Singita Grumeti: May 2021
Singita Grumeti: May 2021
May has been a beautiful month here on the Singita Grumeti Reserve. There has been a reasonable amount of rain around, as you will see from the stats above, however, the colour contrasts of clouds, grasslands and wildlife has been fantastic. There are currently some truly wonderful photographic opportunities to be experienced here on the incredible East African high plateau!
The Grumeti River continues to flow with much water and the gentle currents have enticed the movements of crocodiles and hippos towards our central regions.
May 11th this year saw the return of many thousands of wildebeest, however, they just brushed by the very eastern reaches of the property and then continued off in a southernly direction. We hope that it will not be long before the central areas of the Grumeti will once again be flooded with migratory wildebeest.
Here’s a sightings snapshot for May:
Lions
- Life has been tough for the lions on the Singita Grumeti reserve these last few months. With few prey species around, the big cats eagerly await the return of the migratory wildebeest and zebra.
- The Butamtam Pride has moved into new areas of the reserve for the first time in over six years. These animals have pushed into neighbouring territories in order to find prey and are currently situated on the eastern side of the German Bridge, Grumeti River. The powerful Butamtam lionesses are bringing down buffalo more and more often these days. We’ve had some wonderful sightings of this large pride (usually 24 members are seen together with many youngsters).
- It is great to see the Nyasirori Pride has taken up residence close to Sabora Camp once again as they hunt in the region just to the west of camp.
Leopards
- There have been some lovely leopard sightings this month.
- A mating pair have been observed on a number of occasions close to the Grumeti North Hill, just a stone’s throw from Faru Faru Lodge. The animals, being incredibly relaxed, allow for some great observations with guests.
- We continue to observe good leopard activity in and around Sasakwa Hill and just a short distance away, in the Ridge Hills. Here you may find the Ridge Hill mother and cubs as she moves through the woodlands at the base of the gentle slopes.
Cheetahs
- This month we have observed some lovely cheetahs in the region.
- The awesome Sasakwa male, featured here in the opening picture, was relaxing on Koroya Hill in the central areas.
- Good cheetah activity has been observed in the western areas, as well as on the Sasakwa plains.
- The Sabora mother with two young cubs continues to do well and she continues to utilize the area close to Sabora Camp.
Elephants
- Huge numbers of elephants walk Singita Grumeti this month.
- Large aggregations of up to 200 individuals are being observed regularly out in the west and along the Grumeti River.
- We are still seeing some impressive bulls moving through the reserve making for some awesome sightings and photographic opportunities.
Hyenas
- Spotted hyena activity, as you would expect, remains high, especially in the Nyasirori region. They are keeping close eyes on potential prey species which are congregating on the Nyasirori high ground.
Buffalos
- Large herds of buffalo have been occupying the grasslands through the wet season.
- Three very large herds may be found on the Sasakwa plains alone which tells us that these animals are doing incredibly well.
- Births within the breeding herds peaked this wet season and there are many youngsters to be seen.
Rhinos
- The rhinos on the property continue to do very well. They are strong, healthy and in good shape.
- The conditions have been tough in the Ikorongo region making sightings difficult, however, there have been some lovely interactions with individuals.
