Timbavati Game Reserve
Encyclopedia
The Timbavati Game Reserve is located to the north of the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve
on the western edge of Kruger National Park
.
The Reserve was established in 1956 by like-minded game farmers with the creation of the Timbavati Association. The association has 50 members and covers 53392 hectares (533.9 km²). Timbavati is part of Associated Private Nature Reserves
(APNR) and the fences separating Timbavati from the other member reserves in the APNR and from the Kruger National Park
has been removed. Wildlife, including lion, elephant, cheetah and other species roam freely between the these reserves.
The Timbavati Reserve consists of 50 contiguous tracts of land housing 12 luxury tourist lodges.
The Reserve forms part of the Greater Kruger Park and lies nestled between the Kruger National Park on the east, the Klaserie and Umbabat Private Nature Reserves in the north and the Thornybush Private Nature Reserve in the west. There are no fences between the Timbavati and the Kruger National Park which allows free movement of wildlife between the Reserves. The world-famous Kruger National Park is a conservation area of more than 20000 square kilometres (7,722 sq mi).
The southern border of this great complex of public and privately - owned protected land lies close to the Kingdom of Swaziland and abuts the boundaries of Zimbabwe in the north and Mozambique in the east.
The terrain is undulating with altitudes varying between 300 and 500m above sea level. The area is characterised as ‘savanna bushveld’ with 6 different landscape types: acacia woodland, open woodland, mopane woodland, combretum woodland, mixed combretum woodland and mixed veld on Gabbro. Elephant, buffalo, kudu, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, impala, waterbuck and warthog abound together with their attendant predators which include lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena. The critically endangered African wild dog is also a regular visitor to the Timbavati Reserve. The larger and rarer antelopes such as Roan, Eland and Tsessebe have been slow to return to this area and their numbers are still critically low.
The climate is typified by a summer wet season (October – March) with the majority of rain falling between December and February. This is also the hottest time of the year, with temperatures in the region of 32 °C. A typical summer day will be hot with storm clouds gathering for a spectacular late afternoon thunderstorm.
During the winter months (April – September) the weather is dry with little chance of rain. As game tends to congregate around dwindling water sources, game viewing is more predictable. Temperatures can range from 28 °C to 10 °C in one day. The mornings and evenings can be very cold and warm clothing is advised.
The Timbavati is home to:
When the White Lions of the Timbavati were discovered in the mid-1970s they became the subject of much
interest and debate. The story of the “White Lions of the Timbavati” has been told by several people, most
notable of whom was Mr. Chris McBride, who published two books about the phenomenon: The White Lions
of the Timbavati and Operation White Lion. Chris was the son of Timbavati member Cyril McBride who at the
time, together with his brother Robert - owned the farm Vlakgezicht.
McBride relied heavily on the expertise and knowledge of two local trackers, Jack Mathebula and Mandaban
Hlongo, in his efforts to track the white cubs. These men had grown up in the bush and had intimate knowledge
of the behaviour of lions.
There have been various “spiritual” powers attributed to the White lions and many people were and still are of
the opinion that the lions are a different species. The truth is that this is a natural phenomenon that occurs due
to “leucism” (see below). White lions have been spotted in the Timbavati again recently, and a number
of white lions are regularly seen in the Kruger National Park in different areas.
Interesting to note that all white lions world wide are ancestrally linked to the White Lions of the Timbavati.
Note: LEUCISM
The white coats possessed by the “White Lions of the Timbavati” were not the product of “albinism” (a relatively common condition resulting from a failure to develop pigment), but from another condition called “leucism”, in which the pelt is white but eyes and skin are pigmented. This rare event (also termed a “chinchilla mutation”) is thought to represent an evolutionary stage in the progressive loss of pigmentation.
The white mutation, which affects two of the pigments involved in coat colouration, is expressed only when two conditions pertain:
(1) Both parents carry the recessive “white gene”; and
(2) the offspring inherit the recessive gene of each parent. If a cub receives a dominant “tawny” gene from either parent, its pelt will
be tawny. Thus a litter may contain both tawny and white cubs.
Regularly scheduled, daily flights are available from Johannesburg and Cape Town to local airports.
Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve
Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve , often shortened to Sabi Sands, is a private game reserve in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. It is named after the Sabie and Sand Rivers that flow through the park. It covers an area of 60,000-65,000 ha...
on the western edge of Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers and extends from north to south and from east to west.To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is...
.
The Reserve was established in 1956 by like-minded game farmers with the creation of the Timbavati Association. The association has 50 members and covers 53392 hectares (533.9 km²). Timbavati is part of Associated Private Nature Reserves
Associated Private Nature Reserves
Associated Private Nature Reserves, , is an association of privately owned nature reserves bordering on the Kruger National Park.Collectively they represent of land dedicated to conservation...
(APNR) and the fences separating Timbavati from the other member reserves in the APNR and from the Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers and extends from north to south and from east to west.To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is...
has been removed. Wildlife, including lion, elephant, cheetah and other species roam freely between the these reserves.
Geography
The Timbavati Reserve is located in the Limpopo province of South Africa between latitudes 24° 34’ S and 24° 03’ S and longitudes 31° 03’ E and 31° 31’ E.The Timbavati Reserve consists of 50 contiguous tracts of land housing 12 luxury tourist lodges.
