Golden Orb Spiders

One of our little friends near the Tree Lodge Pool

Any recent visitors to our lodge may have had their eye caught by one of the spectacular golden webs of our resident Nephila population. The genus name of these spiders is derived from an Ancient Greek word which translates to “fond of spinning” which should come as no surprise seeing that the inner orb of some Nephila web can reach more than a meter across. 

Another interesting characteristic of these large spiders is the golden silk they use to make these impressive webs leading to the Nephila being more commonly known as the Golden Orb-Weaver or Golden Orb Spider.

So, what’s with the golden web anyway? And why do some of these webs appear more golden than others? Researchers have noticed that these spiders can control how yellow their silk will be when weaving their webs. The golden colour of the webs in the sunlight serves to attract bees, a rather ingenious way to ensure an easy meal! 

It doesn’t stop there though, these spiders will adjust the hue of their silk while weaving webs to match the background light and aide in camouflage when the web is in the shade. Their silk also contains a chemical compound called pyrrolidine alkaloid which serves as a very effective ant deterrent. The webs of these spiders are so strong snakes, bats and even birds have occasionally been ensnared.

The vivid gold silk becomes a lot more apparent in the sunlight. This guy lives near the Tree Lodge Boma.

In 2004 Nicholas Godley, an entrepreneur from Madagascar was so taken by the beauty of the golden silk that he got in touch with textile designer by the name of Simon Peers. They decided to attempt to make a garment out of the golden thread and after three years and 1.2 million spiders the duo produced a cape which was exhibited in 2012 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Simon Peers describes the sensation of wearing the garment as what he would imagine an invisibility cloak to feel like. He attributes this to the fact that spider silk is round and perfectly uniform unlike silkworm silk which is irregular and triangular in shape.

Aside from being able to create a breathtaking bolt of material Spider silk is also known to be more elastic than nylon and up to six times stronger than steel which is why scientist are so eager to come up with a synthetic version of the material. 

In more recent times, spider silk has also been used in surgery for nerve grafts. The human body does not recognise the silk as a foreign material so there is no chance of rejection and unlike synthetic materials it won’t become toxic over time making it a very promising possibility for nerve reconstruction procedures.

Golden Orb-Weavers can be found almost anywhere in the world and are considered a beneficial insect due to their role in controlling pests. 

This spider will only bite if provoked and even then their venom is not considered to be lethal to humans. Truly a remarkable, beautiful and beneficial little creature to have around.

Wendy's Release Back into the Wild

It's been almost a month since Wendy first joined the Ubizane family. A month of loving scratches and tummy rubs, of being spoiled with hand fed grass and mixed veggie buffet..

After becoming used to the area from the safety of her Boma, the time finally arrived to release Wendy back into the wild. Emotions were bitter sweet. While this had been the joint goal of CROW and Ubizane from the beginning, it also meant that we would have to say goodbye to one of the newest members of our family.

On the morning of the 23rd of December 2013 we were joined by members from CROW. After some discussion we chose to release our dear friend near one of the dams on our reserve. Wendy seemed to agree with our decision as she confidently and quickly explored her new home. 

Even with all the excitement Wendy was not one to forget her manners. She shared a tender good bye with her adoptive father Tiaan and Estie Allan from CROW.

Everyone headed back to the Lodge after a successful release but there were still concerns that Wendy had grown too attached to people as Warthogs are known to be exceptionally loyal animals. Our fears were soon quelled when we all saw how comfortable she was during a recent visit to her new home on Christmas day.

We at Ubizane are so thankful to CROW for giving us the opportunity to aid in the re-integration of this beautiful animal to the wild. 

Having a part in such an amazing story bought back so many memories of our beloved Tiban.(http://www.ubizane.blogspot.com/2012/12/final-farewell-to-tiban.html)

We wish Wendy all the best in her new home and rest assured, we will keep you all posted on any sightings of this beautiful girl.

Handyman Hein joins the family!

Ubizane’s family gained a DIY-fix-everything-man! He is an all-rounder with a love to braai. Meet our own real life Chuck Norris of Ubizane… Handyman Hein!

The fact that Ubizane was deeply nestled in nature with wildlife all around inspired Hein to apply for the job as Maintenance Manager.  

The fact that Ubizane is exciting with everyday bringing a new challenge makes this job stand out from all the rest for him! Here are a few questions that will help you get to know Hein:

What is the biggest rule in your line of work?
Do the best I can and be proud of all my projects.

