Wildlife

An amazing and extraordinary event took place on Monday 15 March 2021 when our Pongola Game Reserve elephants walked up to the top of the highest crest of the Ubombo Mountains spending all day in full view of the Myeni community at Mavela and Wildlife Spirit. On a clear day, from this elevated position, one can see the coastal dunes of Maputaland and the hills of Nongoma, the Heart of Zululand.

The pass they took to ascend to the mountain top is known amongst the local community as "isihlalo sendlovu" - the saddle of an elephant. This was the first time that they had walked as far as the top of the escarpment in full view of the neigbouring community.
We contemplated if this unusual event was a show of respect to the AmaZulu nation for the late King Goodwill Zwelinthini kaBhekuzulu, who passed away on Friday 13 March 2021.
"We will never know Mr Heinz, but there's a reason for this," Sakhile from Wildlife Spirit replied.

The burgeoning number of elephant is always a controversial and sensitive subject within the conservation community. Control measures have been widely employed to limit the growth of elephant within South Africa, and by 2008 the rapidly growing numbers in the Pongola Game Reserve soon came under the spot light. With the assistance of the ‘Disney Animal Program’ seven elephant underwent vasectomies. Although this team had perfected the procedure there was little investigation into the long-term behavioural implications of this form of contraception.

Tourists see a plethora of wildlife and water birds on the boat cruises offered by Pongola Game Reserve. The jetty is at the river mouth where we regularly clean and maintain the boats. It is also the hunting ground for the Nile Croc.

Even though the last recorded croc attack in the Pongola River was in 1964, we remain vigilant when wading in the murky water. Most of the Jozini crocs, even the big ones, are wary of humans since they were extensively hunted in the ‘20s. The crocs are not known to come too close to the jetty but in April it suddenly became a popular hang-out spot. We spotted giant 3 meter crocs and we saw evidence of frequent croc activity around the jetty and beach area.