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Written by Isaiah Banda

At Kwafubesi Luxury Tented Camp, we are lucky enough to enjoy remarkable wildlife, including more than ten different antelope species, each occupying their own distinct terrain on the Mabula reserve – perfectly adapted to their grazing or browsing needs. On your next visit to Kwafubesi, ask your guide about how each species has uniquely adapted to surviving and thriving in the wild.

The of buffalo on the Mabula reserve contributes to the overall biodiversity, attracting other wildlife species such as predators and herbivores.Mabula Reserve Management Division have worked tirelessly to protect and promote the wellbeing of these herds, and through continued efforts, our buffalo are now thriving successfully, enriching the landscape with their presence and bringing balance back to this unique ecosystem.

Buffalo are known to walk in a straight line or single file as a natural adaptation that allows them to efficiently navigate through their environment. This behavior is often observed especially during migration or when moving between grazing areas. By walking in a straight line, buffalo are able to conserve energy and maintain a cohesive group structure, reducing the likelihood of stragglers getting left behind or potential confusion amongst the herd. Walking in single file also helps streamline communication among members of the herd, enabling them to react quickly to potential threats or changes in their surroundings.

The cooler mornings also allow us to see hippos out of the water as they begin to head to their territorial dam later and later in the day, we have been very lucky to see hippos in the middle of TPA plain. Hippos wide lip allows them to graze the grass at night. Just after sunrise this hippo remained at the waters edge as she awaited for the warmth of the day to set in.

There are several words describing a group of hippos – pod, herd, raft, and the most amusing one, a bloat. Hippopotamuses tend to live in a group, or bloat, of 10 to 30 animals led by one dominant male hippo. Bloat means “to become swollen with fluid or gas,” and hippopotamuses have barrel-shaped bodies that look, well, bloated. Because of their very sensitive skin, hippos spend much of the day submerged in water with only their eyes, nostrils and ears sticking out.

They are however, often found sunbathing on sandbanks for a few hours at a time, and spend most of the night out of the water, walking as far as 8 kilometres to find the short grasses which are their favourite food. Their territorial areas in and around water extend only a few hundred meters, but there is no territoriality in their vast grazing areas.

Hippos do not adopt a social approach for nocturnal feeding forays, and most prefer a night of solitary snacking, where they may consume over 50kgs of grass in an evening. Interestingly, the territoriality of the bulls does not seem to extend to their land-based life. Male territoriality revolves around mating rights, so the region he defends in the water and along the dam may vary and does not extend to foraging beyond the dams.

When space is at a premium such as during the dry season when available water is limited, hippos may pack together in big numbers, lucky we have not experience that on the reserve, we go through the whole of winter with most of our dams still have good amount of water, Mvubu dam and Ngulubi dam never go dry during winter. Still, they do so with seemingly great reluctance, and fights are a regular occurrence.

There are many specied of antelopes which on the reserve which are often characterised by their horns. From small and straight, to towering structures adorned with twists and turns, more often than not, it is the males which adorn these horns. This is the easiest way to distinguish males from females in each antelope species.

Horns are often associated with dominance and sexual selection among males, facilitating competition for mates or establishing hierarchies within herds. For females, possessing horns might similarly convey social status and help with establishing a hierarchy within the herd or aid in securing resources that are needed for nurturing offspring. Through natural selection, it is obvious that male wildebeest have and still do choose to mate with female wildebeest that possess horns.

In the bush an animal’s anti-predator defense mechanism is crucial. The smaller antelope are better off trying to run and hide than trying to confront the predator head-on. This strategy however would be hard for animals like wildebeest to adopt as it is one of the larger antelopes. Wildebeest are best suited to open grassland terrains; which unfortunately do not offer many good options to conceal a wildebeest. Mabula is a great evident to that as we always find them on these open plains.

Wildebeest therefore rely on the herd mentality and rather outnumber the threat as a team. The horns on the female wildebeest could play a crucial role in firstly a more formidable appearance to a predator as well as used as protection when fighting a predator off.

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Until next time…
From Isaiah Banda & Mabula family.
Safari Greetings.