Reporting Date: 1/10/2011

About a fortnight ago, Daniel and his guests watched a lioness 'playing hide and seek' with her two cubs. The lioness climbed a tree while her three cubs seatchded for her under the tree. Ferdinand and his guests, while on a Full Day excursionn in the reserve observed the same mother lioness resting up a 'sausage tree' (Kigelia africana), only this time the cubs were not in sight. Tree-climbing lions are not very common. While cubs climb trees for fun, adult lions rarely do in nature. It is believed that lions climb trees to get away from tsetse flies or to enjoy a cool breeze.

Tree-climbing lions are more often seen in Lake Manyara National Park than in any other National Park in africa. Uganda is also known for its tree-climbing lions.

Reporting Date: 1st October 2011.

Migration update.

The on-going short rains in the northern parts of Serengeti seems to have confused the wildebeests as they have become attracted to the short green grass  that as emerged as a result. Thousands of these animals had passed  through our camp about two weeks ago on their way to southern Serengeti which is their ancestral lands but  met a hostile environment  as  it is still very dry  towards the place. They therefore decided to turn round and follow the rains north.  Many are now spread out in the open grasslands by the Kopjes near the mara river. Hundreds more have been crossing the river as they come back from the Mara game reserve to feed on the attractive green grass. The area around our camp is also teaming with hundreds of these animals and every day we are treated to sounds of ‘’gnou, gnou’’ as they call each other. The zebras which usually accompany them were the first to venture into the area but not in big numbers, as a result, they are scattered amongst them.

This year it has not been easy to predict the wildebeest movement as it keeps on changing due to the weather changes. 

Reporting Date: 30.09.2011.

Cheetah's are mostly active at dawn and dusk and prefer spending most of their day resting. They like hunting gazelles and smaller antelopes which forage in open grassy plains.

Alex and his four guests were having a very successfull day game viewing in the Masai mara game reserve. As they were driving back towards the camp they saw a cheetah running as fast as its long legs could carry it on a distant plain. On arrival they were very anxious to see what the chase was all about and to everyone's suprise it was a baby Thompson gazelle. It took a while before the cheetah could finally enjoy its early dinner because the young tommy was full of life!!

Head Scout’s daily report

Reporting date:      09.09.2011

While on a transfer out to Siana airstrip this afternoon, Daniel and his two guests sighted two leopards; a mother and her cub huntinga herd of impala. The impala who could have noticed the two cats slipped away in swift dash. The leopards tried to pursue but gave up choosing instead to conceal themeselves in the nearby croton bushes, to wait for an unsuspecting prey.

On another note, while on his way from the evening sundowner, Philip and his two guests sighted a pack of 18 wild dogs which comprised 11 pups and 7 adults. They were moving very fast as they tracked and hunted wildebeests and impala. Since we did not want to spoil their hunt, we had to let them continue hoping that they will get something to eat tonight. This is the second time in a week that the pack of wild dogs are sighted in the conservancy, They seem to have chosen this area to be their home.

Head Scout’s daily report

Reporting date:      14.06.2011

When frightened, or disturbed, dikdiks produce a whistling sound through their nose that sounds like 'Zik - Zik, from which their name is derrived. Dikdiks belong to a group of 13 antelopes called the 'Dwarf antelopes' in TRIBE Neotragini. The most common of the 4 species of Dikdiks in Africa is the Kirk's long-snouted dikdiks (Madoqua kirkii) a tiny antelope with large dark eyes surrounded by a white ring. A black spot below the inside corner of each eye contains a preorbital gland that produces a dark sticky secretion. Like other Dikdiks Kirk's dikdik also insert grass stems and twigs into the gland to scent-mark their territories.

To prevent overheating while minimizing need for water, the dikdik has evolved a particular cooling mechanism where their elongated snouts have bellows-like muscles by which blood is pumped. Airflow and subsequent evaporation cools this blood before it is recirculated to the body. However, this panting is only implemented in extreme conditions—dikdiks can tolerate temperatures of up to 40° C/104° Fahrenheit. Dikdiks form monogamous pairs in fixed territories of low bush along dry, rocky stream beds. They mark their territory with dung deposits and with secretions from the preorbital gland. Sight, scent and hearing are well-developed, and dikdiks are very alert. They respond to the alarm calls of other animals. When in danger they tend to hide instead of flee.

Dikdik females give birth to a single offspring after a gestation of 6 months. Both parents care for the young, who often stays with them until the mother’s next birth. At this point, the parents will chase off the subadult.

Dikdiks eat foliage, shoots, fruit and berries. They are water-independent, getting water from the vegetation they eat. Appropriately, they are largely nocturnal, avoiding the heat of the day and unnecessary water loss. Salt is important to the dikdik's diet, but it does not need to drink as sufficient liquid is contained in the plants it consumes. 

