N'tsiri Logo
 
January 2018 Newsletter
Male Lion Peter Anderson
 

Welcome

Happy 2018 N'tsirians!

Hard to believe we are at the end of January... ALREADY!! For those of you who managed to get to the farm over the December festive period, it was fabulous. Sightings were off the charts, the weather was just perfect and just enough rain fell in the few days there to get us all excited.... unfortunately, this rain pattern has not continued.

We also had some sad news.... the untimely passing of Barry Kleu, a N'tsiri Legend, who will be sorely missed! Barry was a firm supporter of this newsletter and many of the images that I use and will continue to use... are his wonderful photographs depicting N'tsiri wildlife.

More sad news is the resignation of Dave and Adele. This management team has served us diligently and their friendly smiles and willingness to always help will be sorely missed.

On a lighter note, the Board of Directors has a motivated and dynamic team and the EMP committee has a band of new projects that we are taking into 2018. We are hoping that with help from all our members, 2018 is going to be a spectacular year for our precious farm.

Remember to keep sending in your news and photographs to Sara Boyd at: sara.boyd@mweb.co.za

 
Member's Circular - Mark Griffiths
 
Tractor drivers

Greetings N'tsirians

I hope this finds everyone embraced by 2018 goodness & blessings.  Our Christmas & New Year events went down well, it was a great time to be on the reserve.  Plenty fun was had, big thanks to my team for putting shoulder to the plough, some days the heat ventured into the deadly zone, thank heavens we got through. 

We’ve been extremely busy on the reserve, various projects swallowing time at rates which are shocking.  There’s a constant juggle of chore priorities, all weather dependant, ranging from bush-thinning, road-works, alien vegetation control, outstanding maintenance issues, reserve clean-up, to mention but a few. Malaria cases continue to pop up, so continue to take preventative measures.  There have been plenty cases this season.

Game sightings have been off the charts, how blessed we have been.  Please members, can you share any photos with me which I can use for establishing correct identities of specific animals, you will be given all credits if used (never for personal gain) for any objective. 

A thought at the end.  We can throw money at luxuries, but common sense & essentials, have no price tag.

CLICK "READ MORE" TO SEE FULL CIRCULAR

 

 

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From the Board
 
Lion male Barry Kleu - GnT's

First Board Meeting....

The Board is already gearing up for a busy 2018. We have confirmed our first meeting for early February. We look forward to picking up on last years items and getting started on our new projects for the year.

This photo of a male lion was taken by Barry Kleu on the farm in October. His comment to me linked to this picture was.... "this looks like some of our members after a good sundowners!!!"

 
 
Ntsiri rainfall

Our drought continues....

As we can see from our 2017 rainfall patterns for N'tsiri, we are well under the area averages for those recorded between 1983 and 2017. Our grass cover is thin and our rain season is coming to a fast close.... we need to be mindful of our water use at all times when on the farm. Mark has been watching our levels carefully.... but the weather patterns are in Mother Nature's hands and we have to respect that.

 
 
Sharalumi River flowing 24 December

Sharalumi River Flowing

Although the rainfall over December and January was particularly dismal, it seems that neighbouring farms like King's Camp (and even Ingwelala) managed to have enough rainfall to fill their rivers. Thank you Peter Anderson (#R13) for this photograph of the Sharalumi River flowing on the 24 December. The Tsiri river managed a slow trickle which made it as far as No. 9 Crossing. 

 
 
Wine and Gin Tasting

Member's Gin and Wine Tasting Dec 2017

A big thank you needs to go out to Ethel, her management team and Safari Wines in Hoedspruit for organising a fun and delicious Exotic Gin Tasting on 28 December 2017. The turn out was excellent. The pool lapa created the perfect environment. Kids were in the water and members and guests were treated to spectacular sunset. Definitely an event that we would like to repeat in 2018.