The Reserve forms part of the Greater Kruger Park and lies nestled between the Kruger National Park on the east, the Klaserie and Umbabat Private Nature Reserves in the north and the Thornybush Private Nature Reserve in the west. There are no fences between the Timbavati and the Kruger National Park which allows free movement of wildlife between the Reserves. The world-famous Kruger National Park is a conservation area of more than 20000 square kilometres (7,722 sq mi).
The southern border of this great complex of public and privately - owned protected land lies close to the Kingdom of Swaziland and abuts the boundaries of Zimbabwe in the north and Mozambique in the east.
The terrain is undulating with altitudes varying between 300 and 500m above sea level. The area is characterised as ‘savanna bushveld’ with 6 different landscape types: acacia woodland, open woodland, mopane woodland, combretum woodland, mixed combretum woodland and mixed veld on Gabbro. Elephant, buffalo, kudu, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, impala, waterbuck and warthog abound together with their attendant predators which include lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena. The critically endangered African wild dog is also a regular visitor to the Timbavati Reserve. The larger and rarer antelopes such as Roan, Eland and Tsessebe have been slow to return to this area and their numbers are still critically low.
The climate is typified by a summer wet season (October – March) with the majority of rain falling between December and February. This is also the hottest time of the year, with temperatures in the region of 32 °C. A typical summer day will be hot with storm clouds gathering for a spectacular late afternoon thunderstorm.
During the winter months (April – September) the weather is dry with little chance of rain. As game tends to congregate around dwindling water sources, game viewing is more predictable. Temperatures can range from 28 °C to 10 °C in one day. The mornings and evenings can be very cold and warm clothing is advised.
Flora and fauna
- Over 40 mammals, including the Big FiveBig Five gameThe phrase Big Five game was coined by white hunters and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot. The term is still used in most tourist and wildlife guides that discuss African wildlife safaris. The collection consists of the lion, African elephant, cape buffalo,...
: LionLionThe lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
, African elephant, African BuffaloAfrican BuffaloThe African buffalo, affalo, nyati, Mbogo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear...
, African leopardAfrican LeopardThe African Leopard is a leopard subspecies occurring across most of sub-Saharan Africa. In 2008, the IUCN classified leopards as Near Threatened, stating that they may soon qualify for the Vulnerable status due to habitat loss and fragmentation. They are becoming increasingly rare outside...
and black rhinocerosBlack RhinocerosThe Black Rhinoceros or Hook-lipped Rhinoceros , is a species of rhinoceros, native to the eastern and central areas of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Angola...
. - Over 360 bird species.
- 79 species of reptile.
- 49 species of fish.
- 85 listed species of tree.
White lions
Lions with a recessive gene causing the coats to be snow white (though not albino) reappeared in the Timbavati in 2006 after an absence of many years.When the White Lions of the Timbavati were discovered in the mid-1970s they became the subject of much
interest and debate. The story of the “White Lions of the Timbavati” has been told by several people, most
notable of whom was Mr. Chris McBride, who published two books about the phenomenon: The White Lions
of the Timbavati and Operation White Lion. Chris was the son of Timbavati member Cyril McBride who at the
time, together with his brother Robert - owned the farm Vlakgezicht.
McBride relied heavily on the expertise and knowledge of two local trackers, Jack Mathebula and Mandaban
Hlongo, in his efforts to track the white cubs. These men had grown up in the bush and had intimate knowledge
of the behaviour of lions.
There have been various “spiritual” powers attributed to the White lions and many people were and still are of
the opinion that the lions are a different species. The truth is that this is a natural phenomenon that occurs due
to “leucism” (see below). White lions have been spotted in the Timbavati again recently, and a number
of white lions are regularly seen in the Kruger National Park in different areas.
Interesting to note that all white lions world wide are ancestrally linked to the White Lions of the Timbavati.
Note: LEUCISM
The white coats possessed by the “White Lions of the Timbavati” were not the product of “albinism” (a relatively common condition resulting from a failure to develop pigment), but from another condition called “leucism”, in which the pelt is white but eyes and skin are pigmented. This rare event (also termed a “chinchilla mutation”) is thought to represent an evolutionary stage in the progressive loss of pigmentation.
The white mutation, which affects two of the pigments involved in coat colouration, is expressed only when two conditions pertain:
(1) Both parents carry the recessive “white gene”; and
(2) the offspring inherit the recessive gene of each parent. If a cub receives a dominant “tawny” gene from either parent, its pelt will
be tawny. Thus a litter may contain both tawny and white cubs.
Travel
The Timbavati is approximately 5 or 6 hours by car from Johannesburg. Normal passenger vehicles can reach all lodges within the reserve.Regularly scheduled, daily flights are available from Johannesburg and Cape Town to local airports.
Accommodation
- Bateleur Camp
- Bush camp
- Gomo Gomo
- Java (Game camp)
- Jaydee (Game camp)
- Kambaku Safari lodge
- Kings Camp
- Leopards Lair
- Motswari
- Ngala Game Lodge
- Royal Legend Safari Lodge
- Tanda Tula
- Transfrontier Walking Trails
- Umlani
- Simbavati River Lodge
See also
- Associated Private Nature ReservesAssociated Private Nature ReservesAssociated Private Nature Reserves, , is an association of privately owned nature reserves bordering on the Kruger National Park.Collectively they represent of land dedicated to conservation...
- Kruger National ParkKruger National ParkKruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers and extends from north to south and from east to west.To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is...
- Protected areas of South Africa
- White lionWhite lionThe white lion is occasionally found in wildlife reserves in South Africa and is a rare color mutation of the Kruger subspecies of lion . It has been perpetuated by selective breeding in zoos around the world...