Elephant Plains Newsletter Vol.7 Nr.1 - Jan 2011
(As usual the recipe has been deleted)

Manager’s Report - January 2011
The year started off very wet, not only in the Sabi Sand Wildtuin, but also in the rest of South Africa. Flooding occurred in most of the provinces and eight out of nine provinces in South Africa were declared disaster areas. Luckily the SSW was not as severely affected by the flooding as some of the surrounding areas. The Manyeleti River came down in flood three times during January. Being a perennial river the Manyeleti only floods for a few hours and subsides rapidly, as soon as the rain stops and the sun comes through. To see the Manyeleti River coming down in flood in front of the lodge is a breathtaking sight. I have added a picture taken from the deck of the African Health Spa, just to give you an idea. Due to the position of the Manyeleti River it can unfortunately not be viewed by the Africam as the camera is situated on the other side of the river, at our open area. It is a shame that the Africam viewers were not able to view this magnificent act of nature.


Spa View

The Africam viewers might have noticed Morné and Francois on tractors, busy cutting the grass on the open area. There are two reasons for this. The first is to improve the view to the watering hole and open area and secondly it is to attract grazing species like zebra, wildebeest and impala, which are mix feeders. There has been a noticeable increase in grazing animals viewed on the Africam after the grass was cut short. We’ve had 17 zebras on the open area for the last couple of days and also lost of impala and the odd wildebeest. When the grass is short, it makes some grass species more accessible to grazing animals that prefer the shorter, more palatable grass. The prey species are also attracted to the short grass because it offers them a safe haven. When the grass is short, it reduces the cover that predators may use to stalk closer to their prey.

During the past two months Dawie and Francois completed their final assessments and exams at EcoTraining. EcoTraining is a facility that trains young and aspiring rangers. When they asked if they could return to Elephant Plains after their final exams, we decided to employ both of them permanently as they have proven themselves to be invaluable to the lodge. Over the next year, they will continue learning the inns and outs of the game lodge industry. As soon as they turn 21 and are able receive their Public Driving Permits, Dawie and Francois will be able to start doing game drives. Their continued practical experience until then will turn them into sought after rangers!

From all of the staff at Elephant Plains, hope to spoil you soon. Stay tuned for next month’s report, same place same time.

Stephen Pieterse
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Ranger’s Report - January 2011

It feels like we did the New Years countdown a few days ago, but alas, we are already well into 2011!! The year started off with lots of downpours, causing floods across the world. Even here, we had quite a lot of rain and both the Manyeleti and Pungwe rivers were flowing. Most of our dams are close to overflow capacity, thanks to the great rains. The wet weather did not prevent great sightings, though. We saw a pack of 7 wild dogs nearly every day. We saw them hunting, killing, interacting and even mating. We really hope that this year the wild dogs will decide to den in our traversing area. It would be great to see them on a more regular basis. Over and above the amazing wild dog sightings, we also had two cheetahs in our area for most of the month. The temperatures were very pleasant, with an average maximum of 30ºC. Our rainfall for the month was 210.5mm.


Salayexe at the Rocks. Photo by Wayne Dovey

Elephant:
We have seen a lot of breeding herds in our area, thanks to the rain and plentiful fruit. It is always nice to see huge bulls with big tusks, but I find that the greater sightings are those where you see the activities within a breeding herd. You can watch for hours as they feed, drink, play and nurse their young. Since the ground is very wet, the elephants prefer to walk on the roads, as the ground deeper inside the bush is very soggy and they tend do sink in when they walk. During the drier months, elephants will travel vast distances in search of food and water, which is possible due to the unique structure of their feet. While observing elephants closely, you can actually see their feet swell when they put weight on it as they walk or move around. An elephant’s foot is structured in such a way that they are actually walking on their toes. The entire foot is cushioned with fat and cartilage, which acts as a shock absorber to support the six+ tons of an elephant. What most people don’t know is that elephants also need to rest their feet and at night, usually around midnight they will lie down and sleep. Because it happens so late at night, very few people know of this occurrence and many actually believe that elephants never lie down.

