December 2008

Buffalo herds were hard to come by during the middle of the report period but there are always the buffalo bulls to enrich guest’s game viewing and they didn’t fail to impress. Dugga boys as they are known by choose to live a life away from the herds when they reach a certain age; they choose a piece of land with good water and grazing. Once the land is chosen that live out their lives there and so can always be counted on when in search of a buffalo or two. The large herds of buffalo are impressive in their number and power and many a guest was treated to the sceptical when they were on the property.

November 2008

Buffalo were once again in great abundance this month with several herds moving through Mala Mala. As the rains started and the pans filled water the herds stopped making the long trek to the river and many buffalo bulls decided to separate themselves from the herds in search of peace and quiet. Dugga boys as the old bulls are known by will live in small bachelor herds when they are past their prime choosing an area of good grazing and abundant to live out their lives. A few new born calves were seen in the herds towards the end of the month and more will be on the way as the grass gets longer and water becomes more abundant.

October 2008

Two large herds were seen almost every day in the northern half of the reserve, they moved between the river and the grazing grounds often covering the entire width of the reserve in one morning. Many a guest was treated to the spectacle of 400 buffalo rushing for the river in search of water as they sat and had breakfast after the morning drive. Many an encounter between these beasts and lions was witnessed this month two successful hunts were seen as the Styx pride pulled down a large buffalo bull and the Eyrefield pride killed a two year old bull in the presence of the vehicles. In the south a large herd operated around the sand river moving between Mala Mala and the KNP. Many bachelor herds were seen all close to water and they seemed to be content not to get involved in the politics of the big herds.

September 2008

As the environment has gotten drier, so the buffalo have become a more permanent fixture of Mala Mala. These vast herds, often numbering more than 300, are using the river more and more as the only source of available water in the area. The buffalo are losing condition in the dry due to little water and less grass and this is making them vulnerable to attack by lions, even though both the lion prides have cubs and sub adults. There have already been a number of lion/buffalo interactions with the buffalo taking the upper hand in most of them. However the Eyrefield pride sub-adults are almost ready to take on buffalo by themselves and proved this by killing a young buffalo close to the end of the report period. As the summer heat sets in, and with no rain in sight to relieve the stricken bush, the buffalo are going to continue to weaken and the lions gain the upper hand.

Buffalo Herd - Image By Wesley Neumann

August 2008

Surprisingly, the number of buffalo sightings has decreased over the last report period, especially large herds. As with all the other animals it can be assumed that the drop in their presence must somehow be related to the drying landscape. Perhaps the buffalo are travelling larger distances between grazing areas and water sources, and hence have to stay for long lengths of time off the property.

July 2008

Now in the middle of winter, there have been numerous sightings of these animals in large herds, very concentrated around the Sand River. The condition of these animals has been drastically affected by the dry season and it is obvious in their behaviour, with herds beginning to move shorter distances each day, this being to conserve energy and mainly water. During the report period there were numerous accounts of lions feeding off and hunting buffalo. The next report period should be an interesting one where the buffalo are sure to lose more condition towards the end of the winter months.

April 2008

Buffalo sightings have been on the rise over the last month. This can be attributed to the drying of the environment as we approach winter. With little to no rainfall the water holes are already drying up in the areas further from the river. This is driving the animals to the river to find water. As a result we are seeing more frequently the usual herds from around Clarendon Dam and the KNP but there are other herds also moving in from then KNP, herds that are not as used to vehicles.

There are many duggaboys in and around the Sand River at the moment as well as frequenting what few pools remain away from the river. Herds are numbering anywhere from 80 to approximately 500. The very large herd from KNP (approximately 900 animals) has not been seen this month, but hopefully the need for water will bring them back to the river. As the weather dries out and the grasses start to turn brown, the buffalo are starting to loose condition. This is a slow process that accelerates as the water disappears. Already we have seen an increase in buffalo kills over this past month compared to the last few months by both lion and leopard. This kill rate will increase as the winter wears on and the buffalo become thirstier.

January 2008

Buffalo have been around in vast numbers over the past report period. The large herd of around 900 animals was not seen this month however, there have been four herds, each numbering over 250 that have been seen regularly on Marthly, Eyrefield and MalaMala as well as a herd of approximately 100 animals on Flockfield. The herds appear to be moving in circular patterns, as one would expect from large buffalo herds trying to avoid lion prides. They have, however, not been harassed very much at all by the lions, and hence they have remained on MalaMala for the duration of the month.