Author Archives: Nambiti Hills Private Game Lodge

The Humanity of Elephants

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Elephant Troop - Photo by Siobhan Gunning

Elephant Troop - Photo by Siobhan Gunning

Elephants remember. They recall who they met decades ago. They form long-term relationships. They experience the full gamut of emotions that humans do. Love. Loss. Joy. Sadness. And everything in between. Their capacity to bond and take care of each other is astounding. So for me, it is always wonderful, when staying at the Nambiti Hills Private Game Lodge, to either pass a herd of elephants on the way there, or to see the elephants on one of our game drives. The last time I was at Nambiti, there were a whole lot of mothers and their youngsters crossing the river below us. Calling to each other. Trumpeting in their unique way. Sticking together.

Even though these elephants have been relocated, it’s wonderful to see how well they have adjusted to Nambiti Private Game Reserve and how fantastically they get along together. They are free to roam and live the wild life to which they were born.

Whilst I have always known about this magnificent bond between elephants, it hit home even more when my partner recently showed me a video that’s been circulating the Internet. You may have seen it. It shows two circus elephants who were separated 20 years ago and then, by some strange quirk of fate, reunited. The overwhelming display of love and happiness between these two elephants who can now live out their final years together brought me to tears, as I suspect it will do to you too.

May we all learn to respect these magnificent creatures and keep them in their natural environment where their performances are of their own volition and for the amusement of each other.

- Siobhan, writer, wildlife enthusiast.

Elephant Whisperer

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Elephant Calf - Photo by Clinton Friedman

Elephant Calf - Photo by Clinton Friedman

I was saddened by the recent news of the passing of the famous elephant whisperer Lawrence Anthony. The last person to mention this famous South African conservationist to me was a lady I met at the Nambiti Hills Game Lodge. She was from Germany and had spent some time at Lawrence Anthony’s Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand. That’s the great thing about Nambiti Hills, you get to meet the other guests, even if you’re just staying for one night. Chance encounters like these always lead to interesting conversations and new discoveries.

Now, I had of course heard of Lawrence Anthony and his claim to be an elephant whisperer definitely sparked my interest, but meeting someone who had spent time with him brought me several degrees closer to wanting to meet the man. If memory serves me correctly, Joe the tracker and game guide at Nambiti Hills also knew The Elephant Whisperer as he had worked at or near Thula Thula.

The Elephant Whisperer, Lawrence Anthony

The Elephant Whisperer, Lawrence Anthony

More elephants have, as you know, recently been introduced into the Nambiti Private Game Reserve and it is going to be fascinating to chronicle how they adapt to their new home. It is not always an easy process.

In the case of Lawrence Anthony, he adopted a herd of rogue elephants that the wildlife authorities were wanting to destroy. To quote one of the reviewers of Anthony’s acclaimed book, The Elephant Whisperer: In order to save their lives, Anthony took them in. In the years that followed he became a part of their family. And as he battled to create a bond with the elephants, he came to realize that they had a great deal to teach him about life, loyalty, and freedom.

According to Lawrence Anthony’s son, the elephants had not been close to their house for one and half years but, soon after the death of The Elephant Whisperer, the herd made the journey to the Anthony’s home to pay their last respects. In my mind, there is nothing more pure or touching than a respectful and loving relationship between man and animal. Next time you are at the Nambiti Gane Reserve (or any other game reserve for that matter), you might want to try a little elephant whispering yourself – who knows, they might hear you and whisper or trumpet back.

- Siobhan Gunning, writer and wildlife enthusiast

The Twitcher, Bird-Watcher

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Yellow-Throated Woodland-Warbler

Yellow-Throated Woodland-Warbler

Definition of Twitcher – Informal, a bird-watcher who tries to spot as many rare varieties as possible.

As a guide you would expect that we head out into the big cities for our leave, and sometimes this is true. But other times it is getting out into a different area of the countryside that makes it all worth while. On my last leave, a few of my friends from other reserves and I headed out into the Royal Natal to expand our birding knowledge and do a little photography. Two of the key things we do to pass some time when the animals have decided to hide from us for the odd drive. A guide’s task isn’t only to know the fauna and flora but to also assist guests with capturing those images. And also, as I wrote in my last blog post, to try and find an interesting fact about some of the smaller things. Birds fall into this category.

11 new species of birds was what I ended up with, and a huge amount of facts and knowledge was gained on our trip. The fact that some of us are novices and others more experienced made the trip all the more interesting. Our goal was to try see one hundred different species of birds in the four days. The rules were simple – you could identify a bird through visual or audio.

The first day was great with a lot of our more common species being seen, such as Doves and Weavers, Sparrows and the odd Waxbill, but in between there where the lifers. Swee Waxbill and Malachite Sunbird to name two of them. Lifers are birds that you have never seen before in your LIFE. As much as we don’t like to think of ourselves as twitchers most if not all guides keep a list of all the different birds they have seen and in the right company will pull out that list and rattle off a number like three hundred and seventeen. And blurt out names like Yellow-Throated Woodland-Warbler or Horus Swift, two of the new birds from our trip.

