The Hunter Call Of The Wild Savanna Best Spots
Bridgette Kubis
Humming with life, Vurhonga Savanna supports a wide range of animals. On these thriving grounds you will be able to watch the Blue Wildebeest herds passing, chase after Lesser Kudu, catch a Springbok pronking, and Scrub Hare, and Warthog's grazing by the waterholes. In the late hours of the day you might catch the shrill cries of a Side-Striped Jackal. You must also watch your back for the respected and feared widowmaker - the Cape Buffalo.
As Vurhonga Savanna continues to thrive, Grandfather Njabulo has decided that it is time to reintroduce the largest native carnivore and King of the Beasts - the Lion. Embodying the symbols of royalty and poise in human culture around the world, the Lion is the second-largest of the cats, surpassed only by the tiger. With a muscular and deep chest, the density of their muscles severely complicates shot placement and penetration during a hunt. The lions of Vurhonga Savanna are in their prime and will not take kindly to trespassers on their territory. As a hunter, remain steadfast in your resolve, and keep your wits about you as you venture into the wild to hunt the King of the Jungle.
Vurhonga Savanna introduces striking new environments to explore and hunt within. From the flourishing riverlands to the murky swamps, the reserve offers stunning landscapes to traverse as you, the new Warden, keep the region safe. Discover the ancient Fever Tree Forest, or make your way to the heart of Vurhonga Savanna and discover the Tree of Life.
Much like the other reserves, Vurhonga Savanna measures a striking 25 square miles (64 square kilometers). Here you can choose to pave your own path and discover its beauty, wonders and dangers. Or follow a new intriguing story with 16 new narrative missions and 46 side missions.
Transcript: "It's been awhile grandchild, but it's time to come back where life began, for us all, back to the savanna that our ancestors walked, back to the heat and the Baobabs Trees, time to come back to Vurhonga Savanna... to Africa! I can't fail our ancestors, I need to pass the torch to a new protector, a new warden. Vurhonga is in your blood. Here, you chase off after Blue Wildebeest, lock horns with Lesser Kudu and pronking Springbok, encounters Side-Striped Jackal as they searched for Scrub Hare, and when you are bold enough, deal with the "Widow Maker": The notorious Cape Buffalo. Opportunities like this don't come often grandchild, so pack your suitcases - Africa is calling!"
One of the main reasons to visit the Forever Wild Grand Bay Savanna is for the birding. The birding at Grand Bay is good year-round, but peaks during the fall. Each fall, migrating birds congregate in the lower sections of the property. Several varieties of marsh birds, raptors and resident water birds combine with rare sights such as Vermilion flycatchers to make this a birding hot spot.
The Grand Bay complex is such a bird migration magnet that it has become a perennial stop during the John L. Borom Alabama Coastal BirdFest held each fall. The annual festival offers birders from around the world an opportunity to visit some of the best birding sites in the country.
The Grand Bay complex is also a valuable outdoor research site for scientists along the Gulf Coast. A research project focused on the yellow rail, a small marsh bird, is currently underway at Grand Bay. Biologists from the Alabama State Lands Division, Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mississippi State University and Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge are studying yellow rails to better understand this elusive bird.
The bogs of the Grand Bay complex are also rich in biodiversity. From carnivorous plants to orchids, the flora of Grand Bay is as diverse as it is beautiful. The rose pagonia orchid, spreading pagonia orchid, snowy orchid (photo on the left) and yellow-fringed orchid all bloom during different times of the year, giving visitors a rea- son to return. The color pallet is especially vibrant in the fall when various coastal asters are in bloom.
Historically, these lands were dependent on wildfires to support various plant and animal species. When the Forever Wild program acquired the tracts that make up the Grand Bay complex, they were fi e- suppressed and in many areas choked by dense woody shrubs and catbriers. The Alabama State Lands Division is re- establishing a fi e-dependent ecosystem through a program of seasonal controlled burns. Slowly, land that was once over- grown is being transformed into a more open, grass-dominated savanna. These controlled burns allow more species to exist within a landscape by providing the proper food and habitat for them to thrive.
Take a weekend to explore the Grand Bay Savanna Complex and the nearby Grand Bay National Wildlife Sanctuary. Just 40 miles to the northeast, Meaher State Park is a perfect camping spot from which to launch your adventure. While in the area, check out Bayou La Batre for some of the freshest Gulf seafood and beautiful scenery.
