MAY 2018
I was not at the estate for the majority of May but two exciting things happened. Firstly, The Moores from Rock Solid visited and while Nick and Scarlett were walking near S7, they had an exciting experience viewing the aerial abilities of African Fish Eagles. Nick says that two of the three eagles present were constantly engaging each other in the air, sometimes interlocking talons and spinning towards the ground and releasing just before impact!
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| Two African Fish Eagles about to interlock talons above S7 |
Now, I would have immediately thought that this was a mating display because the eagles are clearly different sizes, with the male being 10-15% smaller than the female. Upon further research, though, it appears that the female is an aggressive defender of her and her mates' territory. If an intruder of any sex flies into the airspace of the pairs' territory, the female will immediately approach the intruder and fly him or her out of the area. If they do not cooperate, then the female will begin to fight. Fights are so severe that there are records of the interlocked fighters not releasing each other in time and both perishing on impact as they hit the ground! Nick and Scarlett were fortunate enough to witness this aggressive encounter for more than forty minutes, all around them. Excellent luck!
Next, and of course this would happen when I am not on the estate: In the late evening of 29 May, a driver on the Long Tom Pass road sighted a male lion about 10km short of the Nelspruit turn off. They snapped a photo of the lion and reported it to Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks. The dept responded but were unable to find the big cat the following day.
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| An adult male lion spotted on the Long Tom Pass road, close to the Nelspruit junction. |
Then, at 03h00 on the morning of the 2nd June, a motorist got a sighting of the cat in Potato Seed Production's property just opposite Hops Hollow Brewery, on the route we walk when hiking to the brewery from Finsbury. The police were called and they found the lion on the carcass of one of PSP's cows alongside Emoyeni. The MTPA arrived and darted the cat and it ran into the thickets. After employing PSP's hounds, they managed to find it in the brush alongside the road.
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| The lion after it was darted. That's a big boy! |
They loaded the lion and he has been taken to a rehabilitation centre near Malelane where his future will be decided. I immediately rushed to all our camera traps, hoping to have caught him on camera but, alas, there were none. It is very exciting to know that we had a lion so close to the estate!
Have a jolly month. We look forward to your visit!!!
