April 2025
Singita Pamushana Lodge
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Singita Pamushana Lodge: April 2025
April is a favourite month for safari enthusiasts, and it is no wonder. The weather is just like the little bear’s porridge in Goldilocks – it is “just right”. We encourage all our guests to make the most of the game drives and safari cruises, but sometimes they prefer to just relax at the lodge and enjoy the luxury and landscape – as do some of our rather cheeky permanent residents, the dassies. Caught in the act in the photograph above, they were sunning themselves on the wall next to the infinity pool overlooking the dam.
All our guests have enjoyed seeing the herbivores in prime condition thanks to the verdant landscape, while the predators have to work that bit harder to sustain themselves. Without further ado here is an overview of what’s been happening, wildlife-wise:
A sightings snapshot for March follows:
Lions
- Five lions showed themselves on our central open area, a mating pair among them. They made sure everyone heard them, if not saw them, when all five stated roaring at the same time.
- The River Pride have been seen with 13 members, including two territorial males, some sub-adults and some lionesses. At one stage all of them were feeding on an impala. However, their post meal nap was disturbed when a crash of white rhinos chased them away from a nearby pan.
- Lions were seen feasting on a buffalo carcass, west of Makeche.
Leopards
- While looking for lions that had been vocal the previous night, a female leopard surprised us by sauntering down the road.
- A busy game drive reported seeing a leopard one morning, then a little further down the road a black rhino and ten hyenas.
- There have been a few sightings of female leopards in the Ultimate Drive / West Valley area. One evening a young female leopard was seen with a wildebeest carcass. She was not nervous of the vehicle, but ran off when a large hyena appeared and chased her.
- The cherry on top of one afternoon game drive was a young male leopard sleeping on top of a rock.
- The most unusual leopard sighting of the month was of a leopard eating a squirrel!
Wild dogs
- We’ve had exceptional African wild dog viewing of two packs: one of 16 members, and the other of nine. Both packs have been seen hunting unsuccessfully, and successfully. On one occasion a pack killed an impala and devoured all of it within five minutes.
- The wild dogs have also had company this month. At one sighting there were white rhinos that did not want to share the space with wild dogs. While watching the interaction two black rhinos appeared! Then on the other side of the river there were wild dogs, a hyena, white rhinos and a lot of plains game. The wild dogs killed an impala and while they were feeding the hyena came and tried to take the carcass away. All the dogs went for the freeloader and drove it away. Ignoring the commotion in the background were white rhinos, wildebeest and zebras.
Rhinos
- We are renowned for our rhino sightings, and, as always, they’ve been excellent this month. Highlights include:
- Three relaxed black rhinos, a mother and two calves, browsing bush leaves.
- White rhinos wallowing in the mud to cool down.
- A white rhino with a newborn calf.
- Thanks to science-based management the Malilangwe Trust will be sending some white rhinos to neighbouring Gonarezhou National Park for re-introduction. This conservation initiative has been decades in the planning, and some guests that happened to be visiting at the time this month got to see the chosen rhinos being located, tranquilised and moved into a boma as part of the operation.
Elephants
- A great experience was to dedicate a drive to finding a breeding herd of elephants. Hundreds of round and oval tracks were found crossing Binya Road near Zero 2 Pan, heading south-east. Follow the tracks ultimately led to finding the breeding herd, and spending the rest of the morning watching them.
- A breeding herd engulfed one of the game-viewers and their wide-eyed occupants as they crossed a road in front and behind the vehicle. The calves stole hearts as they played among themselves. An enormous bull elephant came to investigate our vehicle, stopping a short distance away.
- It was interesting to watch a breeding herd focus their feeding on thorn tree bark as they stripped it from the trees.
- A few elephant bulls were feeding on the edge of the dam, but by next month that vegetation will most likely be trampled.
- An unusual sighting was watching a big tusker chase some wild dogs.
Hyenas
- Most of the hyena sightings this month have been of the clean-up crew trying to score a meal from the wild dogs or leopards.
Buffalos
- Five white rhinos drinking at a pan were persuaded to move along by a herd of over two hundred buffaloes.
- While a pack of wild dogs fed on an impala carcass a large herd of buffalos grazed unperturbed in the distance.
- More than five hundred buffalo congregated at Ray’s Drift to drink and splash through the water.
Plains game
- Giraffes and zebras, two of many peoples favourite animals, are in abundance. It’s lovely to spend time with giraffes, and it was a treat to see about 45 zebras at Hwata Pan.
- There have also been some lucky sightings of eland and sable antelope.
Birding
- Our attention, now that the migrants have left, has turned to the raptors such as crowned, martial, Verreaux's and Wahlberg’s eagles. We even saw a Verreaux eagle-owl flying off with a guineafowl it had killed.
Boat cruises
- This month’s boat cruises have confirmed that the hippos have now found suitable places to dwell. They relocated to new places due to changes in water level.
Fishing
- I can scarcely believe I am typing this sentence, but one of our guiding team this month reported that a guest caught a nine kilogram tigerfish!
Rock art
- A highlight of any stay is seeing the rock art on the property, and when combined with a walk to the nearby “Big Baobab” close to one of the sites it makes for an awe-inspiring morning.
Unusual sightings
- It’s been a great month for honey badgers! One was seen trotting along in the riverbed at Ray's Drift, and a pair seen trotting on the road at the swamps on Hippo Valley.
- A highly unusual sighting was of a serval kitten that was lying on the road on Banyini. Despite looking for the mother we did not see her.
Gonarezhou National Park
- Guests have enjoyed the full day outings we offer to Gonarezhou National Park. One of the highlights was seeing lots of elephants swimming in Masasanya Dam, while another was witnessing the Runde River flowing bank-to-bank at the base of the famous Chilojo Cliffs.
By Jenny Hishin
Author / Field Guide