A walk on the Wild Side:

On one of Tiaan’s numerous fence checks, he came across a sighting rather different from the usual impala's and Zebras, a White Throated Rock Monitor.  Being late September, many reptile species are starting to awaken from their winter slumber and become more active, including Tortoises, Snakes and Lizards. 

The White Throated Rock Monitors are easily distinguished by their elongated, strong bodies, muscular tails and long, robust claws. Reaching 150 to 200 cm in length and weighing up to 11 kilograms it is one of the heaviest bodied lizards in Africa and the second longest after the Nile Monitor. Being rather opportunistic and bold hunters, Rock Monitors feed on anything from insects to carrion (decaying flesh).

Monitors fill an important role in the ecosystem they live in. In most cases they are one of the only large land carnivores. Out of the 31 species of monitors found throughout the world, 24 of them occur in areas without terrestrial, carnivorous mammals. The male White Throated Rock Monitor is extremely territorial, and will often fight viciously to defend it.

Becoming sexually mature between the age of 3 and 5 years, the female will seek out a burrow to lay her eggs in; often a Termite mound that is still occupied by termites if chosen. After an incubation period of roughly 20 days, the young hatch out to an instant high protein food source, and once they break out they are able to support themselves.

Having such a choice when it comes to dinner has resulted in the White Throated Rock Monitor being widely distributed from Central and Southern Africa to Zambia and Angola and can live up to 20 years in the wild. However to certain folk law and beliefs, like the blood of a white throated Rock monitor being able to cure HIV/Aids and the fat from these lizards and the meat from their tails as well as the skin being used traditionally, they have become a protected species. 

Ubizane Wildlife Reserve supports World Rhino Day 2012:

Those of you, who follow our blog, will be familiar with our de-horning of our male rhino, and the brutal murder of his mother and butch, his father. With world rhino day 2012 approaching we only felt it natural to celebrate this day, not only for the rhinos we have lost on this very reserve; but for the global loss of the 5 rhino species due to poaching.  

The World Rhino Day tradition started in 2010 as an opportunity for people all over the world to take a stand against rhino poaching and the illegal trade in rhino horn. The latest statistics on rhinos poached for 2012 stand at 388, with the Kruger National Park having lost a total of 241 rhinos since the beginning of this year. Limpopo, the North-West and KwaZulu-Natal continue to be the province’s most targeted by poachers, collectively accounting for 119 of the total rhinos poached this year.

We decided to get our guests geared up for this important event by kick-starting the event on the Friday, when most of our guests were set to arrive for the long weekend coming up. The first obvious sign to our arriving guests as well as the passing traffic that Ubizane was in support of World Rhino Day was our big banner on the gate clearly stating we are in support of World Rhino Day 2012. On arrival at Zululand Tree Lodge and Zululand Safari lodge guests received a bag of cookies, which were made in memory of our late Butch. Our chef made delicious cookies in the shape of a rhino’s footprint. This was almost an exact replica of Butch’s real foot print that is by his skull in Tree Lodge Reception.  

We tried to keep the entire two days as rhino themed as possible, at Afternoon High Tea, which was served in The Fever Tree Forest. Accompanying our normal delicious high tea treats were various flavored biscuits cut into the shape of Rhinos. An informative statistics board was also present; in order to further educate our guests on the seriousness of the matter.

Dinner was served in the Tree Lodge Restaurant, and the elegantly set tables were softly lit by the ambient glow of candles that accompanied a rhino inspired place mat. With a crackling fire, soft lighting and delicious food, it was an evening enjoyed by all.

A shocking experience for an Ubizane Monkey

With the rain stopping for a little while, and the monkeys saw a unique opportunity for mischievousness, as always. This time the power lines up at staff quarters was the amusement for the day.

However one youngster got a bit too close for comfort and received quite a jolt from the power line, knocking it off the poll and onto the ground with a loud bang. Hearing the commotion, our General Managers went to investigate, finding nothing but a shorted fuse box; they were unable to piece the puzzle together.  

It was Ziquenya, our anti poaching dog that sniffed out the frizzled limp monkey on the ground. After wrapping the monkey up in a towel and taking it inside, Tiaan attempted to give the scorched monkey some sugar water, the limp monkey was having none of it though.

The smell of burnt hair was overwhelming, and so the little monkey was given a lukewarm bath. Still in shock the monkey didn’t even put up a fight, instead it kept bracing itself against the sink or on Tiaan’s hand. After being towel dried the monkey had a little down time in front of the TV, before being put down on the ground to get its equilibrium back.  

Clearly the tricky monkey had made a full recovery, as its feet hardly set foot on the ground and it jumped up towards the roof and was out the window in a flash. Finding refuge on top of a tree, the monkey sat for roughly a half an hour, before he moved off into the bush. Eskom soon arrived at Ubizane to fix the problem and power was restored to Zululand Tree Lodge, and normalcy was restored… well as normal as possible- living in the bush never produces a dull day! 

The hatching of Ubizane's Ostriches:

There has been much anticipation here at Ubizane Wildlife Reserve, as we patiently await the arrival of our baby Ostriches. We first noticed one of our females sitting on eggs on the 27^th of September, and many of you who follow our blog posts will recall the details.  

After the torrential down fall our excitement soon turned to fret, as we found the eggs submerged in a puddle of ice cold water abandoned by the parents, and after much consideration and discussion, we decided to remove the eggs and attempt to incubate them ourselves.

2 weeks of careful monitoring and care finally paid off on a Monday evening, at  22:00 pm one of the eggs began to move and  small hairline cracks began to emerge. The little ostrich proved to be a real fighter, only resting momentarily from its constant struggle against the porous egg shell. Not long after the first cracks were made, a tiny beak emerged through the jagged egg shell, under the constant watch of the staff, the large tangled mass of a chick struggled some more, breaking the shell more. An hour soon passed , and a soft muffled  ‘cheep’ could now be heard as the ostrich fought beak and nail to come into this world.