Rhino:
Our rhinos are doing very well and enjoying the plentiful food and water that is around at the moment. A lot of times while out on game drive, we get the question: what is the difference between the black and white rhino? Nowadays, they are actually called the hook lip and square lip rhino. The black rhino (hook lip) is much smaller than the white rhino. A white rhino weighs roughly 2500kg, whereas a black rhino weighs only about 1800kg. Their behavioural patterns also differ, with the white rhino found more in semi open to open areas, feeding on grass as they are the grazers. The black rhino prefers the thicker areas and eat leaves and small branches. They are browsers and also known to be very shy. The black rhino is a slightly darker grey than the white rhino. A white rhino female will let her calf run in front of her and a black rhino calf will run behind the mother. White rhino dung consists of fine grass and the dung of a black rhino will have pieces of finely chewed branches and leaves.


Elephant. Photo by Wayne Dovey

Buffalo:
Most of the breeding herds have moved to the open grasslands in the east. These are vast open areas which makes a perfect environment for grazers, especially huge numbers of them. It seems to be only the old males that are still around at the moment. But, as soon as the food source is slightly depleted over there, they will be back. Buffaloes have four stomachs and therefore they do not need to eat as much as elephants, for example. They can regurgitate and therefore get as much energy out of their food as they possibly can. Because of this, they never completely destroy their feeding grounds.

Leopard:
Salayexe was regularly sighted during game drives this month. She is very heavily pregnant and might give birth to about three cubs in the near future. She prefers staying in the same area and she is very vocal, but she seems extremely restless. We believe that she is ready to give birth to her cubs, but might feel that she can’t do this just yet as Rulani and Nzele are still in the area. It will be unsafe for her cubs to be left alone if she needed to go out hunting, as Rulani might kill her cubs if he found them unattended and without protection. Nyeleti also seems just about ready to give birth and we expect this to happen within the next month or so. We’ve not seen much of Nyeleti’s last remaining cub as she might have chased her out of the territory already. Safari will be eighteen years old this year and it is really amazing that she is still going strong. The males haven’t been around very much this month. Tyson was only spotted a couple of times, but he seems as fit and strong as ever. I think he must have a large territory of around 6000ha, as he is constantly on the move. There are also quite a few females in his territory to keep him occupied. Mafufunyana’s territory is definitely not as big, only about 800ha, with fewer females. But he is much older and can actually be glad that he still has a territory at all. Shadow hasn’t been spotted much either, but one can’t blame her as there are a lot of other predators in her area and bringing her cub into our area might endanger the life of her cub. Ntima and Thandi both have cubs outside of our area, but we do get regular updates from the other lodges. They are doing well and in great condition. Rulani is nearly as big as his father already and he is only 2 years old. He seems to be doing very well for himself, but he is still roaming in his mom’s territory and she doesn’t seem too happy about it.

Lion:
We have seen BB and the four cubs nearly every day and it has truly been great. She has done an excellent job in keeping the cubs out of harm’s way and they are nearly full-grown lions now. The only evidence that they are in fact still young is their playful manner. We hear the four Majingi’s calling in the south very often and to BB this is actually good to hear, as she knows exactly where they are. We’ve not seen her eight year old daughters, but last time we saw them they were heavily pregnant, so we believe that they have given birth and do not want to bring the cubs too far north just yet. The Styx pride seems to be keeping their numbers, but one of the female cubs seem indecisive as to where she belongs. Some days she is seen with the rest of the pride and on other days she is seen with her brother. I can understand if she feels safer with him as he is the one who put the Majingi’s in their place last month. He is very strong and is making kills on a regular basis. The Mapogo’s are still in the west and don’t come to the east anymore as I assume they don’t want to run into the Majingi’s. The Kuhuma males, also know as the Ghost males, only come into our area during the night and they never stay long enough for us to track and get a good glimpse of them. On very rare occasions we get a quick sight of them but then they move away again.

Special sighting:
It was quite entertaining when Salayexe thought she could fight and win a pack of wild dogs. But, the dogs were very cheeky and quick and before long they had chased the, by then, very nervous leopard up a tree. Once in the tree, her bravery returned and she growled and scowled at the dogs while they were jumping up and down at the base of the tree, clearly very annoyed that they could not reach her. The dogs eventually got bored after a while and left. Salayexe waited till she knew for certain that the dogs had gone and were not waiting for her somewhere close by, got out of the tree and quickly disappeared.

Did you know?
The heaviest elephant ever recorded in the world weighed 10,900kg. (That is 4,955 Lbs. - BBE)

Well, that’s all from my side, the wild side at Elephant Plains. Hope to see you out on game drive soon!

