This last week on Londolozi has been full of action. A new coalition of lions, never been seen on the reserve before, have been exploring south of the river. In the meantime, we continue to hear the Majingilane roar to the west of us. The Nyamakunze male and 4:4 male leopards are both pushing to expand their territories and have been seen together the last few days; calling, scent marking and chasing one another. There is a tangible tension in the air and with the cooler weather arriving as we head towards winter, we can be sure that there is much more action to come. For now, I hope you enjoy some of the highlights of my week, in the Week in Pictures.
A female ostrich treats us to an up-close and personal visit. With her seeming obliviousness to us, we could have some fun getting low angle photographs of her. 1/800 @f6,3; ISO 2000
Two lionesses from the Munghen pride lovingly rub heads together. Being the only truly social cats, head rubbing and allo-grooming are quite commonplace amongst pride members. 1/640 @f7,1; ISO 640
A Southern Red-billed Hornbill snatches up a small morsel off the ground for breakfast. These Hornbills will eat anything from insects to small mammals and even seeds and fruit. 1/1250 @f5,6; ISO 400
The Piva male attempts to break through the spinal cord of his impala kill. Quite often leopards are unable to eat these larger bones, which will then drop to the floor only to be grabbed by some patient hyena waiting below. 1/640 @f7,1; ISO 640
A Klipspringer stands atop its rocky throne at day break. 1/500 @f10; ISO 1000
A group of impala rams stand to attention whilst sussing out their competition. During the rut over April and May, these males fight incessantly for mating rights resulting in a lot of commotion amongst the herds as well as many more easy kills for the opportunistic predators. 1/800 @f8,0; ISO 800
The Piva male picks off one of the distracted impala before dragging it off to the cover of a dry river bed to eat. 1/500 @f6,3; ISO 2000
A Southern Red-billed Hornbill digs in the soil for its morning meal. These birds can pick up items as small as ants, termites, flies and even their eggs and larvae with their bills. 1/1250 @f5,6; ISO 400
A hyena runs off with a portion of an impala carcass that it has managed to steal from the Mashaba young female leopard. During the rut, male impala are distracted as they attempt to chase off opposing males and mate with females. The leopard took advantage of this but was unable to hoist the big carcass due to her size and lost it as a result. 1/800 @f7,1; ISO 1000
An unknown lioness that has recently been seen on Londolozi with two unknown male lions, looks back at the vehicle nervously. We believe that these animals have come from the Kruger National Park to our east and are less familiar with vehicles. The coalition with this female have been seen roaring and scent marking and it will be interesting to see what this does to lion dynamics in the area in the next while. 1/640 @f6,3; ISO 1250
A giraffe drinks in its characteristically messy manner, while an Ox-pecker desperately clings to its forehead. 1/1250 @f8,0; ISO 500
An incredible sighting of an African Scops Owl. These tiny birds are only about 16cm tall and have the ability to raise their ears and close their eyes so that they blend into the trees in which they perch.1/650, @f5,6; ISO 1000
A herd of buffalo find themselves inundated in flies as they head down to a waterhole to drink. One of the major reasons why the buffalo will wallow and coat themselves in mud is to protect themselves against these pesky additions. 1/400 @7,1; ISO 1600
A close up of the razor sharp canines found in a lions mouth. Despite popular belief these canines are not used very much during feeding but are used to grip the prey and hold it down as well as clamp down over the prey’s windpipe during the suffocation process. 1/500 @f8,0; ISO 800
The Piva male glances into a tree as he wonders through his territory on a scent-marking mission. 1/800 @f7,0; ISO 2000
Written and Photographed by: Amy Attenborough, Londolozi Game Reserve Ranger
Who is the Nyamakunze male what other names is he called by other lodges?
Blair, the Nyamakunze male is the male leopard we have been referring to as the short-tailed male for the last few months. There have been a number of short tailed leopards on Londolozi in the past and since he has established his territory around Nyamakunze Pan he has been given this name.
Also who is this new coalition of male lions?
Hi Blair. They are two males who entered Londolozi from the east a few days ago along with a lioness. At this stage, we have been unable to get an ID on them but believe that they have come in from the Kruger due to their slightly more skittish nature around vehicles and from the lack of information on them from other lodges in the Sabi Sands. If we do manage to find any more information on them we will be sure to let you know.
Nkorho had 2 males and a female about a month ago and one of the males had a smudge on his nose, same lions?
I’m not sure Blair. Thanks for the heads up though. We’ll check it out!
Hi Blair, yes quite possibly the same lions; the one male has a rounded scar on the bridge of his nose.
Great selection of photos,but who is the Nyamakunze male?I haven’t heard of him before.
Hi Alex. The Nyamakunze male is the male leopard we have been referring to as the short-tailed male for the last few months. There have been a number of short tailed leopards on Londolozi in the past and since he has established his territory around Nyamakunze Pan he has been given this name to avoid confusion.
Stunning pics Amy
The Week in Pictures is always a great place to start the weekend. The female ostrich is in all her glory! Nice to see the Piva male in action with his kill. I also enjoyed the sisterly lion affection and the klipspringer silhouette.
Great set of photographs Amy! Very much looking forward to being at Londolozi again in a few days time.
Stunning photos, especially the owl.
Love the ostrich shot and the three impala rams Amy, very artistic, the African Scops Owl is fantastic great collection of images. Thanks for sharing
Love your pics Amy though too many kills for me
love the teeth and gums pics and ground hornbill
Thank you Amy, for another perfect ending to my week that really wasn’t so great.
The photo of of lion’s mouth literally made me gasp…absolutely a fantastic shot!!!
Of course I enjoyed them all, but this one…WOW!
Beautiful photos Amy. Its always a nice ending to my week to enjoy the beauty of Londolozi!
Beautiful pictures, Amy. Can’t wait until we return to Londolozi next year. So much happens each week!
Great images Amy! I especially like the Klipspringer and the two Lionesses, but they’re all really fantastic.
Beautiful pictures Amy, but too hard to choose a favourite. Have a great weekend
Stunning photos. What a great job you have.
Can’t wait to return one day.
Stunning photos, Amy!
I look forward to gazing at all of nature’s beautiful animals through your lens!
What’s the estimated age of the two males with the unknown female? Could they be the Matimba males?
Hi Bader. Thanks for the interest. It is hard to say for sure but they are around five years of age and aren’t the Matimba males.
Excellent set of images Amy, I love the picture of the lions teeth
Fantastic photos. I love every one of them! Incredible
Amy, please submit that photo of the ostrich to National Geographic or somewhere. It’s award winning! See you soon!
Thank Kiki! I’m glad you like it.