Two Bits

Our annual trip to the Sabie Sands alongside Kruger Park was marked by the effects of the crippling drought, illustrating that there are at least two sides to every event. The herds of grazing and browsing antelope were, to our surprise, looking sleek and healthy, though theyare expected to suffer if the rains are late. It is the buffalo and, I learned, the warthogs, that have been most weakened and most vulnerable to predators. The lions are rampant.We saw the most lions ever in that area-13 adults and seven cubs- and a kill every day, all buffalo. With the juices of fresh kills flowing hot in their veins, we witnessed two pairs of lion mating, which they kept up every 10 minutes for 24 hours! One of our party began singing “In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion feeds tonight . . .” – a song everybody knows and that has been recorded many times, and they were surprised to hear that the song had its roots in South Africa.

Songwriter Solomon Linda from Pomeroy, near Ladysmith, wrote a song “Mbube” (The Lion) and recorded it with his isicathamiya group the Evening Birds way back in the 30s. (Ladysmith reappeared again when American singer Paul Simon came out to this country in search of new material, and recorded “Diamonds in the soles of his shoes” and other songs with Ladysmith Black Mambazo). Well, in the 50s, American folk singer Pete Seeger heard “Mbube” and from that wrote “Wimoweh” (a phonetic approximation of the refrain uyembube) which was later rewritten as “The Lion Feeds Tonight”. Linda sold the song to Gallo Records for 10 shillings and after Disney used it in the hugely successful film and musical, The Lion King, his family sued for royalties.

Listen to the 1939 Linda recording here:

Back to the Sabie, where the lions were doing a roaring trade. After one pride had killed and eaten most of a buffalo one night, while we were watching they wandered off to slake their thirsts. Someone remarked how strange it was that the vultures hadn’t put in an appearance, and thought they might be under threat from the drought. Wrong! A white-backed vulture flew overhead, spotted the carcass, slammed on full airbrakes and pounced. Within minutes the sky was black with vultures,  from every point of the compass – white-backed, Cape, hooded, lappet-faced and white-headed -descending on the kill, until there were more than 100 birds fighting over the remains. Even a side-striped jackal braved the scrum, running in to grab a mouthful.
That evening the hyenas crunched the bones. Next morning, 24 hours after the lions had killed, all that remained of the buffalo was the skull and horns. Every other scrap had been devoured. It is quite astonishing to see nature in action.

Travelling with renowned wildlife guide Lex Hes, one is always assured of the best sightings the bush can offer. The Big Five are guaranteed, so the group revels in the unusual. Notable sightings this outing were three Bataleur eagles side by side on a branch (they don’t normally do groups), lion cubs suckling and playing in the open, a pair of honey badgers and a civet, plus a Spotted Eagle Owl with its freshly-killed supper of a Natal francolin.
Rose’s favourite, African wild dogs, chased a duiker which wisely jumped into a waterhole (the dogs are apparently frightened of crocodiles) and so escaped being lunch. My favourite of the week, if one can pick one out of all the excitement, was the late autumn colours of the bush. The Combretum trees had all turned a vivid yellow in anticipation of dropping their leaves and the bush glowed like beaten gold in the late afternoon.
So the drought benefits the predators although the herds take a beating. All being equal, the wheel will turn and the rains will come in October/November, and the bush will return to the natural order.
Our country can offer some of the best wildlife sightings in Africa, at a damn sight better price for us than the dollar tours of Kenya and Tanzania. With so many first class destinations on our doorstep, for your next holiday, treat yourself to a visit to our fantastic reserves.
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Doctor: You’re obese.
Patient: Whoa, for that I definitely want a second opinion.
Doctor: You’re quite ugly, too.