Wayne Dovey

Newsletter Vol.7 Nr.2 - Feb 2011
(As usual recipe not included)

Manager’s Report - February 2011
February 2011 turned out not to be as hot as we expected! February tends to be the hottest month of the year, with temperatures averaging high in the thirties, sometimes even rising into the forties. This year, however, the days weren’t as hot and humid as usual. We did have the occasional hot day, but in general it was bearable. The mornings were crisp and it heated up as the day went on but the temperatures became mild and pleasant as the sun went down. February also brought some rain that came just at the right time to bring welcome relief from the heat. Although we’ve received a substantial amount of rain during the season, we have not had as many insects as we usually do during a good rainy season. I do think that the cooler than usual weather has had an impact on the hatching of the insect eggs. This hatching might be delayed until more suitable conditions occur later in the year.


Kudu female. Photo by Wayne Dovey

The sightings on the Africam have been productive, with buffalo and elephant making a regular appearance on the open area. The Africam viewers would have noticed that the quality of lighting at night is not too great. We have the local baboon troop to thank for that as they have taken to using the Africam as their personal jungle gym. The baboons have managed to break off two of the infrared lights on the Africam. This has a negative affect on the night vision and picture quality of the Africam. The Africam team will be coming out to fix the lighting during this week.

From all the staff at Elephant Plains, we hope to spoil you soon. Stay tuned for next month’s report, same place, same time...

Stephen Pieterse

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Ranger’s Report - February 2011
This month was proof yet again that the Sabi Sand Wildtuin truly is one of the best places to view game. Even though the vegetation is still very thick, we had the full package this month, with great sightings like wild dog, cheetah, lions, leopard cubs, fighting leopards and a very nice surprise that I will tell you about later. The early signs of the returning autumn made its appearance earlier than usual, with cooler morning temperatures and a little bit of discoloration and thinning grass. The dams and water holes still have lots of water and will definitely see the animals through the upcoming dry season. The average maximum temperature for the month was 31 °C and we had 27mm of rain.


Mbilo. Photo by Wayne Dovey

Elephant:
With so many elephants in our area at the moment, we can always be sure of an eventful game drive. Elephants sleep only in the early hours of the morning and therefore they are always active during our game drive times. We witness so many exciting elephant interaction in both the breeding herds and the males. We get to see young elephant bulls playfully pushing each other until one of them falls into the water and other times we see young calves trying to master the use of their trunk. When a calf is born, they will drink milk from their mothers, using their mouths. Only after intently watching their mothers using their trunks and countless hours of practice do they fully have control of their own trunks. It is always amazing to see how an entire herd will come to the rescue of a calf, even if they did not give birth to that particular calf. We saw, for example, how an elephant pushed over a small tree and it accidentally fell on top of a calf. The calf made a noise from the fright and was luckily not injured. Upon hearing the frightful sounds emerging from the calf, the other elephants acted on instinct and in no time the formed a protective wall around the calf.

Rhino:
Utah seems to be in a constant battle to keep his territory. We don’t see him very often, but when we do, he has new scars on his body. But, for the time being, he is still “King of his Castle”. There is some likelihood that Shorthorn and Skewhorn might have territorial fights with each other very soon. The two males are vying for attention from the same group of females. One day Shorthorn will be seen with them and the very next day it will be Skewhorn grazing with the same females. Though this doesn’t seem too much out of the ordinary, the problem is that this is all happening in Shorthorn’s territory. Londoz has been seen with a few new scars on his face and we can’t be too sure where he got these. We assume that the female with the calf that he’s been following around might have inflicted these injuries as she might not feel safe with the bull around her calf.

Buffalo:
At the moment there aren’t many buffaloes around. During one of our drives we were happy to see a small breeding herd, but they did not seem relaxed. As if on cue, they all of a sudden pointed all their noses in the air and then they ran away. We later found a small pride of lions not far from where we saw the buffaloes and we assume that this was what made them run. We also spotted a couple of strange herds. I use the word strange because of the number of males and their behaviour in the herds. One of these herds consisted of 7 males and a young calf. The calf is old enough to be able to feed on grass and I am sure he will survive, but it is not everyday that you will see a calf alone with a herd of males. One of the other herds consisted of 22 males and only 1 female. The bachelor herds are usually very peaceful, but not in this case. The bulls were all trying to become the dominant male of the herd and they were constantly fighting each other. Usually, bulls will leave the breeding herds as they enjoy a more relaxed pace of life. The females are always on the move from one watering hole or feeding area to the next, but the bachelor herds prefer to stay in one area and relax in a particular water hole for an entire day. We have encountered the wrath of an elderly bull one a couple of occasions. He is about 18 years old and seems to be very irritable. When we see him, he will stare at our vehicle and not take his eyes from us until we move away again. We therefore try to avoid him under all circumstances.