 

 
 
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New Year's Eve Pool Lapa Bash

Just as we managed to recover from the gin and wine tasting..... another outstanding members "get together" was hosted at the Pool Lapa. To Dave, Adel, Ethel and Mark.... thank you for the food, decorations and for the spectacular storm that almost blew us all away (as well as creating havoc with our fires). We had another excellent turn out of members who pitched to see the New Year in. Happy 2018 All..... It's going to be a goodie!!

 
Members Notifications
 
Barry Kleu 2014

Tribute to Barry Kleu

The end of 2017 brought with it some very sad news, the untimely passing of our fellow member, Barry Kleu (#29), fondly known as "Snowy". Barry was a larger than life character whose happy smile and friendly waves will be sorely missed. Barry was a great supporter of this newsletter and many of his photographs have featured (and will continue to feature) in our circulars.

I was copied in on this tribute to Barry from Peter Anderson (#R13). Peter happily agreed to allow me to publish this series of photographs which clearly depicts the fun loving, friendly person that Barry was.

 

 

 

CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

 

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Blue Moon 2018

Blue Moon 31 January 2018

When one calendar month has two full moons, the second one is called a "Blue Moon". Each calendar year contains roughly 11 days more than there are in a lunar calendar. These extra days accumulate, so that every 2-3 years there is an extra full moon. This year we have two months with two blue moons - quite amazing!

The name "blue moon" comes from the Catholic Clergymen who historically calculated the time of Lent and Easter. Every so often they would encouter a "Betrayer" moon and this they referred to as the "Belewe" or Blue Moon.

 

 
News and Views
 
M2E64L204-204R382B323

Predator Viewing Protocol

This "once in a lifetime" shot was captured on a Camera Trap by Gavin of #R10 on Forest Close. Just to get some perspective, this tiny Leopard cub was not much bigger than the dove on the opposite branch. Thank you Gavin for sharing.

This brings our attention to a important aspect of our responsibility as game viewing N'tsirians. A predator viewing protocol has been put together by Byron Serrao (at the request of the EMP Committee). Byron, whose father Brian owns #04, is a highly trained Game Ranger with many years of experience with &Beyond and other game lodges. Our ranger Mark Griffiths has also added some points which he feels are pertinent to this protocol.

Please all take the time to click on the link, read and even print off this protocol for your guests.

CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

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Jurassic Park..... Dec 2017 - Mark Griffiths
 
Parabuthus

Parabthus transvaalicus - Transvaal fat-tailed Scorpion

This is one of our most dangerous scorpions in South Africa. They are large black scorpions and know for their aggression. They have a larger than normal venom vesicle and inject their toxin in large amounts. They can spray venom when irritated. They are avoided by other scorpion species.

 
 
Flat Rock Scorpion

Hadogenes troglodytes - Flat Rock Scorpion

The male specimen of this scorpion is the longest scorpion found at N'tsiri. In fact, it is the longest scorpion in the world. They have many colour variations and like to live in rocky areas in the cracks of rocks. They have a gestation period of up to 18 months and a relatively small brood size of 20. Venom is weak and it makes this less medically significant than the Parabuthus spp

 
 
Blister beetles

CMR Bean Beetles (Blister Beetle Family) - Mylabris oculata

Adult blister beetles feed on plants and are known for the damage that they cause to ornamental plants. They are particularly common swarming on Acacias when these trees are in flower. The larvae, however, regulate the number of grasshoppers by parasitizing the egg pods.

 
 
Giant Stag Beetles

Giant Stag Beetles Mating - Family Lucanidae

There are approximately 22 species of Stag beetles in 6 genera. Adults do not feed, whilst larvae bore into decaying wood. The beetles appear on the red data list. They are highly sought after by collectors.

