Shamwaris new babies

If you are planning or have planned to visit Shamwari this time of year, you are in luck! While on safari you can expect to see an abundance of new life. Whether it be impala, springbok, zebra or even giraffe! Time to meet our new baby giraffe.

If you have not yet had the privilege of seeing a baby giraffe, this blog is for you. Giraffe calves have to be one of the cutest looking animals you are yet to see. They are fluffy and adorable! They often stay close to their mothers and tend to hide away when vehicles approach on safari. Unfortunately, they are also easy prey for predators as they are extremely vulnerable after birth.

Breeding & Gestation:

Females become sexually mature when they are 6 to 7 years old and breeding occurs throughout the year. They have a long gestation period of 15 months.

The mother usually gives birth alone and to one baby. The newborns receive a rough welcome coming into the world, falling headfirst to the ground. This doesn’t hurt the baby, but it does cause him or her to take a big breath. They weigh about 100kg at birth. Surprisingly, baby giraffes are able to stand about 5 to 20 minutes after birth. The females stay with their calves for a week or more, protecting them and avoiding other giraffes. At this age the calves are too young to defend themselves and will remain still, lying on the ground and hiding. The baby will be independent of the mother by two years of age.

“They stay close to their mothers and tend to hide away when vehicles approach on safari”
Maternal Instincts:
In the meantime, the mother’s preoccupation is to keep her calf safe from all the predators in the area, which includes lions, leopards, and hyenas. Its spots and patches help to give it some camouflage.

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The mother is never more than 10 to 25 metres (33-82 ft) away and will often leave the calf alone for several hours at a time. After 1-4 weeks, calves may begin grouping together in crèches, with mothers standing watch for predators and other dangers. They will return to feed their young before dark and stay through the night. If she sees a danger to her calf, the mother will run up and try to kick it away. Sadly, only about 25 percent of baby giraffes reach adulthood.

If you get the chance to see one of these cuties while on a game drive, feel free to share them with us on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

We have three caracal kittens of just over two weeks old at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. A farmer brought them to us earlier this month and said he found a jackal sniffing around near the den. We will raise them over the next few months and release them onto the reserve once they are weaned and can hunt for themselves.

A caracal is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa. They are generally characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, and long tufted ears. Their coats are reddish a tan or sandy color. These carnivores mainly hunt rodents, birds, rabbits and in some cases, they even pray on the occasional ostrich.

Caracals are Africa’s most formidable small cat. Find more information on these miraculous creatures here.

Read about our rehabilitation centre to find out more about the work we  do to rescue and rehome the amazing animals of Africa.

We are very happy to announce that Shamwari Game Reserve has a new baby elephant. The little female calf was born on the 30th of July and is fit and healthy, though still a bit unstable on her feet. During the last few weeks, she has already learned so many new things from her mother, older brother and other members of the family. She loves dust bathing with her mom and exploring the fresh water of the Bushman’s River that meanders through the beautiful landscape of Shamwari.

The herd is very protective over the youngster and if any danger approaches in the form of a lion or an elephant bull they create a shield and make sure the danger is chased away as soon as possible.

Life for this little elephant is all about exploring the bush, from smelling the different aromatic scents of the plants to meeting the other creatures sharing the environment with her. But most importantly, she’s trying to work out what the dangling appendage on her face is for.

She’s never too far away from the protection of mom and the nutritious milk that will help her grow into the big personality we can already envisage for her. We will keep a close eye on this little gem and update you on her adventures.

To reinforce the concept of preservation and conservation, we have an animal rescue and educational programme in partnership with the Born Free Foundation. The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity working throughout the world to stop individual wild animal suffering and protect threatened species in the wild. The Julie Ward Centre and The Jean Byrd Centre are our two big cat sanctuaries where big African cats are cared for.

The Leopard Triplets

These leopards were found motherless, by soldiers in Sudan, North Africa. When the soldiers realised they couldn’t care for the un-weaned cubs, they packaged them up in a box and sent them to the offices of Lundin Oil. The cubs were in a very poor condition but the staff at Lundin Oil nursed them back to health. Virginia Lundin contacted Born Free, asking if we could find a home for the cubs. With our facilities available, Shamwari offered to take in the triplets at the Julie Ward Centre and so the young leopards arrived at Shamwari Game Reserve on 3rdJuly 2001.

