After about 40% of the Reserve being burned in block burns
to get rid of all the old vegetable matter, the much needed first rain arrived.
We have already seen an abundance of grazers on these burnt blocks including;
Wildebeest, Zebra, Warthog, and Red Hartebeest.
The trees are getting their first new green shoots making the browsers are just
as happy as the grazers.
Nambiti is filled with so many difference shades of green –
it almost seems as though an artist came along with his palette of green
colours and painted the trees and bushes…
Three of the endangered Blue Crane pairs have returned to
the Reserve, taking advantage of the open newly burnt areas. Hopefully we will be lucky again this year… last
season a breeding pair settled down and raised their chicks with us. As Blue Cranes are very picky breeders they may
abandon the nest if the area is disturbed.
Being South Africa’s National Bird, the Blue Crane is listed as a “vulnerable species”.
They are poisoned by farmers, killed by power line collisions or by loss of the grassland breeding habitat.
Spring is a very exciting time in Nambiti as the season’s first
babies have already been born. The Eland herd is growing by the day and it’s amusing
to watch the long legged and big eyed babies chasing each other around on the
open plains. The warthog are having fun
with their little piglets and watching them is absolutely hilarious as they scurry
around and jump in circles. What great entertainment!! Fuzzy fluffy little baby Zebras as well as
some very small Giraffe babies were also recently spotted during game drives.
It’s definitely the “oh
it’s so cute” time of our year.
The Lion pride is extending their movements and we have
excellent sightings of the fast growing cubs. They are very curios and like to
investigate our game viewers and use them as targets to practice their poaching
and hunting skills.
We hope to see you soon!
The Springbok Lodge Rangers Nicole, Lee, Ruan and Stephanie