 
Game Sightings
 
DSCF1302

Spotted Hyena - Crocuta crocuta

Our hyena population on N'tsiri appears to have undergone an explosion. December was full of daily hyena sightings. Many pregnant females and numerous groups of inquisitive youngsters were spotted. Hopefully this will lead to some great pup sightings later in the year. Please note the guidelines set out in our Predator Viewing Protocol. Hyena dens are to be treated with respect and sensitivity. 

 
 
DSCF1372 (1)

Red Crested Korhaan - Eupodotis ruficrista

One of my absolute favorites - The Red Crested Korhaan. These highly camouflaged ground birds were out in force in December. Their spectacular aerial suicide displays were seen 2 or 3 times by my guests. Hopefully some of the rest of our members got to see them too.

 
 

Rainfall and Temperatures

 
 

January Min Temp: 23.4

January Max Temp: 34.9

Rainfall for the month:

1 mm (67mm was Jan 2017)

 
 
 
 
Conservation
 
Tree netting!!

Preserving our trees

Well members.... you have outdone yourselves. We have managed to net 181 trees. Huge thanks go to the efforts of Andrew Roos and team (#R03) who have managed to net 73 of our precious trees. To everyone else involved, a big thank you to you all too. Mark Griffiths' little creosote pots have gone into a further 200 trees. This deterrent method has been used successfully by neighboring farms and we look forward to seeing how this method keeps those big brutes away!

Keep it up, members, we can win the battle!

Just a note on marking your netted trees. Please can we all make an effort to place the small numbered discs onto the back side of the trees. The discs are particularly visible (more so than the net!).

CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE

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Rhino Peter Anderson

Rhino Poaching Update

Unfortunately we still have the scourge of rhino poaching on our doorstep. Another 2 carcasses, with horns removed, were located on Diepkloof on 30 January 2018, bringing the total number of rhinos poached in our area to 19, adding to the devastating national statistics.

 
Staff News
 
Sunset Sept 17

Dave and Adel are leaving us!

We are very sad to be losing two of our valuable staff members, Dave and Adel, who have taken up a management position at Ingwelala. Their last day at N'tsiri will be the on 28 February 2018. We would like to wish them the very best of luck in their new venture. Dave and Adel, you will be missed!

 
 

Did you know?

TRUE DOGS AND CATS

We have 7 mammals fitting into our "True Cat" category;

Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Caracal, Serval, African Wild Cat and Small Spotted Cat.

 

We have 5 mammals fitting into the "True Dog" category:

Two Jackal species, Wild dog, Cape and Bat-eared Fox.

 

The rest like Civet, Genet and Hyena..... have their own completely different categories.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
All Creatures Great and Small
 
DSCF1445

African Scops Owl - Otus senegalensis

Scops owls are the smallest owls with ear tufts in Southern Africa. They are commonly heard at night, calling with their characteristic "Prrrrrup" every 5-8 seconds. They feed mainly off insects and other arthropods. Occasionally, they will eat small mammals. During the day, they appear very elongated with prominent ear tufts. At night they look much heavier as they fold their ear tufts down. Picture taken by Ian Finlay (#R13).

 
 
 
 
 

Conclusion

A big thank you once again to the contributors of articles and pictures for this newsletter. In particular Ian Finlay and Peter Anderson (#R13), Colin Meddows-Taylor (#24) and Mark Griffiths. I still have a selection of pictures that Barry Kleu (#29) sent me in November. Barry, it's hard to believe that you are no longer round. We miss you and will continue to use your wonderful photographs and cherish your memory.

Keep sending in your interesting news and views. All submissions can be sent to: sara.boyd@mweb.co.za

Big Thank you for contributions this past month!!

 
 

Conclusion

The wonderful photographs illustrating this January newsletter are all thanks to members who have kindly shared their sightings. All pictures posted were taken on our farm. Thank you once again to Ian Finlay and Peter Anderson (#R13). Many of the photographs were sent to me by Barry Kleu (#29) in November. We will miss Barry and his many contributions. 

All submissions can be sent to: sara.boyd@mweb.co.za

 
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063 660 7892

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