January 2025

Singita Pamushana Lodge

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Singita Pamushana Lodge: January 2025

Our rain dances continue to be rewarded, and the fauna and flora are flourishing. The dramatic weather makes for equally dramatic sunsets and there’s nothing better than to watch the stars and planets appear, refreshing drink in hand, and discuss the day’s sightings under a crescent moon. The magic of Malilangwe has kept our guests spellbound, and we’ve particularly enjoyed spending time with keen birders and botanists this month.
A sightings snapshot for January follows:
Lions
  • The month’s sightings have been dominated by the Nduna Pride, and they seem to have gained a lioness as we are now seeing eight members; three males and five females. It’s possible that the Nduna Split / Northern Pride are in flux, possibly with one of the lionesses returning to her natal pride. There has also been a mating pair in the Nduna Pride.
  • We’ve seen lions feeding on different prey, being a giraffe and a young kudu bull, as their hunting strategy changes in the green season.
Leopards
  • We’ve enjoyed watching a leopard stalking some impalas north of Ray's Drift, and seeing two leopards – a mother and her cub on the rocks on Ultimate Drive.
  • The highlight undoubtedly was witnessing a zebra stallion chasing a female leopard up a tree! When she tried to escape the zebra chased after her up the hill!
Wild dogs
  • The pack of 17 are doing well, and we’ve seen them hunting impalas with and without success. On a successful hunt two hyenas tried to rob them of their kill, but were chased off in a group effort.
Rhinos
  • Sightings of white rhinos are excellent – something we can guarantee during any stay. A very special moment this month was watching three white rhinos drinking at Nduna Dam, while a short distance away the Nduna Pride of lions lay sleeping in the shade.
  • The black rhino sightings have been very good, mostly of them browsing, or crossing a road, or coming to inspect a vehicle. The best was spying two black rhinos having a soothing mudbath and rolling in the mud, blissfully unaware of our presence.
Elephants
  • A large old elephant bull died this month, after incurring an injury from fighting with another bull. This sad but natural cause provided a boon for so many scavengers and predators. Seen feeding on the carcass over several days were droves of white-backed vultures, some hooded vultures, a couple of lappet-faced vultures, jackals, ten hyenas, and two lions – as well as thousands of insects and other decomposers.
  • Happier sightings were of vast breeding herds of elephants drinking, swimming and mudbathing at the river and dams, and the most delightful was seeing a day-old calf with its family, north of Chivi.
Hyenas
  • The hyenas are always up to high jinks – such intelligent creatures and fascinating to watch.
Buffalos
  • The large herds of buffalos are still drawn to the dams and the river where they like to drink en-masse. They make use of the seasonal pans for quick sips during the day or exuberant mud-wallowing. Some of the breeding herds we see number over 200 animals.
Plains game
  • The plains game still think it is Christmas with all the food around! Huge herds of zebras have been a highlight, as well as the shyer species like Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, eland, and sable.
Birding
  • The birds are busy-busy-busy – it’s the season for feeding and raising chicks. At the request of guests some of our drives have specifically been for birding and it makes for a great adventure.
Unusual sightings
There have been quite a few unusual sightings this January. Three that standout are:
  • A black mamba being mobbed by birds.
  • An African wild cat out on the prowl.
  • A large crocodile, far from the water, tucked inside the roots of a large rock fig tree.
Boat cruises
  • The sundowner boat cruises are the most idyllic way to spend an afternoon, and one of the many highlights was seeing a hippo cow with a tiny newborn calf came out of the water, to go grazing for the evening.
Fishing
  • The fishing excursions were thoroughly enjoyed and guests managed to catch quite a few tilapias. Not to be outdone were a pair of fish eagles rejoicing with a big tilapia that the one had caught.
Walking and Photographic Hide
  • We don’t offer walks in the rainy season when the bush is very thick and concealing, but look forward to offering these during the dry season when conditions are favourable. (Of course there is a gym with treadmills and all the equipment you need should you wish to exercise.)
  • The sunken photographic hide is not used during the wettest months either as the water table is too high, and the animals are not drawn to the pan as much as they are in the dry months.
Rock art
  • Fortunately some of the rock art is situated close to the roads, so guests can still enjoy seeing these ancient pigment paintings made by the hunter-gatherers that survived here hundreds of years ago.
Daytrips to Gonarezhou National Park
  • The park closed mid- January to public visitors, as they do each year in order to maintain roads and camps, and will reopen at the end of February, but Singita Pamushana guests are still allowed access, and daytrips are still offered. dependent on the weather.
By Jenny Hishin
Author / Field Guide