Well, hello there. So here we are again another Monday and another wonderful update from the bush. However, this week I am handing you over to Toni and Noline who are updating us with news from Mkulumadzi. Toni and Noline over to you:
“Some of you will feel the same as us, there is no greater joy than to pop into your garden to harvest some fresh goodies for the kitchen and Nolines’ garden is no exception and has been producing prolifically! We recently put in a small garden to grow greens for the kitchen, and it has turned into a roaring success. Almost every Malawian is a skilled gardener or has a strong opinion on how to go about setting up a garden so there was keen interest and debate about how best to go about the building and planting process and the collaborative result has put smiles on everyone’s face and the bees love it. The plants have done well through the cool season and now the real test will be the warm season, we will keep you updated.
Moving from our garden into natures’ garden and the wonderful sightings that we have been having. One has included a cheetah that was obviously pregnant and as cheetah are notoriously slow breeders, we have held our breaths, hoping for good news. She has just been seen again after a brief absence, accompanied by two strong cubs of about two months old. There are a lot of other predators in Majete and the fact that the cubs have made it this far is a very good sign and we are so excited to watch them grow and prosper.
Some months ago, David Haphold a renowned mammologist and long-time reader of ‘Its Monday’ got in contact with us and offered to make his book Mammals of Malawi available to our guides online. His book has already helped us identify two “new to us” bat species, Yellow House Bat (Scotophilus Dinganii) at Mkulumadzi and Large Slit Faced Bat (Nycteris Grandis) at Kuthengo, which, other than having a rather dramatic name is the only bat to regularly catch and eat fish in the subregion. Thank you so much David, it was generous of you to make your book available to our team, and it is much appreciated.
While Majete is fantastically diverse, some species remain rare, and one such species is the Aardvark. However, to our absolute delight one has taken up temporary residence in a burrow in our carpark! Arno or Anna, we have not established that yet, has been seen three times in the last two weeks, hanging around quite calmly for our guests. It is so relaxed that we are looking forward to being able to get some photos to share with you all soon.
In wild dog news our resident pack of 14 headed to the most inaccessible place to den some 2 months ago but thanks to some strategically placed camera traps put in by African Parks, we are able to catch a glimpse of the puppies.
We look forward to seeing them once they are brought out into the greater game viewing area. Three of the dogs from the pack we spotted very briefly last week as they came hurtling through camp at breakneck speed hunting impala. Sadly, the hunt was unsuccessful, and the dogs once again disappeared. It would be so wonderful if our dogs were successful in their breeding efforts this year and we shall certainly keep you all posted on progress on that front.
Other than that, Majete continues to change with every month. There has been pretty much no meaningful rainfall since the end of Cyclone Freddy and the bush is dry, the leaves have fallen and formed a crunchy mat under the trees and visibility has increased immensely on the drives. While it is warming up, the game viewing is getting busier every day and will continue to do so until the break of the rains. The animals are making the trek to the main water holes and rivers daily and the predators are marching up and down these water sources and the paths leading toward them taking full advantage. It’s a constant hive of activity here and we look forward to sharing more sightings as the season progresses.”
Wow, thanks so much for a wonderful update. How exciting with potential cheetah cubs and wild dog pups it seems like the Majete wildlife populations are booming and we look forward to the updates as the season progresses. Speaking of progressing season, its nuts to think that we have made it through this far without any update from Mobile Walking Safaris which will be closing for the season very soon, so before it does, I promise to send news from Jason and the team as they have also been very busy.
But for now, though I shall bid you all a very fond farewell and have a wonderful week ahead with plenty of smiles and laughter and don’t forget to look after one another.
