In December 2010, a leopard was caught on camera trap at the Mountain Ranch. Leopards, including a mother with two cubs, were sighted 5 times on the Mountain Ranch during the month of December, as well as a fresh leopard kill. A leopard baiting project utilising the camera traps has been initiated to help improve the identification of different leopard individuals on the reserve.

In November 2009 the Mogalakwena Research Centre received a very generous gift of three camera traps from Chris and Gila Marshall. We immediately got to work charging, discovering the mechanics of and setting the camera traps across the River Reserve! On their first deployment, the camera traps returned some amazing and very exciting photographs! We were able to get incredibly close and good quality photographs and videos of a range of animals and their activities. Most thrilling thus far has been the discovery of an active Aardwolf den on the River Reserve. We hope to use the camera traps to identify, map and record the activities of the different animals inhabiting Mogalakwena Reserves. Our next camera trap project will focus on identifying leopard on Mogalakwena Mountain Ranch.

The beginning of 2010 was marked by good rains and a brimming Mogalakwena River, which is still in flood in July! Over the past year, I have been collecting a number of aquatic samples from the Mogalakwena River on a monthly basis, as part of my Masters work. To determine the effect of flow variability on river ecosystem structure and function, I have been collecting samples of macroinvertebrate communities across different states of flow and habitat connectivity. My results thus far have indicated a significant difference in assemblage species richness and abundance across time, in conjunction with changes to flow states and habitat connectivity. The local hydrological variability experienced in the Mogalakwena River generates low macroinvertebrate assemblage persistence but high assemblage diversity over time. I have found that flow variability is principally influential in structuring macroinvertebrate communities, which highlights the importance of maintaining variability in hydrological connection and sustaining aquatic habitat heterogeneity in a regulated river such as the Mogalakwena. By Nina Woods

The Mogalakwena Research Centre keeps a herbarium record of all flowering plants found on the River and Mountain Reserve. Collecting specimens for the herbarium is a regular annual exercise as we aim to identify, source and document reference specimens for our records and future scientific work. This year, we have added a number of plant specimens to the herbarium, including a few new species not before recorded on the Reserves. These species include Bell Bean Tree (Markhami zanzibarica), Knobbly Creeper (Combretum mossambicense), Puzzle Bush (Ehretia rigida), Bluethorn (Acacia eurubescens) and Blackthorn (Acacia mellifera) to name a few. As part of the herbarium project, we have also begun keeping careful record of the first flowering and leafing dates for trees on the River Reserve. We are contributing this information to the SAEON Climate Buddy and Turn a New Leaf project operating in savannah biomes. SAEON uses this information to determine how climate change is impacting our flora through changes in flowering and leafing dates and duration.

We have been having frequent visits from one of our resident crocodiles opposite the lodge. As the ambient temperature decreases in the winter, these crocodiles are prone to sun themselves on exposed sandbars in order to improve their thermoregulation. Crocodiles will often choose the warmer of two mediums - air or water - to control their body temperature. In this photo you can see how this croc is opening his mouth while facing the afternoon sun to expose the blood vessel-rich tissue inside the mouth. This will rapidly increase body temperature. Throughout the day you might see crocodiles opening and closing their mouths and changing their orientation to the sun in order to keep their bodies at the required (and fairly constant) temperature.