Do you enjoy living in the bush?
Yes. It’s peaceful and relaxing!

What is your biggest fear?
Mozambique Spitting Cobra – or as we call it around here in Zulu: Imfezi

What animal would you be for a day, and why?
A Cheetah, so I can be the fastest in the bush and run away from the Imfezi’s!

What would you use from the items you carry around each day, to fight off a crafty monkey?
My slingshot

Tell us more about yourself:
I’m an ordinary guy from Senekal in the Free State, who loves to braai…

Welcome to the family!

Ubizane has lately established a close partnership with CROW (Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife) and we have opened our arms to a warthog and two Spotted Eagle Owls to join our family.

CROW came to investigate the Ubizane premises to make sure it would be a happy safe environment for released animals and we were approved as a safe haven for wildlife! After much planning and organizing, CROW released two Spotted Eagle Owls at the end of November in our aviary. This is where we will nurture the two beautiful owls, like we nurtured our Barn Owls, until they’re big and strong and can be released into the wild.

      

It was an interesting day with the Spotted Eagle Owls almost being twice the size of the Barn Owls and we weren’t sure how the four owls would bond.  For the first day they stared at each other and did not know what to do. After the second night they started competing for the territory and we decided to divide the aviary in two to give the two species their own space.

We are happy to report that the owls are living happily in the aviary and we are waiting for the wonderful day we can release them successfully into the Fever Tree Forest of Ubizane.

            

We also had the pleasure of welcoming a female warthog into our family named Wendy.  This intriguing character was found in November 2012 after being abandoned by her mother in another game reserve, being only 1 ½ weeks old. CROW took her in and hand raised the little warthog with love and patience and asked us if we would release her at Ubizane.  After having a similar situation at Ubizane where we had our dear Tiban who we found as a baby, abandoned and almost drowned after heavy rains, we knew we could not say no.  Tiban was successfully released into the Ubizane bush in December 2012 and we are very proud of this wonderful story of a baby warthog fighting against all odds and surviving. We were excited to hear about Wendy and now the day has finally arrived! CROW released Wendy into an enclosure which is meant as Boma for her at Ubizane where she will get used to the environment and then eventually go into the bush and live a happy life back where she belongs. CROW, along with a camera crew who have been filming her rehabilitation process, released Wendy into Ubizane’s care.

 Wendy has a personality as no other with a love for bananas and mielies (corn cobs)!  She adores a good tummy scratch and enjoys being fed some luscious green grass by the hand so she can give you some loving while you feed her.

The warthog will be let out of the boma each day to graze and get to know the area and climate. She started to walk around on Saturday and slowly but surely she explores a little bit further each day before returning to her ‘safety zone’ in the boma. When she is ready we will let her roam freely into the bush where we’ll hope to see a very happy ending to this story!

The Spotted Eagle Owls will be a lengthier process as these Owls are still young and need more time to grow strong and comfortable in the area. They also need to still learn to hunt and excel their predator instincts which might take a lot more time than anticipated.

Thanks go to CROW for choosing Ubizane and letting us be a part of the conservation efforts. We are so happy to have these magnificent animals, Wendy the warthog and the two Spotted Eagle Owls joining the Ubizane family in their rehabilitation process! Welcome to the family!

For more information about CROW you can visit their website, http://crowkzn.co.za/

Keep updated with the latest news about Wendy and the Spotted Eagle Owls on our blog and our Facebook profile (https://www.facebook.com/ubizane.wildlifereserve)

The Count is On! (Part One)

I was lucky enough to be one of the six “chosen ones” to help out with the game count at Ubizane last month.  The game count is done annually to do a ‘stock take’ of the animals we have. This helps us to get an idea of how our animals are doing and to what extent poaching has affected our game.  We use this opportunity to analyse the population growth and decrease in order for us to make sure the animals are living in healthy circumstances without any serious fluctuation.  Being part of such an important part of conservation at Ubizane was truly exciting and knowing the technicalities that go into the final numbers, I simply enjoyed the events during the day which made this a fun outing for me! So this is my story:

Our general manager informed me early the morning we would do a game count later on the day and I must get ready because they need an extra person. Lucky for me I had a camera ready and a skin in much need of sunlight so I was first choice to fill the extra spot! I grabbed my camera, a pen and a hat and rushed to the Land Rover. I was paired up with the trusty Hamilton – our Game Ranger – and he chose the strong tough Landy called “Elephant” for our adventures and off we went to the “old gate” where we would meet up with the others.

