soak-away for our shower, giving us a few nervous moments as he promptly stepped down into it. Luckily he decided that it wasn’t worth further investigation, left the pipe and climbed out again before fading into the bush.

Elephants on the move

Balule Nature Reserve is open to the Kruger National Park, meaning that animals are free to wander where they chose. As we’re now in the middle of the summer months when the lowveld receives its rainfall, small pools, streams and spruits have filled up allowing animals to cover larger distances, being less tied down to permanent water sources.

Today was a day for elephants. Having enjoyed watching a bull elephant making use of our waterhole during the day, we were delighted when a breeding herd decided to stop by in the evening. By the time they’d reached our house dusk had turned to dark and all that alerted us to their presence was the odd crunch and crash coming from the thick bush! It’s great to have them around again.

Highlights of 2010

The New Year’s in full swing, and with several resolutions already down, we decided to look back instead and bring you a brief selection of our wildlife highlights from 2010.

There was only ever going to be one contender for Neil’s choice – the incredible sighting in November of the 18-strong pride which often frequents our waterhole. With several larger males, females and youngsters, there was never a dull moment! 

For Ann the wildlife highlight of the year came when a large bull elephant visited the lodge…literally. Having drunk from the small bird pool just below the deck the elephant took a tour of the lodge’s surroundings, ending up peering through the lodge gate!