Take the Bayou La Batre exit on I-10 (County Road 39), travel south. County Road 39 becomes County Road23/Padgett Switch Road. Turn left on Highway 188 in Bayou La Batre. Turn right on University Road.
Longleaf pine flatwoods savannas are ancient landscapes that have been formed over millennia by many very complex interactions between fire, water, wind, and wildlife. These longleaf pine systems occur on the outer coastal plains of the southeastern United States (see range map below). Longleaf pine flatwoods savannas are distinguished by sparsely stocked longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) stands with an open canopy, minimal topography, and highly diverse groundcover. These savannas typically occur on acidic, sandy to sandy loam soils. Longleaf pine systems are fire climax habitats, meaning without frequent fire, they collapse.
Historically, lightning strikes ignited natural fires which shaped the biota, structure, and distribution of longleaf pine communities. These lightning strikes occurred throughout the year, but were most frequent during the early growing season (April-June) and typically occurred once every one to three years on average. Many of the savannas in the surrounding areas are fire-suppressed which has led to minimal groundcover and dense brush encroachment.
The Kisatchie National Forest, in collaboration with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, has initiated the Longleaf Pine Flatwoods Savanna Restoration Project. The flatwoods savanna project area has been set aside for intensive ecological restoration and research due to its high biodiversity and distinct geology as well as the extensive damage it sustained from past human activities and recent severe wind events.
This project encompasses approximately 7,324 acres on the southern end of the Vernon Unit of Kisatchie National Forest. Prior to U.S. Forest Service ownership, this site was clear-cut for timber production in the 1930s. With a timber production focus, the Civilian Conservation Corps converted open longleaf pine flatwoods savannas to dense forests of slash pine (Pinus elliottii), which is not native west of the Mississippi River.
This project site is an ecotone (the edge or transition zone between two habitats or regions), including longleaf pine flatwoods savannas and longleaf pine rolling slope savannas and woodlands. Topographic change in longleaf pine flatwoods savannas of the Western Gulf Coastal Plain are subtle but profound, as they drastically change the vegetative communities.
The high species diversity and richness of this site is in part due to the unique and complex topography. Characteristic features of this community type include slight rises in elevation in the shape of small circles or ovals called pimple mounds, depressions called ponds, and wet to dry flats. These ancient landscape features formed during an arid period when vegetation was sparse and winds shifted sediment across the landscape. These winds scoured out depressions and redeposited sediment at the base of remaining sparse clumps of vegetation, forming ponds and pimple mounds.
Pimple mounds are generally 1.5 to 6 feet high and 30 to 90 feet in diameter. The ponds range from 0.1 to 20 acres but typically are 1-5 acres. They vary from several inches to about 3-5 feet deep and fluctuate between seasonal to nearly year-round inundation.
These features provide drastically different microhabitats within feet of each other. The mounds have dry upland conditions; the depressions provide aquatic to wetland conditions; while the flats and headwaters between these features provide transitional zones.
Historically numbering in the millions, the pimple mounds covered large sections of western Louisiana and East Texas. Site preparations and leveling for agriculture, pine plantations, and urban development have erased a staggering proportion of these unique features from the landscape.
Longleaf pine natural communities have particularly high rates of species endemism (an indigenous species that is naturally limited to a small geographic range). These communities comprise one of the most species rich sets of plant assemblages outside the tropics.
The longleaf pine systems in Louisiana sustained great impacts during the 2020 hurricane season, which caused over $63 million in losses on the Kisatchie National Forest. Approximately 200,000 acres on Kisatchie National Forest received wind damage.
The longleaf pine flatwoods savannas and upland savannas on the southern portion of the Vernon Unit received the most extensive and severe wind damage (over 20,000 acres damaged). Varied use of heavy machinery for debris removal was employed to test the effects on the recovery time of longleaf pine systems. These sites will be monitored for long-term research and the data will be used to identify best management practices for future storm clean-up operations in sensitive habitats.
My reference was to the stabilizing assortment of cables, chains, bolts and other arboreal bling, added to the ancient tree, through the years, to extend its longevity. A large crack extended vertically down through the middle of the trunk, and once on an early spring day before the winter dry tree had slipped its dormancy, I was amazed to see daylight through its nearly five-foot diameter.
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