December 2011

The buffalo have had a great month, with herds dominating our sightings. Within these herds many cows have begun dropping calves, so we’ve seen many young buffalo around. With this being said, the lions have also had their fair share of buffalo over the report period. A massive herd has been seen in the south around Charleston, and there have been a few smaller herds residing in the north.

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November 2011

During much of the latter half of the month there has been a herd of buffalo resident on Charleston that would occasionally make forays into southern Flockfield. Lions killed a number of buffalo during the month. No cows have dropped any calves yet, but with the December upon us it will just be a matter of time before the first one is seen. When the calves drop the herds will not only have the lions to worry about, but male leopards will also start hanging looking for unsuspecting youngsters.

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October 2011

As the river has become more and more dry, the buffalo flocked in their droves to the Sand River during spring. With the onset of rain the pans are now starting to fill up again, so the buffalo are beginning to move further from the river to enjoy the new harvest of fresh green grass in the recently burned areas. They have taken a knock over the past month, being the number one prey species for our lions. As the next few months unfold, we’ll see them regain some condition and become a more formidable prey.

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September 2011

Only up by three sightings from last month, but even so. There were some great buffalo seen during September, with many herd sightings and many ‘dagga boy’ sightings around the causeway area. The lions, of course, have had a great time filling their bellies up on buffalo meat. With the rains around the corner, the grass will become abundant, and the lion pressure will ease off slightly until next winter.

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August 2011

Buffalo have been seen everyday this month, although the herds have been slightly scarce. The herd in the north does come onto the property most days, but moves off again at night. The central herd has been stuck in the south due to the large patch of burnt area on Charleston, and so haven’t been seen that frequently. We did have big groups of “dugga boys” from time to time, and in general the old males were frequent and often seen.

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July 2011

It's that time of the year when the herds of buffalo are tormented by the various lion prides. Their dependency on water makes them extremely vulnerable to these large predators. We sighted buffalo along the Sand River on most days throughout the month. The herds' movements are very predictable, and most of the times that they have been caught it has been either in or very close to the riverbed. The grass layer at this time of year is not that nutritious, and this only serves to compound the problem for the bovines. They lose a lot of strength during the dry months, and this makes them even more vulnerable to the lions. Surprisingly though, there are a lot of young calves in the herds. At the beginning of the report period we even saw a female giving birth.

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June 2011

There were several small herds around at one stage, and then towards the end of the month it seems as though they all banded together as there was one very large herd on Flockfield. Several buffalo were taken during the month by the various lion prides. Times ahead will be difficult for the buffalo as the grasses become less nutritious and water sources start to dwindle.

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May 2011

With winter fast approaching, we have begun to see more and more herds on the property. During the wet season, the herds are spread far and wide, as water is abundant. The herds tend to range in size and it is not uncommon for them to start merging as the dry season tightens its grip and restricts the water resources. Being very reliant on water, these large bovines tend to move within relative close proximity to the river. This month has proven to be no different, as the number of herd sightings has increased markedly from the start of the month. The herds appear to be well spread out over the property, with sightings on Marthly, MalaMala, Flockfield and Charleston.

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April 2011

Due to the late rains and the bush still being very lush with water all over our viewing of buffalo continues to consist mainly of the single or small group of males. However we did see 5 different herds of buffalo during the course of this month. The arrival of these herds was well spread out with 2 at the beginning of the month and two at the end with a herd moving through the property during the middle of the month. Moving towards winter now we expect the rains to cease and the area to dry up which means the herds of buffalo will move towards the river.

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March 2011

Buffalo herds were in short supply this month, with all the rain we have had in March the herds are not dependant on the river yet for drinking. We did see buffalo every day of the month but we had to be content with dugga boy sightings for the most part. The Eyrefield pride did manage to kill a young buffalo calf from within a large herd at the beginning of the month which was spectacular to watch. The large herd is moving around the windmill at the moment which also makes it hard to track down as it moves into the KNP a lot.

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February 2011

As the water resources begin to deplete so we have seen a slight increase in the number of herds on the property and so to the number of individuals within the herds. The larger herds of buffalo have been seen throughout Flockfield however there is still enough water around that only on one occasion did any of these herds reach the Sand River. Smaller herds were also recorded up at Clarendon Dam and in the vicinity of Mlowathi dam. Most of the buffalo sightings for the moth however have been of the old Dagga Boys, most often seen in or close to the Sand River where they stay close to water in order to satisfy their reliance for water.

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January 2011

Most days there have been buffalo encountered but just old dagga boys. The herds have been scarce this month with only occasional sightings of a herd at Clarendon Dam and the Windmill areas. The dagga boys seen are usually around the airstrip and old airstrip areas. With so much water around it is easy going for the herds and so they have not been drawn down towards the Sand River. Once winter comes and the pans dry up so the sightings of large herds will increase but for the next few months the dagga boys will have to do.

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