Wilderness Magashi Newsletter – June 2024

Although our guests have to be really lucky to see a snake, snakes are always around, and they are very active at the moment. The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is not only Africa’s largest venomous snake, reaching an average of 2.5 m in length but can grow up to 4 m in length, it is also the most feared. And a family of four learned through personal observation that this does not only go for humans. As they were watching some lions lazily lounging on the lake shore, one of the younger males suddenly leaped in the air – totally forgetting about the regal posture he had maintained until that moment – and bolted in absolute panic. Soon, the guests saw why: A huge black mamba had approached and, rearing up, made very clear that it intended to claim the sunny spot for itself. On that morning the lion got away, it might have experienced the biggest fright of his life, but that seems quite a small price to pay for living another day.

Since the late 1980s Akagera National Park has boasted a small population of spectacularly patterned Maasai giraffes. For a couple of years, the park has also hosted a healthy population of lions – and with the prides becoming bigger, the lions have also start targeting bigger prey. And so it happened, that one morning, our guides found the carcass of a fully grown giraffe, which had been taken down by 10 lions, close to Mohana Plains. The feast, going on over a couple of days, was surely not for sensitive viewers, but this is, of course, also part of nature.

A deeply connecting experience was described and filmed by two of our guests near Croc Point: During their boat safari, they spotted a female black rhino with her calf, sleeping soundly by the beach. The guide let the boat drift closer, and the guests just enjoyed being in the presence of these precious, prehistoric creatures. After quite a long time, the rhinos woke up and deliberately approached the boat. Once they were convinced that these humans seemed to be alright and posed no threat, the animals went into the water and momma rhino taught her son the art of belly rubs on flooded termite mounds. Unfortunately, the termite mound didn’t survive, but at least the rhinos thoroughly enjoyed their spa time.