3 hours and countless cups of coffee later, you could now make out the shape of the mini replica ostrich, tightly packed into the shell that it has called home for 6 weeks. Its powerful leg kicking, with what looked liked frustration, and its large black eye peered out on to it’s new surroundings, almost in amazement. The excitement reached the tipping point as with one last push, the chick pushed free of it’s egg. Lying with it’s legs tucked under its body and it’s neck stretched out, the tiny life form breathed heavily, exhausted I’m sure. True to it’s instincts, after a short power nap the chick struggled to its feet, feathers still damp and neck still supple and wobbly but the exhaustion of coming into the world proved to be too much, and it soon collapsed into a sleeping bundle. 

The newborn chick is still being kept in the glass cage with its unborn siblings, here he or she will stay under the warm light until it is strong enough to stand and eat, then it will be relocated to a larger enclosure. We all at Ubizane are delighted to welcome yet another addition to the family and are holding thumbs for the rest to arrive sooner rather than later!

Be sure to keep a watchful eye on all our social media pages, as we will be sure to document every milestone in these precious chicks’ life!

New Residents at Tree Lodge:

New residents have moved in to Tree Lodge, and for once we are not talking about the many guests that pass through our doors.  This time it is in fact a far more interesting guest, with its long slender legs and intricate spinning skills. It is in fact a Golden Orb Web Spider.

A cluster of large female Orb Web Spiders and their rather minuscule male counter parts have taken up residence above the fish pond at Tree Lodge Reception. Named amply after the golden sheen their web emits, these spiders are well known for their intricate web spinning skills. The orb web spider may not be the largest spider, but it does make the largest and strongest web. Spanning an impressive 6m high and up to 2m wide, their webs often span from one tree or shrub to another. The webs intricate design is spun to entrap large flying insects; the silk is so strong that it can trap small birds which the spiders do not eat. 

 The female Orb Spider really dwarfs the male, he is somewhat 1000 times smaller the females, which makes reproduction a tricky affair as the female often eats the male during copulation. For this reason the male often mates with female while she’s feeding and is otherwise occupied. However the male’s small size does provide a few perks in that he is able to live on the outskirts of her web, and share her meals without her even noticing. After the risky business of procreation has been completed the female then spins a sac for her eggs, digs a pit in the ground and buries her eggs under debris and soil. After a short period of time the spiderlings hatch with their eggs still attaché to them, and make a hasty retreat before they cannibalize each other.  

Both the spider and the web are fascinating to watch, and both play an important role in not only the ecosystem, but to man as well. Like any other predator, the orb web spider plays an important role in population control, their bite is rather harmless and they will sooner run at the sight of humans than try to bite them. The orb web spiders silk is utilized across the world and has various uses. In the South Pacific, the web silk is used to make fishing lures, traps and nets, where in the Solomon Islands, the spider web is collected by winding it around sticks to make large sticky balls which are suspended just above the water. Studies have shown that if man could manufacture spider silk, it would have a million uses from parachutes, bullet-proof vests, lightweight clothing, seatbelts, light but strong ropes, as sutures in operations, artificial tendons and ligaments. That kind of makes you think twice the next time you might go thrashing through a delicately spun Web. 

In loving memory of Shimba:

For many years, Shimba has not only been a part of the Ubizane family but she has managed to touch each and every staff member in her own special way. It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our tame, but still wild common grey Duiker. 

Shimba, on one of her many visits up at Staff Quarters.

Life at Ubizane will be a bit different for a while, without her constant presence, although Shimba can never be replaced, we are comforted by the thought of spotting her last born baby; and in loving memory of Shimba, we named her Shimbaba.

Shimba receiving some tasty treats, while her baby
Shimbaba watches from a distance.

Rest in peace Shimba, you will forever be missed, but never forgotten! 

When it rains, it pours!

It is has been a rather dry winter here at Ubizane, The parched grasslands scattered with dry tufts of grass and the sun baked roads wait in anticipation for the first rains to quench a seasons thirst and settle the  ever accumulating dust; that seems to creep into every possible space.

On a cloudy Wednesday afternoon, the entire Ubizane had mixed emotions towards the arrival of the rain, elated with the thought of no more sporadic veldt fires breaking out and the prospect of the scenery turning green over night but at the same time feeling quite limited, as we had planned a beautiful  boma dinner for our guests that evening. 

Over the last 3 days we fully grasped the meaning of when it rains it pours! The constant rain seemed to have no end (Not that we were terribly upset about it, as the reserve needed it badly) day and night it continued to come down in buckets.

The Ubizane landscape seemed to have reached its capacity, with +/- 150mm of rain fallen in 2 days! The roads around the reserve proved to be every Warthogs dream; with a slippery mud puddle on every bend. The seasonal Mzinene River that snakes through the farm has also begun to flow, for the first time since last rainy season, the small bridge crossing over the river was submerged as the water gushed over it. After a cautious crossing we made our way to the fence where the strength of the flowing water had clearly proved too much for the wire fence; the wire buckling as the water swept past it.  

Partially soaked and with an odd splatter of mud here and there, we made our way back to the Lodge, as we approached the area where we last saw the female ostrich on eggs we found ourselves on the edge of our seat! For according to our calculations, the eager hatchlings should be arriving any day now!

Our excitement soon turned to fret, as we saw the eggs abandoned and partially submerged in a puddle of water, and both mother and father nowhere to be seen! After much consideration and discussion, we decided to remove the eggs and attempt to incubate them ourselves.  So be sure to keep an eye on all our social media pages for details on the 9 Ostrich eggs!