A word from our Ranger

Good day all.

My name is Gerhard and I’m the new ranger at Idwala. For those of you who have visited Idwala and joined me on a game drive can only agree that we have had some amazing sightings. From the hair raising experiences with old Floppy (the elephant bull) to the special one just last week when we saw two lions mating.

One of my first evening drives on the reserve, we had a full camp with guests from Germany, Ireland and England. We were on our drinks break watching the sun set over the Eastern Cape horizon when an elephant strolled over in the distance just within our sight. I recognized him – the one and only - Floppy.

The guests asked me if it was possible if we could get a closer view of the big boy, and I happily replied, “Yes, we can advance a little”. As we approached Floppy, he was very relaxed but he probably had a bad day at the office and wasn’t very happy to see me. The light was fading and I instructed the guests to sit still and view him and not to take photos. Taking photographs with a flash in low light conditions should be avoided with diurnal animals -  especially rhinos and elephants because their eyes are very sensitive and they may become nervous or aggressive with flashes going off in their eyes.

So there we were, with Floppy displaying his dominance over us - with ears held out and trunk constantly in the air sniffing us. After a few spine tingling minutes and a lot of "French" from myself, Floppy eventually decided that we were too boring for him and he decided to move on. As we drove away from the sighting, I looked back to see the pale faces of our eight guests. They sure were blown away by that experience.

I recall that evening back at the lodge, Melanie, who is from England and on honeymoon with her husband Adrian, told me that she thought her final minute had arrived. Not to worry Melanie, Floppy prefers plant material in his diet and you were in very safe hands.

Seeing lions at any stage during a visit at Idwala is special. The lions are usually lying around when we see them and whenever there are lions on the move, it increases the value of the experience.

Therefore, encountering Sarabi (the lioness featured in the July/August edition) and one of the male lions while they were mating, was something I will never forget. The guests who were able to view nature in action will remember it for a long time to come.

The mating ritual in the cat family is a very aggressive event. The female will approach the male and sway in front of him, swatting him in the face with her tail while emitting a low rumbling growl. She will then lie down in front him, almost inviting him to mount her. Then, she will lift her rear end (called the lordosis reflex) making copulation easier. Copulation only lasts for a few seconds but it takes place a few times per hour over a period of 3 to 5 days. After mating the female rolls over on her back - the reason for that is still unknown but it is believed that it may have something to do with ensuring fertilisation.

At Idwala Game Lodge, the bird-life is always breathtaking but recently the residents have set up home. The Red Winged Starlings, Cape Robin Chats and Cape Wagtails have nested around the lodge and we can hear the chirps of their babies in the early morning. The Starlings' nest, just above the lodge main entrance, has the loudest chirps and its very interesting watching the mom and dad taking food back to the nest to feed the little ones.

Late afternoon, while we were watching one of the elephant herds, I noticed that they had a particular liking for a tree that I did not recognize. Nearby was another ranger who had been working on the reserve a lot longer than me, so I asked him what the tree was. He was uncertain, so I decided to take a sample leaf and try and identify it once I returned to the lodge.

After consulting my "tree book", I found the tree to be a Forest Elder belonging to the LOGANIACEAE family of trees. I read up about the tree family and found that there are about 20 tree species belonging to this family and it is native to Southern Africa. Some of the species are rich in alkaloids and extremely poisonous. Obviously the Forest Elder wasn’t one of them because the elephants are all still alive and well. The wood of the Forest Elder is pale yellowish, hard and heavy, used for fencing and general carpentry. The bark is also used medicinally and it makes a decorative garden plant. The Forest Elder bears small white flowers from autumn to w inter.

This just shows you that even trees can be interesting to look at and that South Africa isn’t just about the “big five”. In the next newsletter I will be sure to tell you more about the trees around Idwala Game Lodge as well as share my wildlife encounters.

Until then, keep well and remember . . . REAL MEN DON’T STAND ON ANTS.

All of the best

Gerhard