MalaMala - The Wildlife

December 2003

Elephant viewing during December was good as herds moved to and from the drinking points in the Sand River. There were several days this month when over a dozen different herds of females and their youngsters were encountered. As is so typical with elephants, these herds wandered in synchrony with one another, so that the presence of one herd often meant that others were close by. These 'super-groups' seemed to get together upon occasion at the various drinking points and, when finished, all headed off towards whatever feeding zone they were using at the time.

So, whilst some parts of the reserve at certain times seemed relatively elephant-free, others appeared overrun with them. And then, probably when a local feeding area became used up or suddenly undesirable for some other reason, the families would move off to another, recently elephant-free area.

And although there were often times when many families of elephants were encountered at more or less the same time along a certain section of river, the lack of access to water meant that they more or less stayed physically away from one another, at least separated by several hundred metres. With water mostly underground, the elephants have to dig for the best drinking water and this requires patience as the holes fill up slowly. There were many occasions when, within any one family, tempers would flare, particularly when a youngster would try to 'steal' water from an adult waiting patiently for the hole to fill-up or for the sand-sediment to settle.

One noticeable aspect of elephant ecology has been the lack of trees pushed over in recent months. Whether this is because the ground is too hard due to a lack of water, or due to a poor feed-return value, is not known. Elephants still continue to strip bark off trees, with the Knobthorns and Umbrella Trees heavily targeted.

November 2003

Elephants were again plentiful during November. Conditions are drier than ever and the Sand River continues to be the most important source of water in the region.

Quite surprisingly, there were several sightings of groups of elephants numbering many dozen. Such large numbers, one might expect, would not be particularly efficient when resources are scarce and it could be expected that, should conditions deteriorate, elephants would disperse into smaller, more closely related family groups.

Two young elephants died this month, one a five-year-old which appeared to have been in ill health before it died and the other a very young calf which became stuck in mud. In this last instance, the mother of the baby stayed around the youngster for perhaps three days, trying to get it out of the mud and defending it against anything which came into the area, making any rescue effort from an outsiders point of view extremely dangerous. But eventually even the mother must have realised that the situation was hopeless and lions killed her baby. These same lions had just finished eating the five-year-old elephant which had died not far from where the youngster was trapped.

October 2003

Elephants were everywhere this month and, except for some cooler days when individuals were probably hidden in the more sheltered thickets, there were probably, on average, a dozen or more different breeding herds encountered every single day on various parts of the reserve. Whilst most of these groups comprised relatively few individuals, these no doubt representing core breeding groups, there were some sightings of large collections of elephants, these almost certainly temporary assemblages of several breeding herds.

As the drought continues and water and food become less plentiful, so one might expect that herds will fragment and it will become more profitable for the elephants to wander around in smaller-sized groups. Another factor which could cause perhaps at least some temporary separation of family units into smaller, more intimate groups, would be the birth of calves. Several new or close-to-newly born elephant calves were seen this month.

Good numbers of bull elephants were also seen this month, these apart from the breeding groups. Several of the bulls were large individuals, both in body and in tusk size. These bulls are probably most responsible for the pushing down of trees, something which happened regularly this month. Knobthorn Acacias, some of these fairly large trees, seemed to bear the brunt of the elephant bulls' quest for food.

September 2003

Huge elephant numbers were encountered this month, particularly towards the second half of the record-keeping-period. Some hard rain early and halfway through September provided some relief and elephants briefly scattered out somewhat, easing pressure on the land for a few days. But, as it turned out, these storms were localised and Mala Mala probably received more than many others in the area, so, together with other animals, elephants returned in numbers probably greater than before the rains. With their access to trees flushing new shoots and to water under the sand in the riverbeds, elephants are perhaps not suffering as much in these drought conditions compared with some other animals. Nevertheless, things don't look too rosy either and unless substantial rains arrive soon, they and their calves will suffer. At the end of this report-period, some of this may have manifested itself in the form of an abandoned days-old calf which was found near the southwestern parts of the reserve. For elephants to abandon a youngster, things must be tough, but this calf had certainly been left and died soon after it was found. As was the case during August, there were several instances when newborn elephants babies were seen, some so newborn that they were wobbly on their feet and the after-birth was still in the area. But these youngsters were conceived two years ago when conditions following years of above-average rainfall were better than just good. Now, as resources become limiting, perhaps more of this calf-mortality will occur.