Mbilo. Photo by Wayne Dovey

Lion:
The nice surprise that I mentioned earlier was that we saw Mr. T again! We could hardly believe our eyes when we came across a lone male resting on Seepline and upon closer inspection realised that it was Mr. T. He seems to be in an excellent condition and his main is full and pitch black. We are not very sure of the reason for his return, but we heard that he has tried to mate with some females in the west, but to no avail. He might have moved over to this side in search of Kinky Tail. At times, he can hear the Majingi males calling from the south, but he never reacts to their calls. I am also happy to report that the Tsalalas have now given birth. We are not sure how many cubs they have yet, but we hope to see them soon. BB’s four cubs are close to full-grown now and they have even started hunting. But even now, they will still be in danger of being killed by the Majingi’s, which is why BB can’t leave them alone to help the Tsalala pride protect their newly born cubs. We were quite surprised to see that the four cubs were hunting already, but the fact is that BB could not have been able to provide enough food for her and the four growing cubs, so they had to start hunting themselves as well. With each passing month, they become older and safer from harm and they might even mate with the feared Majingi’s in the near future.

Leopards:
Mafufunyana seems to be losing parts of his territory slowly. He is getting a lot of pressure from the other males: Nsagwen in the south, Tyson in the west, the Jordaan male in the north and Umvula in the east. While marking his territory on his southern boundary, Mafufunyana bumped into Nsagwen. Neither males seemed very happy about the encounter and followed each other around, while aggressively growling for the rest of the day. They did not fight and luckily, neither leopard got hurt. However, with so many males around, Mafufunyane is sure to be in a territorial fight soon. Salayexe has fresh suckle marks, which is proof that she has given birth, but we have not located her den site yet. She is believed to have the den site in the Rhino Ring block, but we will leave her at peace until she is ready to share them with us. Thandi and Shadow have both lost a cub and each only has one cub left. But these cubs seem to be in very good condition and it is beautiful to witness the interaction between mother and cub. Kurula has been seen with two cubs of about three months old. She is very protective and does not allow anyone close. Sadly, Ntima has lost yet another litter of cubs and I feel so sorry for her as she is yet to raise a cub. Safari has turned into quite the nomad as she has started roaming the entire eastern sector, which means we don’t get to see her very often anymore. There are still quite a few “new” males in the area and we saw two unknown males fighting each other close to 2nd Windmill. The interesting fact is that this actually occurred within Tyson’s territory, which means that one of these males might soon battle Tyson for his territory. Tyson is definitely bigger and stronger than these males and will surely win the battle.

Special sighting:One of the most amazing sightings I have ever seen was when we saw two cheetahs chasing a wild dog. Yes, you read correctly! The pack of wild dogs was chasing impalas and one of the dogs strayed from the pack. After a while, he called to the rest of the pack to help him take down the impala, but the only attention he attracted was from two cheetahs. The wild dog broke a speeding record as he managed to stay ahead of the cheetah’s 90km/h run, but this only lasted for a very short time. The cheetahs eventually caught up with the wild dog and tapped its back leg to bring it down. He luckily got up very quickly and darted off in a different direction, leaving the very tired cheetahs behind.

Did you know?The leopard tortoise, part of the “little five”, can live up to 50 years in the wild and up to 60 years in captivity.

Well, that’s all from my side, the wild side at Elephant Plains. Hope to see you out on game drive soon!

Wayne Dovey

Newsletter Vol.7 Nr.5 - May 2011


WILD PHOTO OF THE MONTH

Manager’s Report May 2011

At last winter has the bushveld in her icy grip. It is evident when looking at our surroundings. The vegetation has turned from a lush green to faded browns and yellows. The temperatures have also dropped quite drastically during the last few days of May, going from being bearable during early mornings, to bitterly cold as soon as the sun disappears. The hot water bottles and blankets that are available on the morning game drives give some welcome relieve from the icy cold. I also think that the coffee / tea and hot chocolate during our morning stop works wonders. The afternoon game drive temperatures are still comfortable, but it is important to take a jacket or fleece to put on as soon as the sun disappears over the Drakensberg Mountains in the west. Due to the cooler evenings, we have placed patio heaters and blankets in the boma for our guests’ convenience. The cloudless nights that we normally experience during winter time contributes to great star gazing opportunities after dinner. Our rangers take turns to teach guests more about the stars, pointing out constellations with a laser pointer. Guests also have the opportunity to view the majestic African sky through our star gazing telescope.