About our Born Free Sanctuaries:

It would be unusual if you don’t catch sight Alam and Sami at our Southern Born Free Sanctuary. These leopards were hand-reared and still very much enjoy human company. This is a legacy many hand-reared animals are left with. On some lion-breeding farms, or in circuses, for example, cubs are deliberately removed from their mother at a few days old, to make them safe to handle by tourists and by their trainers. Many are then discarded when they grow older and more dangerous.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to return the cubs to the wild in the reserve here. Shamwari would not be given permission and as the cubs are too human-friendly they could become a danger. We recognise captivity is second-best for these wild-born animals – but at Shamwari they are offered an excellent home.

The young leopards were all neutered to stop sexual aggression and territorial behaviour developing, and they remain affectionate playmates.

Nimira:

On the 20th April 2017, sadly Nimira died, with a sudden onset of liver disease that did not respond to any treatment, she was 16 years old. So, a very sad day for us at the team on the ground. I had known her as a little cub that ran around the centre and taking food out of my hands, yes, they use to spend the nights in the centre as it was winter when they arrived here at Shamwari, and it was not fun at all to take them out as they would claw me and made sure they showed they were not happy with me and did not want to spend the day in the main camp, good times it was.

Our policy is not to handle our rescued cats, but the triplets arrived in winter as hand-reared cubs, so we used to keep them indoors at night as it got too cold for them. In the mornings we would take them out to their enclosure and we used to carry them as if we let them walk, they would be all over the place. Happy memories. So, here is a moment with me and Nimira, taken by our Animal Care Manager at that time, Tim Parratt.

Glen, our Animal Care Manager with Nimira

Sami & Alam:

boys are well and are moving on, I think they miss their sister, on the odd day you would see them calling endlessly, but they have each other at least and they have become very close since her passing. They spend countless hours engaging in wrestling matches and displays of affection. Even after we had clean their indoor houses they would go in and roll around on the wet floor and hug each other, so sweet! See pictures below.

If you have ever witnessed the birth of an animal in the wild, consider yourself one of the lucky ones. It is an incredibly rare act of nature that not many are privileged to see.

With summer in full swing, we have seen many youngsters around! Recently, one of our rangers just happened to be in the right place at the right time. He got to witness the birth of a giraffe! It was a rainy day so it seemed quite fitting that this little one came with the new rain.

A New Life

A typical gestation period for giraffes can last up to 15 months. It is common for expecting mothers to distance themselves from the herd to give birth.

It was amazing, within a few minutes the newborn fell to the ground. Giraffes give birth while standing up, so a calf enters the world from quite a height! They fall roughly two metres to the ground with hooves and head first. Surprisingly, the two metre fall from their mother’s womb to the ground below doesn’t hurt baby giraffes, it helps them by snapping their short umbilical cords and tearing the amniotic sack. The abrupt landing also helps stimulate the calf to take its first breaths.

This particular newborn took its time to get up. It struggled for quite some time while its mother patiently waited. It was heart-warming to see the doting mother licking the little one and nudging it with her hooves to encourage it to stand.

Watch

Soon enough other giraffes came to investigate and welcome the new member. They were quite curious, and it was incredible to witness the interaction between the giraffe as they seemed to greet the little one.

Infants can usually stand within half an hour and run with their mothers an incredible ten hours after birth. Incredibly, a new-born giraffe is born as tall as a human adult! They may look small next to their very tall mothers, but this certainly isn’t the case.

Next time on safari, make sure to keep your eyes open to all the sights and sound the bush has to offer. Who knows, you might just be fortunate enough to witness something incredible!

Watch video here

Seeing baby animals run around, feet and ears out of proportion to the rest of their bodies is always a treat. The last two months we have had two new arrivals on the property. The first to be called in was a new baby elephant that has been giving us rangers and our guests many joyful sightings. Recently we watched as he drank water with his mother and played with the other slightly older elephant calves.

Rangers have also excitedly been calling in sightings of a white rhinoceros female and her new born calf. It has been a few weeks since the birth and the female has started to relax so that we have been able to enjoy sightings of the two grazing happily with a third, sub-adult male white rhino. This little rhino is curious and skittish and was startled a couple of days ago when he had wondered too close to a flock of Hadeda Ibises to see what they were. The Hadeda’s flew up, shouting as they flew, causing the little rhino to run to his mommy in panic.