Elephant - our tough Land Rover!

At “Old Gate” we gathered and discussed the plan of action.  Each Land Rover (with two people each) received a sector of the Ubizane grounds to count in which every single road and track needs to be covered to ensure the most accurate count possible.  And when finished we were to meet again at Tree Lodge to hand in our findings. Now as a first timer I have to admit I was a little bit scared we would have to jump into the bush and chop down thicket with Panga’s, in my mind looking like a scene straight out of Rambo, until we found animals to count and add to our ‘stock sheet’ which I had the pleasure of filling out.  With Hamilton laughing away at my ridiculous ideas, he told me we will be sitting in the Land Rover safe and sound without any Panga’s needed for any excursions in the bush.  With a big sigh of relief I took my pen and I was ready to count those Impala...and the Nyala, Zebra and whichever other animal we were to find.  The ‘stock sheet’ contained a column for species, babies, young male, young female, adult male, adult female, pregnant female and unknown for those Zebra and Blue Wildebeest who are just too fast to make out the gender. No animal will be left behind in Ubizane’s game count!

Even Matthew & Zequenya joined in the fun!

We started at 10am and drove through the Ubizane plains and bush, staring down each little bush with each movement our eyes caught.  We soon realised the heat did not help much and made our task a lot harder as animals were hiding away under trees in the shade or staying low in between the grass to catch any cool air they could find.  In the first two hours we counted a staggering 12 Impala.  Out of the hundreds we have on the farm (if you were wondering) this was not a good result for us. Since we were still in the “busy” part of the reserve near Safari Lodge we decided we will probably find more interesting and larger number animals further in the quiet bush of Ubizane.

And interesting it most certainly was...

(Part Two will be published in the first week of December so keep checking our blog and don't miss out on the next part of this adventure!)

Pool dinner

We have decided to have a dinner by the swimming pool on Monday to celebrate the nice warm weather! Here are the pics from setting up to the dinner:

 

Set-up started late on Monday afternoon

 

At night, the dinner site was lit up by the candles and the pool light

A magical evening starts

The tables are ready for the guests arrival

The view of the area with guests enjoying the interesting set-up

Yummy food served by Candlelight

Guests enjoying the evening

We try to keep it different by serving dinner in different venues, weather depending of course. So next time you're at Ubizane enjoy the unique set-ups and send us your photo's the following day!

A new beginning

We have recently set all plans in motion by beginning construction on our bird aviary! The aviary will serve as a home for our rescued Barn Owls and other birds of similar circumstances.  We decided to build an aviary in a central location at Tree Lodge not only for our owls to have more space to move around during the rehabilitating process but also so we can have an area that's more guest-friendly. Watch this space for updates on the progress of this exciting new venture!

Talons of Power

Our fascination with Barn Owls have been evident these past couple of weeks after our discovery of little Barn Owl chicks abandoned by their mother, in a Tree Lodge Room.  We have been hand-raising these magical creatures in an effort to keep them alive and rehabilitate them to become the self-sufficient birds of prey they ought to be.  One of our goals of keeping these birds around is for educational purposes. We want to educate people on the instincts and habits of these birds and why they are so valuable in eco-systems.  One of the many interesting things that we have noticed about these beautiful birds is their powerful talons (claws).

 The talons have an immense strength, and it is used to crush the skull of their prey.  We have definitively seen the evidence of this in our Barn Owls.  They grab the food out of our hands with their talons sometimes instead of their beaks.  Then they start bashing the food onto the ground continuously.  They stomp their feet and start hissing revealing their aggressive nature when there is food involved.

 They also use these talons to fight off enemies. When noticing a threat, they start stomping their feet and hiss to try and intimidate the enemy. They also stand up straight and ‘puff’ out their feathers to appear larger in size for intimidation purposes. It is a captivating process to witness. When finally eating their prey, they tear off chunks by clasping to the prey with their talons while the beak pulls and tears.  These pieces then gets swallowed whole because of their lack of teeth. The food is broken down by powerful stomach fluids.  They later regurgitate the indigestible pieces such as bone and fur in a similar way as a cat would get rid of ‘hair/fur balls’.

 It is interesting to know that prey is believed to be killed by mostly the bashing against the floor as well as suffocation from the strong clench of the talons rather than the peck of the beak.

 On your next visit to Ubizane, be sure to ask our Lodge Managers to view these magnificent birds!