We had a successful Indaba Tourism Show during the beginning of May. It was good to see all the old faces and we also had some great opportunities to meet new and upcoming agents and role players in the South African tourism industry. We are looking forward to a year of successful business partnerships with you. We also launched our new website just before Indaba. The feedback has been very positive and we believe that the site is now a lot more user friendly and interactive than before. You are welcome to send any further comments or suggestions on the website to marlet@elephantplains.co.za

We are also planning to start a new blog. This blog will be dedicated to the Junior Rangers of Elephant Plains. We currently have three junior rangers, fresh out of training and eager to learn the inns and outs of the lodge industry. Their blog will share their day to day experiences as they become accustomed to life at a game lodge.

It is noticeable that the last of the natural surface water has disappeared, especially when looking at the animal activity at the watering hole in front of the lodge. The Africam has been very productive with animals like elephant, rhino and buffalo making their appearance on camera. The larger elephant herds have returned to the area and can frequently be viewed on the webcam. Africam viewers can prepare themselves for some great game viewing and excitement for the months to come, as more and more animals start utilizing the permanent waterhole in front of the camp.



From all the staff at Elephant Plains, we hope to spoil you soon. Stay tuned for next month’s report. Same place, same time...

Stephen Pieterse

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Rangers Report May 2011
This month was definitely a highlight in terms of sightings. We had a few sightings that would even put some documentaries to shame! We had great sightings, from cubs to kills, with the exception of wild dogs. We did, however, not expect to see the wild dogs this month as they’ve had cubs in the south and will be staying close to their den site for the time being. We also had a great cheetah sighting of the female that let her cub go his own way last month and I am happy to report that she seems to be pregnant once again. For the most part we had very mild and pleasant temperatures and even some out of season rains. Even though it got chilly as soon as the sun disappeared, the days were still nice and warm. The average maximum for the month was 28°C and we had 8mm of rain.


Sunset by Wayne Dovey


Cheetah - by Wayne Dovey

Elephant:
We held our name Elephant Plains proud this month, as we had a lot of herds feeding around our lodge. From the relaxation of your room or one of the pool decks, our guests could enjoy the entertainment these breeding herds were providing. This was specifically the case on the 26th, when we had four different herds around our lodge simultaneously. This also provided great webcam sightings for our “cyber guests”. Our traversing area is a popular winter feeding ground for the elephants, as they enjoy the bark from the Marula and Knobthorn trees. During the dry months, trees transport moisture from their leaves to their roots through the cambium layer, which gives the bark a great taste. In some areas where trees are plentiful, elephants will “ring bark” a tree, which might result in some of the trees dying. Studies have shown that in areas where there are fewer trees, the elephants will only peel off some pieces of the bark to feed on, leaving the rest of the tree to heal. This once again proofs that elephants truly are intelligent creatures.

Rhino:
Londoz’s life reminds me of trying to climb the corporate ladder in the big business world, where one should always try to better your position, while never being able to let your guard down! Letting your guard down might cause you to lose everything in a second. He is always on the run to find a female and always seems aggressive and ready to fight, be it with a female who refuses to mate or a male threatening his territory. We don’t know his exact age, but he appears to be about 20 years old, in the prime of his life. Therefore we can’t blame him for trying his utmost to get an established gene pool for when he is gone. Shorthorn, on the other hand is one of the most relaxed rhino’s I’ve ever come across. The only time I’ve ever seen him upset was ironically when Londoz attempted to lure five females out of his territory. Utah has lost a lot of his territory and is currently only able to hold onto about 50ha. Another unknown male has also taken claim to a part of his territory. This male is very large, almost as big as Londoz, and this is also where Utah has a disadvantage. His estimated weight is only about 1900kg in comparison to larger males of about 2500kg. The female that gave birth last month seems to be in very good condition and so does her calf, which is now the size of a warthog.

Buffalo:
We have seen some very nervous buffalo bulls lately and it might be because of all the lion activity in the area. Sometimes, while being in a lion sighting, we would drive over lion droppings. When we get to a buffalo sighting they might smell the lions and run into the bush. The lone bulls do have a reason to be nervous, as they don’t have the protection of the herd anymore, making them an easy prey for lions. With less grazing available, the older and weaker buffaloes struggle to survive. We saw Mati feeding on one of these easy meals and he ate so much that he was hardly able to move after his feast.