I look forward to seeing more of these two inquisitive animals and watching as they grow and learn about the life around them at Shamwari Game Reserve.

As we come into the summer months here in the Eastern Cape, many mothers have given birth to young in the pleasant climate. As a result we have lots of adorable lion cubs running around Shamwari Game Reserve at the moment. These four are from the Southern Pride and have amused us on game drive to no end.

Shamwari works in conjunction with several organisations, volunteers, and neighbouring game farms to ensure the preservation of animal species. Our programmes aim to rehabilitate orphaned, abused, wrongfully captured, and endangered wildlife and re-release them back into the wild.

These initiatives have made Shamwari Game Reserve an award-winning leader in conservation tourism. We accept animals locally for rewilding and among these animals are two rhino calves from the Sibuya Game Reserve.

New Shamwari Family Members

These two beautiful creatures, named Noelle (affectionately known as Nunu) and Binky, have both come a long way since their arrival at Shamwari in March 2016. Each of them has made friends with the other animals at the centre and they have settled in completely.

Noelle loves her caretakers – and her food! Part of her routine includes getting some ‘loves’ from her caretakers after her feeds. These include chin scratches and belly rubs.

Peta-Lynn is Nunu’s dedicated care-taker and the bond between the two is incredibly heartwarming. Peta-Lynn affectionately talks to her in coaxing tones, to ensure that she’s always comfortable and calm.

Buddy System

As young as Nunu is, she has managed to find a trusted companion in none other than Patrick the sheep. The two don’t leave each other’s side, spending the day sleeping, grazing, and looking out for each other.

Binky, on the other hand, is completely taken with her new friend, Courage, a large male rhino that has been at Shamwari since June 2015. She has attached herself to him so that their movements seem to be in sync. She grazes when he grazes and sleeps when he sleeps, making them inseparable.

Rhinos in the wild are often solitary creatures, which means these kinds of companionships are rare. But, perhaps due to their circumstances, they seem to find strength in forming relationships to support each other.

It’s wonderful to see that these Sibuya Game Reserve calves are happy at Shamwari. Not only is their presence a delight to the team, but they also represent hope for the rhino species overall.

We have had a crazy baby boom in the last month. Everywhere you look there is some baby animal running around and trying to find its feet not too far from mommy. With winter over and summer in full swing the bush is lush, with enough food for the antelopes and the other herbivores. A healthy environment signals a good time for the little ones to be had.

Antelopes like impala will all conceive around the same time as they have a mating season. As all individuals of the same species have a similar gestation period, this results in all the babies being born at the same time, essentially flooding the market for the top predators. It’s a great evolutionary adaptation as the predators are not able to take out all of those vulnerable babies at once, whereas if they were born consecutively throughout the year, it would be a different story.

Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or a first-time safari-goer, there will always be several safari memories that stay with you, like experiencing an elephant calf and its herd in their natural habitat. That’s the beauty of the African bushveld.

Safaris are exhilarating. From the early morning wake up to excitedly heading out, the anticipation of what you may see is never dulled. One thing is for sure, there is nothing better than starting your day off out in the bush!

A herd of elephants and their calf

This elephant calf photo series was captured on an early morning safari. We left Eagles Crag Lodge and within an hour found a herd of elephants. The elephants were in the thicket, making the most of the succulent trees so we waited patiently hoping they would come out into the open. Our patience paid off after some time as they all moved into an area that we could view them. There were about 30 elephants in this herd that were enjoying their morning feed with one youngster that stole the show.

We sat and let the elephants come to us. The elephant calf was cautious initially towards the vehicle but after no time at all, he started showing off. He curiously watched us and would mock charge us whilst making himself look big by standing tall with his ears spread out. Yet still staying close to mom for protection.

He was playing with his trunk and pointing it in our direction to pick up on our scent. It was one of the most memorable sightings I’ve ever had the opportunity to witness. All the while he was still a bit clumsy in his actions although trying his hardest to look big and tough!

This sighting was an incredibly memorable one and will always be a fond safari memory at Shamwari Private Game Reserve