WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA GRUMETI, TANZANIA For the month of May, Two Thousand and Sixteen

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1 WILDLIFE REPORT SINGITA GRUMETI, TANZANIA For the month of May, Two Thousand and Sixteen May has been a wet month, with us having a thunderstorm almost every afternoon. As each day stretched out one could feel the humidity rise and the clouds build up, which culminated in afternoon thunderstorm and rain showers. With all the rain we have had the bush is looking beautifully lush and green. This also made for some challenging game viewing as the grass is extremely tall, allowing the animals plenty of opportunity to take cover. The great migration arrives: As the month drew to a close we were all anticipating the arrival of the great migration and the wildebeest did not disappoint. On the 19th we had the first visual of the migration entering our concession on our far eastern boundary in the Ikorongo Game Reserve. Since then we have had a steady stream traversing through our concession. This abundance of plains game has allowed the larger predators the opportunity of watching their food come to them... Photo by Joe Kibwe

2 Photos by Mark Nicholson

3 Photo by Joe Kibwe Photo by Adas Anthony

4 Photo by Adas Anthony Lions Yet another great month for lion sightings! We have a lioness with four cubs that we have been seeing on a regular basis, which all the guests have raved about. Before the arrival of the migration the majority of our prides had moved out towards the Nyasarori Ridge and Rangers Post area, as this is where the majority of our resident herbivores have moved to. Photo by Mark Nicholson Cheetah We have several mother cheetahs and cubs throughout our concession. We have been seeing a mother and three cubs regularly around Koroya Hill as there is a good number of impala and gazelle in this area. The cubs are about three months old now and the family was seen multiple times over the month.

5 (Photo by Anthony Nyambacha) Photos by Joe Kibwe

6 Leopards Our leopard sightings have been consistent throughout the month. A mother and a single cub have been seen on the southern side of the Grumeti River, close to German Bridge. Another mother and two cubs have been seen in and around Colobus Crossing. We have also seen various leopards along the Raho Drainage. Photo by Mark Nicholson Photo by Anthony Nyambacha

7 Wild dogs The dogs have made a few appearances this month, all of them being along the Nyasarori Ridge area and Raho Drainage. Several of our guides have been fortunate to see them hunting and killing various antelope species. We received information from the national park that they have started to den approximately 1km from the enclosure where the alpha pair are currently raising a litter of pups. Rhino 'Big John' as he has affectionately become known, has begun to be more comfortable leaving the safety of his original enclosure area and has been spending a lot more time roaming around the boma fence, to both guest and guides delight. He was spotted at least eight times in May browsing on the leafy foliage of the boma, and giving little attention to safari vehicles as they stop and view him in amazement. Photo by Anthony Nyambacha We have also heard rumours from the Singita Grumeti Fund team that he and Laikipia have been spending lots of quality time together. Fingers crossed that this friendship blossoms into something more. Photo by Anthony Nyambacha.

8 Hippo surprise The hippo population at Sasakwa Dam has experienced a rather slow growth rate since the Singita Grumeti concession was acquired and conservation work began in A big bull hippo first arrived at the dam around 2008, and has remained the dam s primary resident ever since. Some months after the big bull s arrival he was joined by two females, and the three occupied the dam for about two years. In 2010, Grumeti experienced a particularly rainy, rainy season. Intense flooding caused the Sasakwa Dam wall to collapse, and all of the water came flowing out emptying the dam. With the water went the hippos. The dam was swiftly repaired, and the bull hippo soon returned, but the two females were not with him. For three years the big bull was the solitary occupant of the dam. Then, in mid 2013, two females appeared at the dam. Some eight months later, a tiny baby hippo was born, bringing the dam s population up to four. This soon turned back to three when the female without a calf, left. Photo by Adas Anthony Then, this May, we were blown away with surprise when seven hippos were seen at the dam. Four new hippos, two females, a sub-adult male, and one six-month-old calf, had joined the three residents at Sasakwa Dam. They remained at the dam throughout the month and we hope they continue to stay. We are excited to see what the next chapter holds for the Sasakwa Dam hippos.

9 Survival intervention The four lion cubs first seen on the Sasakwa Plains close to the main road in April are still around and things seem to be going well, but for a moment there, their well-being was uncertain. At the beginning of the month, the four cubs and their mother were seen, but the mother was not in good condition. She had clearly been in a very intense fight with another lion and she had a deep wound in her back left thigh, deep scratches on her back and front left shoulder, and one of her left claws was partially severed from her paw.

10 The lioness' condition was quickly reported to the Singita Grumeti Fund conservation management team. The team and a few of the guides, with the local vet in tow, soon relocated the lioness. The vet was able to easily dart her with a tranquilizer gun, and once she had succumbed to the tranquilizer, soon got to work. As a rule, the conservation team does not usually treat animals that sustain naturally occurring wounds. The only exception to this rule is when an endangered animal, like this lioness, is involved. The team cleaned her wounds and sprayed them with a strong healing spray, which assists in rapid recovery of the wounds by both disinfecting and drying. The spray also contains an element that keeps flies and other bugs away from the wound. They also gave her injections of antibiotics. Once all of the work was done, they placed the lioness in a nice shady spot, as they knew she would be quite groggy once the tranquilizer wore off, and would stay in the same spot for a while. Once she was in the shade, the vet injected the lioness with the antidote to the tranquilizer. The lioness remained in that spot for the rest of the day, dozing and sleeping off the drugs.

11 Luckily, the lioness had left her cubs at their denning spot, so the team was able to avoid the cubs being put under the unnecessary stress of seeing their mother in this situation. Over the remainder of the month, the mother was seen with her cubs, her wounds healing and making positive progress daily. By the end of May she was almost fully recovered, and her cubs are healthy and well.

12 We are very thankful for the support of the Singita Grumeti Fund conservation team for all of their work in ensuring the successful survival of this female and her cubs. By Elizabeth Hamrick and Mark Nicholson Singita Grumeti Serengeti Tanzania Thirtieth of May 2016