Lion:
From having no lion cubs in our area, we saw a total of 15 cubs this month, which is truly amazing! All three prides showed their cubs to us: the Styx pride has four cubs, the Tsalalas have four cubs and the Kuhumas have seven cubs. The cubs of both the Styx and Tsalala prides look very healthy and the Tsalala cubs gave us the best sightings, coming up to us and playing right next to our vehicles. The great Kuhuma pride’s females have gone from being very aggressive to being very relaxed and proud to show off their cubs. One of the Tsalala females that lost her cubs a couple of months ago seems just about ready to add her new litter to the cub count as well. BB and her sub-adult cubs killed a buffalo on the 24th and we saw tracks of two Kuhuma males joining them on the kill, but by daybreak the males had gone without us having a glimpse at them. It is truly great to hear the Majingi males’ powerful roars at night and at times you can even hear the two Tsalala females joining in the roaring choir.

Leopard:
When Salayexe had Nzele and Rulani we saw a lot of them, but this is not the case with her two new cubs, as we don’t get to see them very often. But, from the few sightings we had, we can see that the cubs are looking healthy. We don’t know their sexes yet, but we believe it might be one male and one female. We are still quite concerned as we have not seen Nyeleti yet, but as mentioned last month, we believe that she might have taken her cubs to the west to keep them out of the lions’ way in the south. Her two previous cubs, Moya and Mati are very relaxed with our vehicles and have provided us with great sightings on nearly a daily basis. Mati gave the photographers exactly what they needed as he jumped up and down trees, drank water and posed on the rocks with the clear morning sun highlighting his features. We saw Kurula and her two very strong and healthy cubs often and the cubs are growing bigger and stronger with each day. While in a sighting, we saw one of the cubs drag half an impala carcass from the one end of a tree to the other, with the cub still being quite small it just shows the immense strength that they already have. Shadow, being one of the most beautiful leopards at the moment with her bold rosettes, is very skittish around our cars after losing her cubs. She appears not to be pregnant again, but I do hope that she will have cubs sometime in the near future and that she will be able to relax a bit again. Thandi, who was relaxed with her cubs around our vehicles from the beginning, seems to be doing an excellent job in raising two healthy and strong cubs. It seems as if the mothers that are relaxed with their cubs around our vehicles from the beginning do make the best mothers. Mafufunyana is definitely taking strain trying to defend his territory and the numerous scars on his face and body is evidence to this fact. We witnessed a stand-off between him and the Jordan male, but both had to give up the good fight and walk away without being a winner. It always strikes me how Mafufunyana will walk away from a fight without looking back over his shoulder, as if he knows his opponent will not come back for another round. After Tyson moved westward, we don’t see him very often and this also seems to be the case with Rulani, who we don’t see anymore.

Special sighting:
We were lucky to get a good look at one of the shy, unknown leopard males this month. The male was attacked by a lion and had received a nasty scar on his throat. We assume that he escaped further assault by climbing up a tree away from the Tsalala female that was irritatingly walking around the base of the tree, never taking her eye of the leopard. After a while she lost interest and walked away. She was not even 10 meters away when the leopard decided to take his chance and, from a height of about 20 meters, jumped out of the tree. We were left speechless at the speed and agility of the male’s escape. The Tsalala female then returned to the tree again and seemed dumbfounded at the evasiveness of the leopard.

Did you know?
A leopard can run at a speed of 20m/s. Even though this is a lot slower than a cheetah, we feel privileged to see them hunt and run like this on a regular basis.

Well that is all from my side, the wild side at Elephant Plains. Hope to see you out on game drive soon!

Wayne Dovey

February 1, 2012
BBC News

Mozambican poachers get 25 years in South Africa court

Three Mozambicans have been sentenced to 25 years each in a South African court for rhino poaching, according to the South African national parks body.

The men were found guilty of illegally hunting rhino in the Kruger National Park in July 2010.

The head of SANParks, David Mabunda, said the sentence was harsher than other similar cases.

In 2011, a record 450 rhino were killed in South Africa, according to the Department of Environment Affairs.

"This is an indication that, as a country, we are taking more stringent measures in the fight against rhino poaching," Mr Mabunda said in a statement.

More to this story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16833220