For those just reading and not part of ROAR we changed from Chitwa Chitwa to Tintswalo for various reasons. It is a more expensive camp but no price change in the safari so that is good news. My group is all confirmed and advised and Linda's group we are finalizing details now and they will get the full explanation in the next day or so. By the way there is now ONE room left in Linda's group if anyone is interested.

Just had to share this with everyone. I asked for the last Ranger report from Tintswalo so I could see what was going on right now - about the same time we will visit next year. It is a great report and the MOST amazing thing for me is the WILD DOGS. Pam and Jim saw wild dogs six times at Leopard Hills during their stay in April after NILE. Maybe 2011 will be the year for me.

TINTSWALO REPORT - April 16, 2010
As autumn slowly comes to the Manyeleti game reserve, the trees turn yellow and brown, the conspicuous Russet bushwillows red seed pods all show us that the seasons are changing...

But on Friday night all that changes as the rains come and shower over the reserve….

The large herd of buffalo returns to the feed on the grass, and accompanying the buffalo are the large flocks of cattle egrets, which catch insects spooked by the buffalo. A number of new born buffalo calves are seen travelling with the herd.

The 2 young leopards are seen with its mother in the Nwaswitsontso River, trying to hone their hunting skills where the large flocks of Helmeted Guinea fowl which return to the river in the cooler winter months as the flocks forage for grubs and other prey. A young cub comes out of a thicket with a young helmeted guinea fowl.
As the young cubs are around about 6 months old now. The female leopard is teaching them how to track and it will walk off to along the river and stop saliently a wait as the 2 young cubs try to track, smell, or hear the mother leopard. The young male leopard seems to be better at tracking (using its senses), to follow its mother around than the female cub.

All this training and hunting small game will help the 2 young leopards in the future where the cubs grow up and its mother leaves them to hunt all on their own, this is where these cubs will have adapt or die. But this will only happen around another year and a half.

The wild dogs made an appearance over the beginning of last week where the pack of 23 dogs came through hunting in their home range, ricking havoc as the pack hunts. As stand off between 2 bull buffalo and 23 dogs where the buffalo wanted to come down to a pan of water to drink but all the wild dogs were there and had to be chased by the buffalo so the bulls could drink.

The wild dogs managed to get close to the lodge but this time the pack did not come past as we had one of their major enemies around the lodge. Lions! Since then we have not seen the pack since.

From the Ranger and Tracker Team.

Ngaire, I hope 2011 is your Year of the Wild Dogs!!

hoping for dog days for us Ngaire......

Is a pack of wild dogs something we should be looking forward to?

Dick

Dick, when we were on GAME in the fall of 08, we saw a pack of about 24 wild dogs. Their coloring is much like a calico cat with big ears. At that time, we were told that there were only 2000 left in South Africa. They travel fast in their packs, so seeing them is quite something.

Thanks, Beth. Looks a whole better than it sounded first.

Oh Beth, it makes me miss that trip so much!