What day visitors to Ukutula can expect

Nestled in the bushveld an hour away from Johannesburg, Ukutula Lodge is home to 130 different bird species, and is one of the most advanced Lion Research Centres in the country. Visitors to the lodge can enjoy incredible views of the bush while experiencing lions and various other wild animals in their natural habitat. Day visitors have three incredible options available, each of which will give visitors an unforgettable experience.

The guided bush walks with the lions is an hour long trip into the massive Ukutula reserve bush, a guided tour of the territory that is home to the lions on the reserve. Visitors will have the opportunity to see the young Ukutula lions on their natural habitat, with countless incredible opportunities for photography with the animals as they roam free amongst the tour group. Tea, coffee and light refreshments are included, and tours commence at 08:00 and 16:00 daily, from Monday to Sunday.

The Lion Interaction Programme takes visitors on a guided tour to the lion, tiger, cheetah, hyena and caracal enclosures, and ends the experience off with a once in a lifetime visit with some of the local lion cubs. Visitors are able to play with the cubs and pose for photos to capture their experience to show all their friends. As with the guided bush walk, tea, coffee and light refreshments are included. The Lion Interaction Programme commences at 10:00 and 14:00 daily from Monday to Sunday.

For an extended visit to the Lodge, visitors can opt in for a full day package, which includes both of the packages above. This full program runs for 3 - 4 hours and takes visitors for a walk through the bush veld with an experienced guide, learning the ins and outs of the lion kingdom and the research being done at the lodge. Visitors will then be given the opportunity to interact one on one with the lion cubs, posing for once in a lifetime photo opportunities.

5 things you might not know about Hyenas

Generally, the first encounter we all have with hyenas is in The Lion King, where they are depicted as slightly crazed, fun loving and deceptive animals with high pitched laughs and a pack mentality.


Sure, this is a caricature of what they are really like, but it is still what many people think of when they see a hyena in the wild. What many people don't know however, is that hyenas play a huge role in the ecosystems they live in, and are important and powerful for a number of reasons.


Here are a few interesting facts about these wild dogs that many people may not know.

1.    We are all aware of the ominous laughing sound the hyena makes when communicating, and many people even believe that what they are doing is actually laughing, which is why it may look like they are constantly smiling. While they are not really joking around, the call is a fundamental part of their communication, and it allows them to communicate with other hyenas up to three miles away.

2.    Typically known as scavengers, hyenas tend to avoid trouble where they can, and will try steal food away when bigger predators aren't looking, or once they have finished their meals. However, they will not hesitate to group up and take down bigger animals, sometimes even large wildebeest, in order to get their food. Hyenas hunt in packs of up to 8 members, so even though they’re small, there is still a lot of danger when they are around.

3.    Hyenas have incredibly strong jaws for their size, and they make use of that power to get every bit of nutrition they can from a carcass, breaking up the bones and chewing through the tough skin of their prey in order to get their nutrients. Because they are mainly scavengers, females often have to protect their young against the males, since they tend to be cannibalistic when there is a shortage of food available.

4.    Hyenas have incredible endurance, and can go for several days without any water. Their hind legs are shorter than their thick, muscular front legs, giving them a posture similar to that of a bear. This posture is great for long distance travel, and allows them to cover a lot of ground quickly and without using a lot of energy.

5.    The average life span of a hyena is around 19 years, and females give birth to up to four cubs at a time after a gestation period of between three to four months. Females also tend to prefer mating with males from outside of their own pack, and uncommonly in the animal kingdom, have higher testosterone levels than their male counterparts.

DAY PACKAGE

Monday – Sunday @ 08:00 or 14:00

R 750.00 p/person

Includes:  Tea, coffee & light refreshments, , interaction with young lions, a guided tour to the lion, cheetah, tiger, caracal and hyena enclosures and a guided bush walk with lions.  

(Program is between 3 – 4 hours)

www.ukutula.com

LION INTERACTION PROGRAMME

Monday – Sunday @ 10:00 or 14:00

R 450.00 p/adult (Children under 10 are half price & children under 5 are free of charge)

Includes:  Tea, coffee & light refreshments, interaction with young lions, a guided tour to the lion, cheetah, tiger, caracal and hyena enclosures.  

(Program is between 2 – 3 hours)

www.ukutula.com

GUIDED BUSH WALK WITH LIONS

Monday – Sunday @ 08:00 or 16:00

R 600.00 p/person (No children under 12 years allowed – minimum height 1.5 metres)

Includes:  Tea, coffee & light refreshments and an hour walk into the bushveld to observe young lions in their natural environment. (Program is +- 1½ hour)

Great photographic opportunity on the walk! 

www.ukutula.com 

Why do some animals kill or injure their young?

