In the African night, the beat of a drum means news...

April 2008

Read about events at Djuma Game Reserve

Bush Lodge

Vuyatela

for more information visit www.djuma.com

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This newsletter is archived in the Drumbeat section of our web site

There was great excitement when 16mm of rain fell on Bush Lodge unexpectedly, accompanied by a spectacular lightning show. Apart from a couple of cool days the daytime temperatures were above 25C. We saw lots of big and small game in front of the lodge this month. Sightings included elephants, giraffes, hippos various antelope and even some hyenas.
One beautiful afternoon our guests had a memorable game drive. Most of the big game was crossing in and out of Manyeleti, Buffelshoek and our property. Two of the Mapogo male lions were seen at Sydney's dam with full bellies and then moved westward onto Manyeleti property. Everybody could tell that they have just eaten but it was difficult to tell where or what the kill was. The guides followed them to the boundary and the rest of the Mapogo males were lying down very close to a buffalo kill. Some guests who had seen the same lions the day before totally disagreed that these were the Mapogos. The issue being that the guests had seen them the previous afternoon when they were thin, hungry and looked exhausted, but a day later they all looked fat and healthy. The burning question: do lions in general get fat within 24 hours of a kill? Well, now we know the answer!
The same afternoon, Morris and his guests were finishing sundowner drinks on the clearing close to Sydney's dam. The wind was picking up when a call came in over the radio that Karula female leopard was stalking impalas near the boundary between Djuma and Manyeleti. She positioned herself downwind of the nervous impala, and as the herd scattered from the safety of some bushes, Karula made her move and caught a young male under the neck, hanging on until he was dead. She started feeding soon afterwards, and while everyone was expecting to see her drag her kill up a tree, she did not. This may be because Karula is a small leopard and the impala may have been too big for her to do so. The following morning the kill had been stolen by hungry hyenas.
We were greatly saddened by the death of a lioness and four cubs from the Nkuhuma pride of lions at the hand - or rather the jaws - of the Mapogo male lions. While it is natural for males to kill cubs in a pride takeover, it is unusual for a lioness to be killed as well. We guess that she may have got in the way trying to defend the cubs when she was killed. From what we can tell there are only three lionesses and eight cubs surviving at this point and the Nkuhuma pride has moved north to Manyeleti and the Mapogos have traveled south west from Djuma's core area where the fight occurred.
Guests were lucky to witness a fight between two rhinos while a third looked on, at Kudu Corner during an afternoon drive. We kept a safe distance as the power of these animals should not be underestimated. Amidst unusual noises and struggled breaths they moved off into the Kruger National park.
Happy 50th anniversary to Mr and Mrs Crabtree who stayed at Bush Lodge with their family. We wish you happiness and peace in the next coming years.
The Bush Lodge crew would like to wish Monica Ubisi and Ivy, who is currently on maternity leave, happy birthdays and a wonderful time with their families.
Fond regards from Mandla and the Bush Lodge team

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Djuma Game Reserve
P. O. Box 338, Hluvukani, 1363, Mpumalanga, South Africa
Tel: (+ 27 13) 735 5118
Fax: (+ 27 13) 735 5070
 

 
Webmaster: Jurie Moolman