Compelling wildlife vision @ Save Valley

14 Feb, 2020 - 00:02 0 Views

eBusiness Weekly

Tawanda Musarurwa

Against the backdrop of a continuum of constantly shifting ecological systems — at least nine habitats are said to make up the Savé Valley Conservancy — our expedition of this compelling wildlife vision was only bound to be thrilling.

Wildlife has traditionally lied at the heart of Zimbabwe’s tourism, and to this extent the Savé Valley Conservancy in the South East Lowveld of the country is as brilliant a conservation vision as they come.

The 300 000-hectare Savé Valley Conservancy is home to an astounding diversity of wildlife, a place where a sundry range of animals roam freely and exercise their natural patterns of migration.

Some of the area’s wide diversity of habitats include open acacia woodland, mopane woodland, thick riverine vegetation and broken granite outcrops; the perfect recipe for a gruelling exploit.

In such habitats, it is only natural then, that you can expect to see wildlife in its extensive diversity — all creatures great and small — it’s rather cliché I know, but it seems to me like the perfect description.

Our first sightings of wildlife just a few kilometres into the Savé Valley Conservancy were these beautiful little antelopes that scampered their way across the dusty road about 200 metres in front of our vehicle.

They stopped a little distance from the main road in the half-dry grass, nervously waiting for us to get closer.

For a conservancy and a top tourist attraction, I figured the animals here wouldn’t be too bothered about some inquisitive humans.

I guess not.

The antelope scanned us for a jiffy, and then disappeared into the bush as we drove closer.

Having bumped into this herd of small antelope so early into our drive, I thought to myself: “Good omens, good omens.”

But a thirty-minute drive later, I was starting to feel like we had entered an exclusively antelope conservancy (small antelopes at that).

Just then — conveniently and impressively — we encountered a miscellany of giraffe, zebra, and wildebeest, and (of course) more antelope.

The diversity in this particular bunch was interesting, but it’s not uncommon to see zebra and wildebeest together as they tend to congregate in environments that have high chances of predation. Apparently, there are approximately 40 lions in this conservancy, and these are not the only predators.

Nearby, a couple of giraffes stood in close proximity to each other, their graceful necks almost forming the shape of a heart.

These espies certainly jolted me back into wildlife excursion mode, and how timely because the heat here can fast melt any enthusiasm.

Savé Valley Conservancy is much lower in altitude and hotter than most other places in Zimbabwe.

A few metres off we caught sight of wild pigs, then giraffes, antelopes (again), and then — strikingly — another beautiful assemblage, this time of zebras and antelope.

I, however, couldn’t get out of my head the extensive number of antelope that reside in this conservancy. It was only later that I discovered that I had actually seen all these various types of small antelopes.

For the wildlife enthusiast Savé Valley Conservancy is indeed the place to see the “little six” as they are ostensibly known, these diminutive types of the swift-running ruminant mammals of the family Bovidae.

Here you can find the Oribi, klipspringer, Livingstone Suni, Grey Duiker, Sharpe’s grysbok and Steenbok.

Of the bigger antelopes, I remember spotting Sable. Did I mention that we hadn’t actually started our expedition, but were actually on our way to join up with Dusty Joubert, the ecological manager at Sango (one of the wildlife safaris in the Savé Valley Conservancy) for an adventure in the African wild?

And the adventure turned out to be just as expected. Because rangers within the Save Valley Conservancy are in constant radio contact, sightings of the “Big Five” are almost guaranteed.

The Savé Valley Conservancy is home to the  “Big Five”: lion, buffalo, leopard, elephant and rhino. There are also strong populations of several vulnerable mammals like cheetah, serval, brown hyena and sable antelope.

My best moment, however, was not with any of the “Big Five”, it was when a herd of wildebeest displayed their famous “swarm intelligence”, stampeding about 50 metres ahead of us as we were manoeuvring a bushy trail in Dusty’s 4 X 4 safari vehicle.

Within a few seconds they had all thundered across the acacia woodland and disappeared, leaving us in a cloud of dust — a semi-brutal introduction to life in the wild.

But it’s also important not to forget the little guys; there is also an impressive array of reptiles, fish, bats and frogs that flourish here.

Other mammal favourites in the area include giraffe, eland, bushbuck, jackal, kudu, wildebeest, impala, warthog, bush pig, crocodile, nyala, duiker, honey badger, hippo, spotted hyena, vervet monkey, red and Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, waterbuck, zebra and baboon.

Also, if you’re a bird lover, then this is the place for you. Well, it is only expected if you keep in mind the habitat zones that make up the area.

The region is typically classified as an Important Bird Area with scores of Zimbabwe’s 670 recorded species.

Raptors are abundant and some of the avifauna that you can expect to see include: the little Grebe, Hottentot Teal, Reed Cormorant, Squacco Heron, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Bateleur, Dickinson’s Kestrel, little Bee-eater, Willow Warbler and Marico Sunbird.

Here I list just ten, but there are obviously hundreds, and you’ll be able to spot them depending on the sharpness of your birding skills; the Savé Valley Conservancy offers the ultimate birder’s challenge.

According to experts in the area, the best times of the year for birding are November, and when there are seasonal wetlands in March.

Savé Valley Conservancy is a bird-watcher’s heaven.

But more than that, it’s an animal haven. Although poaching has been and still remains problematic, the application of sound ecological management practices has ensured that the wildlife here will be enjoyed by future generations.

Said Dusty the ecologist:

“The idea behind the establishment of the Savé Valley Conservancy was to keep the area’s eco-systems intact through the implementation of measures to ensure minimal interference with the natural mechanisms that drive these eco-systems.”

You are, however, allowed to shoot animals — with your CAMERAS.

Individual or small group photographic safaris are available where you can enjoy the tranquillity (or not) of the African bush while you wait to capture that perfect moment with your lens.

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