The great thing about birding is not only the bird but the pace at which you move. A slow steady pace allowing you to take in your surroundings, It is noticing that silhouetted movement deep in a shrub, stopping to focus the binoculars only to find it is the ear of a Duiker’s young twitching to the bite of a pesky fly. The mother is away foraging, allowing you the time to watch and learn how the camouflage works and the way the instincts allow for the survival of one of the smaller species.

So next time you head out into the reserve, remember the bird book and binoculars. You are bound to see the big things but it is the smaller things that will impress the people back home. A lion will always be majestic an elephant will always get a notice. Next time, head out and see rhino and abundant herds of wildebeest but on your way around the reserve ask your guide to stop, ask him what bird is sitting on the top of the tree calling in the first rays of sun, or stop next to the vibrantly coloured bird sitting on the fence. Make a note in your book and, before long, there will be a list!

To end off, I would like to ask you to name five birds you have seen before closing the page. You will be surprised. Like I said, we are all twitchers to a certain degree. Even if if it is just five!

- Brendan, game guide at Nambiti Hills Private Game Lodge

Save our Rhinos

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Rhino Resting - Photo by Siobhan Gunning

Rhino Resting - Photo by Siobhan Gunning

I had an up-close-and-personal encounter with a rhino when I was very young. His name was Rufus* and I have a book about him somewhere. To be honest, I can’t remember his story. I assume he had been orphaned and he was living with some human family when he was very young. When I met him, he was older and in an enclosure, I think at the Nairobi National Game Park. I have a photo I shall try and dig up of me running away from him. I think he was just being curious and playful. Quite possibly he was still being playful when he killed a game warden two months later. Who knows. The fact is, rhinos are wild and they deserve the freedom to bask in the mud and open plains of the wilderness. Their naturally wild nature and massive physical power needs to be respected. The greatest threat to these magnificent prehistoric-looking creatures is human. After standing their ground for centuries – dating back to the time of the dinosaur – rhinos are now subject to poaching and the horrific mutilation that that entails. All because of man’s greed and an unproven theory that rhino horn will help his sexual prowess.

Recently, a South African judge sentenced poachers to 25 years in jail for killing a rhino. Bless him for taking such a strong stance against poaching and for representing humans as protectors, not destroyers. Kudos, also, to Nambiti Hills for initiating a means by which you, too, can help protect rhinos. All you have to do is click here to take you though to the Nambiti Hills Facebook page. Like the page, and the Nambiti Hills management will donate R10 to the Save the Rhino Foundation. If you would like to donate more, there’s a facility on the Facebook page to do that too.

It doesn’t take much to make a big difference. I urge you, as a fellow respecter of the rhino and other wildlife, and a good human, to help protect the Rhino.

*About Rufus – I just found a story about this rhino on the web. There’s mention of him attacking his handler but not killing him. So maybe the story I was told as a child was incorrect. Or possibly my childish imagination got the better of me. The fact is, there’s a wild side to even the most docile of hand-reared wild animals and they can turn at any time.

- Siobhan, writer and wildlife respecter

The Rhino Project on FaceBook

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Two Rhinos

Two Rhinos

Southern Africa is experiencing a dramatic upsurge in the slaughter of its rhino population fuelled by an increase in the demand for rhino horn on the Asian black market. There is a vicious war being waged against the poachers and the international syndicates who are profiting from this brutal crime. Rhino horn is worth more than gold on the black market with a single horn able to fetch as much as $100,000. The temptation of $100,000 for a single horn is just too great when you are living in a country where 68% of the population live below the poverty line and the unemployment rate is 95% (2009 est.). Desperate human beings are being exploited by syndicates in order to satisfy demand for a product which, according to scientists, has no medicinal properties. Powerful international syndicates, motivated by greed and assisted by corruption, are recruiting desperate men in poverty-stricken countries in order to line their own pockets.

In South Africa there has been a dramatic rise in the number of rhinos being poached. In 2007, 13 rhinos were poached in comparison to 448 in 2011. If the current rate of poaching continues, the rhino population will be decimated within 10 years. Right now, there is an unprecedented call to action. The South African government has deployed its army and an ever-growing number of organisations are being formed by concerned citizens in order to raise awareness as well as funding for those who are fighting on the frontline.

We can all be part of the solution be it by actively getting involved, giving donations or simply creating awareness.

We at Nambiti Hills have joined the fight to save our rhino and have launched our very own Rhino Initiative. For every new Facebook ‘like’ we receive, we will donate R10 to the ACT/Rhino Project. We specifically aim to raise funds for certain items needed by the project in the fight against rhino poaching. So if you would like to be part of the Nambiti Hills Rhino Project, it is as easy as the click of the mouse.

Please go to our Facebook page, click the ‘like’ button and encourage as many people as possible to do the same. It’s time to fight back!

- Ross Cairns, Game Guide, Nambiti Hills Private Game Lodge