As compared with previous months, there were noticeably more large bulls seen during September, perhaps due to the high number of females in the area or perhaps due to the food and water situation in the area.

August 2003

Elephants continued to be encountered in large numbers during August, but, as with previous months, (although perhaps not as noticeable) there were a few days when they seemed to vanish, only to reappear a day or two later, congregating along the river.

From the middle of August onwards, water in the Sand River basically ceased all surface flow and although natural pools were plentiful, the elephants stayed mostly away from these, preferring to excavate holes in the sandy riverbed and drink from this 'sand-filtered' water. And of course other animals also needing water were most grateful to the elephants for this excavation work and water provision.

Maybe because there were so many breeding groups of elephants on the reserve this month, but there seemed to be an extra-ordinary number of newborn calves encountered during August. But perhaps in this area this is when many calves are born and what was seen was not unusual. One calf, when found, had only just started standing and the mother had still to get rid of the afterbirth. As dry as things are, however, the elephants are still doing well, finding food from the trees and the still abundant reedbeds along the main watercourses.

This month saw the return of the now nearly three-year-old elephant which was born with badly deformed back legs. He appears to be doing well and is now almost as mobile as any other elephant of his age, this probably allowing the rest of his family to rejoin other elephants on a more regular basis. When this young elephant was newborn and in the year or so thereafter, it appeared as if his family group had made a deliberate decision to split away from the other members of the larger family group which they had originally been seen with and this probably so that they could devote their attentions to the crippled youngster.

Another debilitated elephant encountered this month was a young female, nearly an adult, which was missing the last half-a-metre or so of her trunk. The injury appeared old and may well have been the result of a wire-snare. But, in spite of this, the elephant appears to be in good condition and has been seen eating with the remaining portion of the trunk. Her one problem, however, is drinking. The end of the trunk appears to have been pinched almost closed, leaving only a small opening, making water and air intake difficult. The result is that she probably breathes mostly through her mouth and prefers drinking from large bodies of water which allow her to kneel down and place her mouth directly into the water.

July 2003

Although elephant viewing was good this month, numbers were generally much lower than expected and sightings were frequently of fairly large groups of females and their young. These collections of elephants moved quite steadily through the reserve.

Water supplies are such that, aside from man-made waterholes outside of Mala Mala, the Sand River is really the only place where elephants will find sufficient quantities to satisfy their needs.

June 2003

Compared with previous months, there was something of a shortage of elephants during June - a most extra-ordinary experience. Not that they weren't seen (although there was one day, and probably the first in well over a year, that not a single elephant was sighted); there were certainly days when many elephants were seen, but their movements from day to day appeared large and there was little apparent consistency in how they appeared and disappeared.

For much of the beginning of the report-period, the elephant herds seemed to be moving in close proximity to one another and occupying the northern and western regions of Mala Mala. Other elephants encountered appeared not to be staying and were simply passing through.

All of this may very well have had to do with the unexpected late rains which have fallen so far this winter; beginning of dry-season rains which, combined with their patchiness and a somewhat mild start to winter, have contributed to a food-supply scenario which the elephants have responded to in a manner which has resulted in the behaviour witnessed on the reserve this month.

May 2003

Great numbers of elephants were seen during the first half of May, but then the numbers generally dwindled and encounters with elephants varied significantly from day to day. On one day, only a single bull elephant was seen, this reminiscent of days before the fence was taken down between Mala Mala and the Kruger National Park.

The reasons for this great change are unclear, but it may have had something to do with a local food supply and this perhaps influenced too by the late rains experienced in April and subsequent balmy winter conditions which would have favoured at least some vegetation growth.

Perhaps the main reason for the change in elephant numbers could have been this years' crop of Torchwood berries, a fruit most favoured by elephants. Indications are that the main supply of fruits this year came from trees in the north of the reserve and beyond this, with trees in other parts of Mala Mala producing almost no berries at all. As with the Marula berries, elephants go from tree to tree, shaking them to dislodge the fruits which they then pick up with their trunks. Since the season for these fruits is usually quite short and if there were an abundance in only certain areas, it would make sense if elephants concentrate in this parts until the food is finished. This would also give these mega-herbivores an opportunity to avoid the Sand River, the resources of which are likely to be what keeps them alive later on in the dry season.

