December 2003

Rhinos were again in abundance on Mala Mala this month, and all thanks to the concentrated water supplies around the Sand River.  One watering hole in particular, opposite Harrys Camp, must have had, on average, half-a-dozen rhinos a day drinking from it.

Another popular drinking spot during December was close to the confluence of the Chellahanga and Sand Rivers and here too many rhinos were seen drinking and wallowing.

The lack of rains has of course meant that mudwallows are almost unavailable, restricted to a few spots in the Sand River which have both water and soil of the type which allows for mud.  However, although temperatures are high, the lack of rain has meant that insect activity is very low and so the need for a mudpack to act as a shield against biting insects simply isn't as great as would be during a more 'normal' summer.

The body-condition of rhinos remains good; compared to some other mega-herbivores such as buffaloes, rhinos are not as water-dependent, can reach far-off grazing areas where drinking water is scarce, can eat grass already cropped close to the ground and can digest low-quality material.

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November 2003

The rhinos on Mala Mala seem to be doing well, this in spite of the incredibly dry conditions.  Perhaps this is because these animals have a digestive system particularly well suited to eating dry, low-quality grass and because they do not need to drink water every single day.  These features allow rhinos to walk great distances to areas far from water (where grass from last season still stands) and then actually make use of it.

With water-points becoming more and more restricted along the Sand River, rhino viewing was very good this month as the animals concentrated around these.  There were several days when more than two dozen rhinos were encountered and on one of the days during November, there were as many as 34 different rhinos seen on the reserve.

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October 2003

Rhino viewing continued to be good with several regularly encountered individuals or groups contributing to some very predictable viewing.  On some days, close to two-dozen different rhinos were encountered.  The only real decrease in rhino sightings which occurred this month was towards the latter stages of the game-report period when a bout of unseasonably cold weather probably caused them to stay deeper in thick bush and sheltered gully systems.

Light and scattered rains which fell halfway though the month added some relief to the rhinos in that a flush of green grass resulted and, at least for a week or so, several mudholes, particularly towards the central areas of the reserve, provided them with relief from biting insects.

Rhinos nervous of game-drive vehicles are still being encountered as they make their way towards the drinking spots still available in the Sand River.  These rhinos almost certainly make this long trek all the way from the Kruger National Park.

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Septembr 2003

Rhino viewing was again good this month, courtesy of the dry conditions and then, later, localised rainstorms which produced a flush of grass, ideal for rhinos and their picky eating habits.  The rains also provided mud-wallows which rhinos have been starved of for some months now, and some good rhino-wallowing sightings were to be had.

Aside from the more regularly encountered territorial rhinos on the reserve, there were also sightings, often at night, of rhinos, nervous of landrovers and probably from the Kruger National Park, making their way towards the Sand River for their water supplies.  Although the Sand River has stopped surface-flow, there remain many pools of water, either at the base of reed-clumps, or amongst rocky outcrops in the riverbed, or from where elephants have excavated, which provide good drinking spots for rhinos.  But the rhinos from far afield make a long trek to these areas and then depart, back to areas where some grazing still exists.  With the pressure on the riverbanks now high, little grazing remains in these parts.

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August 2003

Rhino viewing continued to be good during August.  Conditions at the end of July and beginning of August were characterised by mild weather and the last of the flush of green grass which was the result of the June rains.  Under these conditions, the rhinos, selective grazers that they are, flourished. 

But then things dried up and it was back to a very dry late dry season.  The big issue for most rhinos, of course, was not the lack of food, but, rather, the distance between food and water.  Much of the east of the reserve has plenty of grass (low quality certainly, but lots of it) but all of the water is in the Sand River, this running mostly close to the western boundary of Mala Mala.  So it was generally a month of big travels for the rhinos as they marched to and fro between food and water. 

There were some cold days in August and on these occasions rhinos were scarce as they sought out the sanctuary of gullies and thicker vegetation.  But, aside from this, the lure of the water in the Sand River resulted in an abundance of rhinos and there were several days were as many as two dozen or more different rhinos were encountered.

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July 2003

There were plenty of rhinos seen during July; they, like the other mega-grazers, buffaloes, found themselves with an unexpected supply of short green grass, this courtesy of the rains in June and the generally mild winter conditions experienced so far.

But the June rains failed to fill water-holes and rhinos have still had to make long journeys to the Sand River, the only place within Mala Mala which has sufficient supplies of water to meet their needs.

Most rhino sightings have been around the areas of western Mala Mala and western Flockfield.  As can be expected, however, the grazing in these parts, which is close to the river, is becoming rather scarce and when the green grass has run out, as was happening already towards the end of July, rhinos will find themselves hard-pressed to satisfy both water and food supplies during the latter parts of the dry season.

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June 2003

Rhinos were plentiful this month and have, like other mega-grazers, benefited from the unseasonable rains which, combined with the generally moderate winter conditions, brought on a short but noticeable growth of green grass.

