An Exciting Day on Mutanda Nature Reserve

The crisp morning breeze slowly lifted the veil of mist off the surface of the dam. The early hours of the 1st of June 2016 had brought the with them the arrival of 17 Warthog and 5 Zebra. After their long journey from Mazabuka in the South of the country the animals where understandably agitated. The Zebra were offloaded directly into the reserve, while their travel partners were understandably placed in a holding Boma. This is necessitated by the warthog's unbelievable ability to escape almost any type of enclosure they are placed in. Although the reserve is no enclosure there are still fences to keep people out and animals in. From past experience we have learnt that unless warthog are acclimatized to their new surroundings slowly, in a passive manner, they always seem to believe the grass is greener on the other side, they either end up in the "pot" of one of the surrounding villages or simply wonder off searching for a new home.

Depending on how well they settle we hope to introduce them onto the main reserve in the next few months, to join the warthog already roaming the reserve.

Till Next Time.....

What is the Mutanda Nature Reserve???

As I write this I am in fact 2000 kilometres away from the Reserve, I am preparing for my mid-year exams. Never the less I am kept up to date with every movement on the reserve by the many people on the ground.

The Mutanda Nature Reserve is located 40 Kilometres to the West of Solwezi, in North Western Zambia. The picturesque reserve is home to a diverse range of both species and habitats, ranging from the famed Cape Buffalo all the way down to the Diminutive Blue Duiker, the phenomenal wildlife is complemented by a wide range of habitats ranging from Miombo Woodland to Floodplain.

The Reserve is always looking to develop, and over the next year will be expanding to ensure a truly natural, self sustaining wilderness area can be formed. It is foreseen that by the end of the expansion and development, the reserve will cover an effective area of 11 000 acres. This will allow for the introduction of additional threatened species such as Roan Antelope, Oribi and wild, self-sustaining Cheetah, Caracal and Serval.

The reserve is in its infancy however it is our belief that by the completion of the project the reserve will rank as one of the premier private wildlife reserves in Zambia. This is due to a plethora of reasons, such as the fact that we can boast of having less common species such as Roan, Cheetah and Buffalo all present on the reserve, something that very few privately owned Zambian Wildlife Reserves can boast of.

Until Next Time......