April 2003

There was no shortage of elephants during April and the size of some of the gatherings reached anything up to 100 or more animals. Knowledge of some of the individual families of elephants seen on Mala Mala indicated that these amalgamations were of females and their young which would at other times be physically more separated from the other family groups. It is not known just why they should all suddenly seek one another's companionship; given the declining supplies of food, one would perhaps expect just the opposite. But such numbers are impressive and some fine sightings were had, particularly as these herds made use of the Sand River for their drinking requirements. As has been observed in the past, the elephants appeared to move in a rotational fashion, making use of an area for a week or so before leaving it for another and then returning a while later.

Towards the middle of April, a very young elephant calf in a herd of thirty or more elephants was seen to have a cable snare around its one leg. The state veterinarian from the Kruger National Park, together with his team, removed this cable which had already cut in deeply into the youngster's leg. Indications were that one of the adult elephants must have come to the youngsters aid when it had initially been caught, using its massive strength to snap the steel strand and let the youngster at least go free. Once the snare still on the leg had been removed, the wound was treated and the youngster went free, almost certainly to make a full recovery.

March 2003

Elephants were plentiful over the March viewing period, particularly towards the end of the month when the number of breeding herds encountered, as well as the sizes of these herds, increased. At some sightings there were perhaps more than 50 or 60 different animals seen, these almost certainly combinations of several usually independent groups. Most such large gatherings of elephants were seen at favourite drinking spots along the Sand River. Rains, which fell in certain areas at the beginning of March, were probably responsible for the relatively lower number of elephants seen towards that time.But with the drought conditions getting ever more noticeable and the Sand River perhaps the only site for water sufficient to keep the breeding herds supplied, it is inevitable that this is where they will concentrate.

February 2003

Elephants were certainly seen this month, but, as February progressed, fewer herds of females and their young were seen and these groupings were mostly of small numbers of animals. This has almost certainly been the result of food on offer and here principally the Marula berries. Elephants love the Marula berries and travel from tree to tree in search of the fruits. But for big numbers to make use of a single tree would be foolish since the yield is usually relatively small. So the elephant families break up into smaller groups and probably synchronise their movements with one another so that each small group is able to spend profitable time at each tree, rather than have large herds rushing from tree to tree to satisfy their cravings.

The Mala Mala Main Camp with its prolifically-bearing Marula trees attracted good attention from certain bull elephants which seemed to know just when to arrive. Fortunately the elephants restricted their attentions to these berries and did not venture on to other parts of the camp.
As the Marula-berry season draws to a close, as will happen in March, it can be expected that the elephants will start to get together again and larger herds will become the order of the day.

But of great concern are the dry conditions. With the Sand River being the only real supplier of water for elephants and with the growth of grass and leaves almost non-existent due to the lack of rains, the elephants have been using the Sand River not only for water, but also for food and here the reeds have been the principal target. As a result, the huge reedbeds of the Sand River are currently standing only half as tall as is usually the case at this time of year. It also means that the elephants are making much use of a valuable food resource mostly used during the late dry season.

Sightings of lone or small groups of bull elephants were common during February.

January 2003

There was no shortage of elephants this month as the summer rains stayed away and the heat intensified. Most waterholes away from the Sand River are dry or nearly dry and elephants have had no choice but to make use of the river, this particularly the case with breeding herds. And in using the river, the elephants have been making much use of the reedbeds as a source of food, resulting in these being chest-high at a time of year when they should be three times as tall as this.

As is so often the case, herds of elephants seemed to move around in synchrony with one another and while certain areas seemed overrun with these pachyderms, others would be fairly deserted.

Herd sizes seemed to get smaller towards the end of January, perhaps in response to the ripening Marula berries and perhaps in response to the declining availability of food in general.

One factor to note with regard to elephant viewing this month was the number of sightings of only males; these seemed to increase relative to previous months.

There were also good sightings of several particularly large-tusked individuals, several of which were in musth.

There were two dead elephants found this month, one very young, perhaps still-born, the other an approximately 5-year-old elephant. Causes of death were never determined and scavengers ate the carcasses.