Leopards defined this week for me, as they so often do at Londolozi. The Xidulu female is still around, a a week after first being seen. The Tamboti female sadly looks like she has lost her male cub. Although a sad turn of events, with leopard cub mortality rate hovering somewhere around 60% for cubs under one year old in the Sabi Sands, to have both survive from her first litter was probably hoping for too much. The other cub is doing well though, and now that she will get more than her fair share of any kills her mother manages to make, her survival odds are still decent.
Enjoy this week in Pictures…
The Accipiter group of birds comes from the family Accipitridae, many of which are named as Goshawks and Sparrowhawks. This specimen was seen in the Londolozi Camp one morning. Any guesses as to which species it is? f8, 1/2000, ISO 800
The Xidulu female rests on a termite mound between bouts of mating with the Marthly male. Her coat is very reminiscent of the Vomba female’s; their mother had a very rich golden colour to her. f3.5, 1/2500, ISO 1000
A dramatic end to a mating bout as the Xidulu female leaps away from the Marthly male, all four paws off the ground. f7.1, 1/1600, IS0 640
This was a particularly aggressive mating bout, as both leopards swatted violently at each other. Here the male closes his eyes tightly to avoid damage from the Xidulu female’s outstretched claws at his nose-tip. f7.1, 1/2500, IS0 640
Crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust, the bared fangs of the Marthly male serve as a dire warning to the Xidulu female that he is not happy with her. f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 640
A lone bull giraffe crosses the Sand River. He was walking very cautiously, unable to see what dangers the palm thickets and reedbeds might possibly be hiding. f5, 1/640, ISO 4000
Impala leap across Ximpalapala clearing to rejoin the rest of the herd. Most of the adult females will be pregnant now, and at the end of October/beginning of November the first lambs will be born. f5.6, 1/3200, ISO 320
Two wild dogs from a relatively unknown pack of 8 frolic in front of Daniel Buys’ Land Rover. We believe this pack spends most of their time in the Kruger National Park, as the only times we have reallly viewed them they have been in the East of the property. Dan had a leaking tyre in this sighting, and although I don’t know what the record is for a tyre change in the bush, I’ll swear Dan broke it in his efforts to remain with the pack as they went on the hunt! f5.6, 1/2000, ISO 500
The Painted Wolf. It is always a privilege to spend time with these enigmatic animals, as their dwindling numbers make it increasingly difficult to find them. f4.5, 1/1000, ISO 500
A Barred Owlet on the banks of the Manyelethi riverbed. Heard far more often than seen, these little birds seldom give one such an open view of them. f3.5, 1/2000, ISO 200
The cub of the Mashaba female waits patiently in the boughs of a Jackalberry for her mother to return from the hunt. f3.5, 1/320, ISO 1000
The Mashaba female herself this time, watching a herd of impala from a termite mound on Circuit North crest. f2.8, 1/3200, ISO 640
A rare photograph of a slender mongoose standing still. Most of the time these shy, solitary animals are only briefly glimpsed as they dart across the road. f5.6, 1/3200, ISO 320
The surviving cub of the Tamboti female looks up from the remains of the impala kill she had been feeding on while her mother yawns in the background. Monkeys alarming shortly after this prompted both leopards to move into a drainage line behind them, the meat effectively finished. f3.5, 1/400, ISO 1000
The female cub has a 5:3 spot pattern, which we will use to identify her in later years should she survive to maturity. The 5 spots on her right cheek are clearly visible in this picture. f2.8, 1/640, ISO 800
Photographed by James Tyrrell
Love these photos! Thanks for sharing-See you in October
Thanks so much, Jamaes! Love your photos! See you in a few weeks!!!
Love all the photo`s and updates,see you next week !!!
I know this week in pictures. It was a good week 🙂 thanks for sharing, James!
Daniella &Marsel
Hi James, I think the hawk is a blackshouldered kite. As always love your photos, thanks for sharing.
Hi John,
A good guess, but it is in fact a Shikra, or Little Banded Goshawk, as it used to be known…
Hope you are well!
James
Great pictures James!
Beautiful shots.
What a great week in pictures James. Looking forward to next weeks pictures and then we are off to Africa and back to Londolozi the end of the month!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures!
Fantastic pictures of the owl thank you. I think the bird is a Shikra (Little Banded Goshawk)? As usual your pictures enthrall me, so if you ever feel like putting them on twice a week, no objections will be from me 🙂
Thanks James
Hello James, thanks for another great Week in Pictures. Have any of you seen the Dudley Riverbank cub at all? – I know she would be around 17 months old now, so no longer a cub, but I was lucky enough to see her at 1 month old and am anxious for news about her. I regularly scan the sightings page, and see her mother was seen on 29th July, but there’s been no mention of her for a very long time.
Hi Suzanne,
Ranger Kate Imrie bumped into her only a few weeks ago down in the Dudley Riverbank area. She and her mother appear to have been forced east by the Tamboti female, but from what we can gather they are both alive and well.
James
Thank you James, what a treat – great mating photos – all four paws off the ground!!
JT… Awesome photos as usual… In particular the leopards mating!!! Awesome Awesome Awesome!!
Gavin
P.S. Also enjoyed the suttle way, you avoided identifying the accipiter.
Shikra/Little banded Goshawk.
Better than a feral pigeon, which I’m guessing makes up the bulk of your viewing at the moment…?
Haha 😉
Also you misspelt ‘Subtle’…
Gavin Rosenbaum I’m assuming this is you?