November 2018

  I haven't posted anything to this blog for a few years. That wasn't through laziness or lack of interest but simply because our computer became so out of date it was no longer able to add photos to the text - and without the photos I don't think there would be many people interested

   The possibility of re-opening the blog has arisen several times recently and eventually I thought I would give it a go - and my test-post worked so here goes........

   Bhejane Trust puts out a regular newsletter. It was, for a long time, a monthly effort but from the end of October 2018 it became bi-monthly. That means there was no newsletter  for November so this post will be a summary of what I would probably have written.

   I usually start with news on game water supplies. Normally by mid-November we can begin to relax because rain falls far out in the Park, the elephants (who are our main customers) leave and the water levels of our main pans and dams begin to recover. This year the rains were late arriving and November was very hot and very dry so we were under more pressure than we would have expected (or wanted). Our most important site (in that it attracts the most animals and the most tourists) is Masuma Dam. By the 10th November the level of the dam was way down on normal.....

  A reading of the meter at the solar/diesel pump that supplies the dam showed that we were pumping 86,000 litres per day. That sounds like a lot but when you  consider that there were over a thousand elephants drinking there each day as well as hundreds of buffalo, kudu, impala and others, it's clear that 86,000 litres is not enough.

                                          Elephants crowded around the trough at Masuma  

The weather forecast suggested we could expect rain soon so we decided not to panic, to keep the solar/diesel pump running and hope for nature to solve the problem.  However, a week or so later we realised that wasn't going to happen so we replaced the pump with one that runs purely on diesel and supplies a lot more water per hour. Camp Hwange, Kashawe Camp, Kapula Camp and Bumbusi Camp all chipped in with donations of diesel and for the first time in several weeks we were able to put more water into Masuma than the animals were taking out. The level of the dam rose and all was well but it was a close-run thing.

   Meanwhile, this happened at Shumba.........

                                         

  At first we blamed the elephants - after all, it wouldn't be the first time they have done something like this! Closer inspection though, suggested the damage had been done by strong winds. Either way, it put the pump out of action at a crucial time. It took us one day to travel out to Shumba, dismantle the mess and bring it back to Sinamatella, the next day to make a new frame from bits of the old one and a third day to get it all re-assembled. Many thanks to Antoinette van Wijk and Peter Mc Sporran-Edwards, who were with us at the time and put a lot of effort into helping to get this pump back in action. It was hard work, but very satisfying.

    I'm glad to say there were no other major breakdowns to contend with. Even so the situation at some of our water points was pretty hectic, with elephants drinking in large numbers throughout the day and most of the night.  Hard though it is, we have to accept that at some point it will become impossible to cope with the ever-increasing number of elephants in the Park and this November showed us how close we might be to that point. We will have to give that some careful thought during the coming rainy season.

  Wildlife

      Out in the Park, November was a great time for animal viewing - provided you didn't think too deeply about how tough the animals must have been finding their lives in the absence of decent rain. I felt sorriest for the females with babies. Every year, Sue tries to get decent photos of the baby impala with their long legs and Disney-cartoon faces and the baby warthogs - impossibly cute for such a bizarre-looking animal. As usual, this year neither species co-operated, running away long before Sue could get the camera lined up and these are the best she got (and I know she will be annoyed with me for using these pictures - they are not up to her preferred standard!).......

  

 Not all the young animals survived of course.

  It appeared that this little zebra was killed by a lion but abandoned in favour of the young elephant that was killed nearby by other members of the pride and is just visible in this picture, surrounded by vultures.

   Similar tragedies must have occurred in many other places - though of course they are not tragedies from the point of view of the predators and scavengers.

   At home in Sinamatella Camp, we were very much aware of the difficulties facing the animals as many of them came to forage in and around our house and to beg from us at meal times. It made for some easy photo-opportunities.......

 It's nice having all these animals around but of course it would be better if the rain would come and they could find plentiful natural food. It isn't far away .........