Animal infanticide is defined as the killing of young offspring, by a mature animal of its own species. Infanticide in the wild is well documented and is studied in zoology.

According to Doug Mock, a professor of biology at the University of Oklahoma, animal parents have limited resources to dedicate to their offspring, and if the baby is sick or weak, carnivores have been known to consume babies or abandon them.

Infanticide can be accidental, too, said Susan Margulis, associate professor of biology at Canisius College.

“The thing that people don’t realize is that most young animals die. Most die when they’re in infancy. Animals mostly raise two babies to adulthood” she said.

When animal mothers neglect or try to kill their own young in captivity, hand-rearing is one option, Margulis said

Infanticide is often perpetrated by adult males, however female animals are also known to kill or injure their young.

According to a BBC Nature News article, Baby animals are often protected by their fathers, with male protection playing an important role in infant survival. But when new males arrive on the scene, everything can change.

Male interlopers attempt to overthrow these fathers. If they succeed, by hurting, chasing off or even killing a previously dominant male, and taking over the leadership of their group, then infants are suddenly placed at great risk.

Males who take over a lion pride often only want one thing – to have their own children with the mother. Males who have arrived on the scene often only want one thing - to have their own children with the mother.

In lion society, for example, killing infant’s result in their mothers becoming quickly fertile again, increasing the chance of the new males having offspring.

(Sources: BBC Nature News, PBS.org)

Interesting facts about Lions

The African Lion has been a symbol of raw power, ongoing perseverance and strength through out the ages.

Feared by many and loved by even more, the African lion is one of the biggest attractions pulling in hundreds of tourists each year.

Here are some interesting facts about Lions: 

They live and work in groups

Lions are one of the few species that live, hunt and socialize in groups known as prides. The males in the group do not hunt as often as the females in the group. The females use well-planned tactics to catch prey faster and bigger than them; the females form a circle formation making their chance much higher in catching their prey.

Lazy Lions

Like house cats’ lions enjoy lazing around, sleeping up to 18 hours per day, they will then use the stored up energy in the evening when the temperature is much cooler.

Manes play an important role

Manes play a big role in male lions as this portrays their rank in the pride, manes have many meaning in the health and size appearance of the male lion, the mane often making male lions appear larger resulting in a more intimidating looks to other males in the pride wanting to take the role of Alpha.

Lions used as war deities

Lions have been a status symbol of strength and raw power, often used in ancient armies as war deities. The use of lions in warfare showed that the army had a high status and money. Thankfully the use of them as fighter has been stopped many years ago.

King of the jungle

Even though lions are referred to as the “King Of The Jungle” they live in grasslands and dry plains.

New species of animals discovered in 2013

As humans we pride ourselves in the fact that we have expanded into just about every corner of the world, yet every year more and more plants and animals are discovered from all over the world.

Below is a summary of the new species of animals discovered in 2013...


1. Cyatta abscondita, a fungus-farming ant from Brazil:

These nocturnal, fungus-growing ants (tribe Attini) forage for organic material during the night to take back to their fungus gardens which hang like curtains from the ceilings of their underground chambers.


Although the Attini ants are obligatorily dependent on the fungus that they cultivate, the fungus seem not to be all that dependent on the ants for its survival.

2. Skeleton shrimp (Liropus minusculus)

This alien looking critter is a mere 0,5mm long and was found in a reef cave near California’s Catalina Islands. Although it is also called the Ghost Shrimp it actually belongs to a different family of crustaceans called amphipods.

3. Glow-in-the-Dark Cockroach

Probably the most disgusting creature you will ever come across is the cockroach. Now they have a nifty new skill like glowing in the dark! While this makes them easier to spot in your kitchen it is actually the Luchihormetica luckae trying to mimic a little creature called the toxic click beetle to let other animals think it’s actually toxic. The glowing eye spots on its back are pits in the animal’s skin that is filled with fluorescent bacteria. Doesn’t sound like anything you would like to meet in your kitchen right?


4. Glue-spitting Vietnamese velvet worm (Eoperipatus totoros)

This worm shoots a sticky substance at its prey from special openings, trapping the target so that the worm may eat it. This 5-6 cm long worm is the first velvet worm reported in Vietnam and was originally described in 2010 by Vietnamese researchers; a German-led team made the first formal description in 2013.


5. The Carnivorous Olinguito

The animal belongs to the family Procyonidae, which it shares with raccoons, coatis, kinkajous and olingos. It is the first carnivore species discovered in the Western Hemisphere in more than three decades.


The Olinguito, the smallest member of the raccoon family, looks like a cross between a house cat and a teddy bear.