Summer is Upon Us
on Feb 06, 2024Changes in the seasons throughout the year bring different benefits to all the organisms in the natural ecosystem. My favourite time of the year is Summer, which is normally from mid-November to early March.
Summer brings a great diverse and interesting change to the ecosystem. A change in the organisms’ behaviour as well as an exciting change to the shape of the landscape. The rain changes how the terrain looks in a matter of no time, with beautiful contrast of the green bush and different colours of flowers and a range of pleasant scents.
The grass becomes tall and is wet after rain, or in the mornings when dew forms on the ground. Cats around this area do not like to get their paws wet and we usually find them walking on the roads or resting close to the road which is a great advantage for us to view them in the open without grass obscuring our view.
With leopards trying to get off the wet ground they are using trees more than they would in dryer periods of the year. The leopard is one of my favourite animals, and thanks to summertime, we find this elusive cat up in trees more often.
Intra- and inter- Africa migratory birds flock to our region this time of the year and as of now a lot of these species are heard and seen around feeding and breeding. The ecosystem supports these species by providing essential needs, like a variety of insects that certain birds love to feed on.
The filled-up waterholes and flowing rivers provide very good hunting grounds for birds like kingfishers. Perched on a branch at a waterhole you are almost assured to find kingfishers diving and catching fish all day long. Small crocodiles are moving from high currents of water from the rivers to utilise the smaller inland waterholes. Hippos are short on the crocodile’s tail as they will also move into smaller seasonal pans across the reserve, and we don’t have to go to the big rivers to see hippos.
A lot of animals and birds have their young during this time of the year and with the grass and vegetation being so dense, predators will use this as an advantage to stalk and catch the unsuspecting young, especially impalas. From antelope to birds, they all have an abundance of food to feed their young, rather than relying on milk only.
Yes, it does rain a lot, but the ecosystem needs this precious rain to flourish. Many wild and edible fruits are produced during this time, and you can see a lot of animals, like elephants, enjoying fruits such as the Marula, which only fruits this time of the year.
These are some of the things Summer brings to us and we look out for colourful birds that only come to South Africa in summertime, being attracted to the abundance of insects and favourable weather. Look out for that scouting leopard on top of the trees scanning its surroundings that would be otherwise blocked by the tall grass, or for that elephant spending time under the big Marula tree picking up ripe fruits from the ground.
Blog by Ronald Mutero (Selati Camp Ranger)