To view the sighted animals table click the "Read more" button.

Head Scout’s daily report

Reporting date: 21.05.2011

Today was a tree planting day at Nkoilale School and the staff of Mara Bushtops joined pupils, teachers and parents in planting over 550 indigenous tree seedlings. A total of 900 seedlings were donated by Orion Hotels to the school to be planted by the pupils at the school. The remaining 250 seedlings were to be planted later in the week. Under the tree planting project with the school, each child is to plant at least one seedling which they plant and take care of until they leave school at class 8. The project aims to instil environmental awareness in the pupils. It also aims to educate them on the value of trees to our environment.

Head Scout’s daily report

Reporting date: 06.05.2011

The scouts team while on patrol sighted a family of elephants running as if they were in danger. On a closer look they noticed three bull trailing them at a distance. Two of the bulls were much larger. The younger bull led the two other larger male in pursuit of the oestrus female. Onn noticing that the younger bull was a head the other two bull increased their paces out running the young bull. The two large bulls joined together then chased away him away. They ensured that he was kept at bay from the females.

Bull elephants spend much a lot of time fighting for dominance with each other. Only the most dominant males will be permitted to breed with cycling females. The less dominant ones must wait their turns. It is usually the older bulls, forty to fifty years old, that do most of the breeding. The dominance battles between males can look very fierce, but typically they inflict very little injury. Most of the bouts are in the form of aggressive displays and bluffs. Ordinarily, the smaller, younger, and less confident animal will back off before any real damage can be done. Moreover, during the breeding season, the battles can get extremely aggressive, and the occasional elephant is injured. During this season, known as musth, a bull will fight with almost any other male it encounters, and it will spend most of its time hovering around the female herds, trying to find a receptive mate. 

http://youtu.be/ONWPyTfGh0o

Head Scout’s daily report

Reporting date: 04.05.2011

Two days earlier, our scouts while on patrol noticed a huge lone bull elephant resting in one of the bushes in the conservancy. Earlier, they received reports from some young herders that the elephant had been seen resting in one of the wooded areas outside the conservancy for 7 days without leaving the area. When our scout got the message, they monitored its movement to ascertain whether it was ill or just resting. For 2 days the elephant did not leave the area where it was. Sensing that it might be ill, we notified the Kenya Wildlife service (KWS) and the Narok County Council (NCC) Wardens as well as the police who responded quickly by sending vets on the scene. Our scouts joined the KWS team and we tracked the elephant to assess any injuries before bringing him down for treatment. The bull kept us at bay by hiding in the bush. For over 2 hours we struggled to get it into an open area to enable us get closer for assessment. At some point the KWS ranger had to shoot in the air to prevent it from charging at us. We were almost giving up thinking that it would hide for the whole day when one of the memebrs of staff observed it from a distance as it came out of the bush into an open area away from where we were. He phoned us. We immediately swung into action, pursued it and caught up with it before it went into the bush. The vet quickly darted it and after 10 minutes it was overpowered by the tranquilizer. It fell and immediately the vets went to work, searching for wounds, picking pests like tick as specimens. It was found with wounds on the lower left leg and ear which was treated with antibiotics. Therebeing no major injury, it was "woken up" by an injection. In 2 minutes, he rose and walked away as if nothing had happened. The bull met its match, a doze that sent him tumbling down in the bush.

Head Scout’s daily report

Reporting date:        25.04.2011

Although it has been raining heavily in many other parts of the Masai Mara game reserve, the areas bordering the reserve to the east are very dry due to lack of rain. The situation is the same in our conservancy. The few water points and pools are almost dead dry forcing the animals to share the remaining pools. Moreover, it was interesting watching the parchyderms making good use of such pools in the conservancy. The conservancy game scouts sighted a herd of 14 elepants having a mud bath at one of the pools. Owing to the dry weather and heat of the day, no one could blame the elephants for using their spare time to cool off and have fun as well. 

Head Scout’s daily report

Reporting date:         08.04.2011

The conservancy is now teaming with wildlife after the rains begun in the area. Daniel sighted lots of common game including impalas, Zebra, Topi, Wildebeests, warthogs, buffalos just to mention a few. Moreover, the highlight of his afternoon game drive within our private conservancy was the one horned giraffe which stood behind a bush and only his neck and head was visible. That is why his brocken horn was visible. The horn might have been broken during a fight with another male. Sometimes male giraffes fight each other to decide which is stronger. They lean their hindquarters against each other for support and swing their necks, using their horns like hammers to hit each other. The butting of necks and heads can be so loud and fierce. In fact one blow of their head could easily kill another.