But the rains have been patchy and generally light, forcing many rhinos to keep using the Sand River as their main drinking spot.

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May 2003

Rhino viewing was of good quality this month; there were several days when more than a dozen different animals were encountered.  Perhaps the area on Mala Mala most favoured by rhinos this month was around the Sand River between Harry's Camp and the Main Camp.  Not only does this area have good water, but the surrounding grasslands seem popular with rhinos as well.

But these concentrations of rhinos will not always be good for these creatures, particularly when dominant bulls are forced together, this exacerbated by the very dry conditions being experienced.  And, perhaps as a result of this, the carcass of a rhino bull was found not far downstream of Harry's Camp, being eaten by lions.  Indications are that it was killed in a fight with another bull.  Other unfriendly rhino interactions have also been seen in this area and as resources become more strained, things can only be expect to get worse.

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April 2003

Rhinos were in plentiful supply this month, except perhaps towards the end of April when a week or so of distinctly lower evening and early morning temperatures coincided with a decline in sightings.  This would have almost certainly not been due to a shortage of rhinos on the reserve, but more due to them skulking away in thickets or gullies to seek out warmer conditions.

As with other big eaters of grass, the rhinos face a difficult winter and it can be expected that densities of these creatures will increase as water and food supplies become more restricted and the Sand River remains one of the last supplies.  This may of course also result in some antagonism between rhinos which find themselves forced together.  Some of this was noticed this month when two bulls were observed having quite a battle in the riverbed of the Sand River.  The two had been in the area for a couple of days and when they were eventually seen to dispense with the ritual displays and get down to serious fighting, one of them was actually knocked down by the other before it stood up and ran off into the reeds.

Earlier on in the month, the rotting carcass of what appeared to have been an adult male rhino was found towards the northeast of the reserve; he too could have been killed in a clash with another male rhino.  And, in addition to this, there seem to be plenty of rhinos around bearing fresh wounds probably resulting from aggressive interactions with others. Late rains towards the very end of April might help somewhat, at least for a few weeks, even if it is to supply now dry waterholes with a few extra days of water.

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March 2003

Rhino viewing was very good this month with some days delivering as many as two-dozen different individuals.  Rains which fell near the beginning of the month brought some relief for the rhinos as they could then move to other grazing and watering areas, at least on a temporary basis.  But these rains fell mostly towards the northeastern and central eastern regions of the reserve and many rhinos had to continue to use the Sand River as their main source of water.  Grazing in these areas is becoming scarce as the rhinos and other large grazers make use of it.

But so far the rhinos seem to be in good condition and are obviously finding sufficient food and water.  What remains to be seen is what will happen in the next few months as the dry conditions inevitably get more severe and rhinos from far afield are forced to make use of a declining supply of water and food.

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February 2003

Rhinos were in good supply this month with mostly the regularly seen animals providing the bulk of the viewing. The Mala Mala Airstrip with its good grass has attracted many rhinos and viewing of these creatures in this area has been most reliable.

Mud wallows have been at a premium this year, but fortunately the dry conditions also mean that insects have not been so troublesome, so perhaps mudholes are not really as important for the rhinos as would be the case during a wetter summer.

Although a few short showers of rain this month granted temporary relief for rhinos, allowing them to make use of some of the more far-flung areas for a few days, the Sand River has become the most important source of water for them. And with the watering points getting more and more scarce, there have already been encounters with rhinos from distant destinations heading down to the Sand River to slake their thirst. These rhinos would almost certainly have come from the Kruger National Park and are nervous and run away when they encounter vehicles. The Sand River is their last resort and usually only needed at the very end of the dry season.

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January 2003

Rhino viewing remained good this month with some particularly dependable viewing from some animals which stayed very area-restricted. But as waterholes dry up and the grazing deteriorates in the face of the hot and dry summer experienced thus far, this behaviour simply has to change. The Sand River is already becoming the most important drinking spot for many of the rhinos, a situation only really expected in the late dry season.

The northwestern parts of Mala Mala have been particularly hard-hit by the patchy rains and three rhinos - an adult male, a female with a particularly long straight horn and her one-and-a-half-year-old calf - typically found towards the upper reaches of the Mlowathi River, were seen making their way south. This precipitated a battle between the male accompanying the female and calf and another male, the latter no doubt the holder of the territory into which the trio strayed. The two bulls, watched on by the cow and calf which really appeared to bellow encouragement of sorts from time to time, postured and jabbed at one another for quite some time before one ran off, presumably the 'invader'. The winner of this bout - and there were really no serious injuries to either in spite of some blood being spilled - then circled the female and her calf, spray-urinating and scrape-marking all around her. Later it appeared that the female and calf had retreated northwards again, probably somewhat upset by the welcome which they had received.

But as things get drier and drier, these sorts of incidents can only increase.