Friday, December 8, 2017

Breaking the silence

I have to admit that I neglected this blog for a long time now. I aim to rectify it by getting you all updated with the latest happenings around Marloth Park and Mpumalanga.

The weather...

My blog posts was not the only missing thing over the past few years. For two years now we had the lowest rainfall in a long time. The drought had a devastating effect on our wildlife. Many animals had to be culled or relocated during this period. I am happy to report that we had excellent rains during the past month and the animals are enjoying the grass and leaves.
Visitors have been encouraged to feed the animals during the drought. Now we would like them to enjoy their natural way of life. It seems like an easy adaptation for the animals. Unfortunately not so for the people.
Bring your camera when you come to visit us. There are many babies of all species that just beg to be displayed on social media!

The biggest loss...

Lionspruit is the reserve bordering Marloth Park and is owned by the property owners together with the Municipality. At the beginning of the drought a bit longer than two years ago there were about 100 buffalo in Lionspruit. In spite of the huge combined effort from the Wild Life Fund, many property owners, various other associations and the local government, numbers dwindled down to practically zero. It was mainly the lack of food but not to be ignored was the effect of the two resident lions. Although the feeding sites were moved regularly the food had to be placed close to where the buffalo were. With Dezi and Flaffie (the lions) ever present it became a double feeding station. It was a sad sight to witness.
There are negotiations under way to try and bring the huge beasts back. There are tremendous challenges of which money is probably the biggest obstacle.

Talking about Lions...

We had a couple of visits from a female lion from Kruger. She really lived up to the Afrikaans saying: "Die kat kom weer" ... "The cat returns"!
I will make a lengthy post with photos about it within the next week.

Silly season ...

Lets make it a happy season. Please drive careful and enjoy your family and friends wherever you go. Were looking forward to welcome you here.

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