A different approach to The Week in Pictures sees a combination of photographs from two rangers, each with his own set of skills, techniques and views. It allows one the opportunity to observe the subjective nature of photography in a display that provokes imagination and personal preference. We have loved bringing you different perspectives of Londolozi from two varying lenses.
The fascinating lion dynamics continue to take centre stage on Londolozi. It has resulted in the number of lion sightings becoming more sporadic as the prides are scattered by the continual battle for dominance between rival male lion coalitions. We have however been very fortunate to have had amazing leopard sightings and not to mention the rare encounter with the endangered African wild dogs and even a pangolin!
Have a fantastic weekend and we hope you enjoy our unique take on The Week in Pictures.
As temperatures rise, a Cape buffalo intently stares at a wild dog whilst he cools down in a small waterhole. Prior to the rains, many animals were seen competing for the limited available water on the property. Photograph by Callum Gowar 1/2000, f/5.0, ISO 800
The Sand River female (Mashaba young female) elegantly descends from a marula tree after feeding on a hoisted impala kill. Photograph by Callum Gowar 1/3200, F4.5, ISO 800
Two female giraffe nervously quench their thirst whilst the red-billed oxpeckers wait tolerantly to continue feeding. Many animals are nervous when approaching a water source, this is especially true of giraffe due to their long necks and unstable drinking posture. Photograph by Callum Gowar 1/640, f5.0, IS0 800
My personal favourite leopard: the majestic Piva male slakes his thirst after robbing the Tamboti female of her impala kill. Photograph by Callum Gowar 1/640, f5.6, ISO 800
A slow yet steady approach: this green-backed heron patiently stalks a small fish. Photograph by Callum Gowar 1/2500, f5.6, ISO 800
A large herd of elephants wallowed and drank in the Sand River before the day’s temperatures began to rise. Photograph by Callum Gowar 1/4000, f4.5, ISO 800
The extremely rare and elusive pangolin! What an incredible experience it was to find and photograph this animal. Photograph by Callum Gowar 1/80, f5.6, ISO 800
A new born elephant is patiently helped up by its protective mother as it struggled to find its feet. Photograph by Callum Gowar 1/1000, f5.0, ISO 800
An adult wild dog keeps an attentive eye on the younger pups playing blissfully in the foreground. Photograph by Callum Gowar 1/320, f5.6, ISO 800
A blood-stained face of a wild dog after it had just finished off a kill in the early hours of the morning. Photograph by Callum Gowar 1/500, f5.6, ISO 800
The wild dogs make a hasty advance to the water’s edge after a failed attempt by a female impala trying to flee the patient and meticulous dogs surrounding the dam. Keep a look out for the full story to follow soon… Photograph by Callum Gowar 1/400, f5.0, ISO 800
The Tutlwa female becomes alert when noticing a herd of impala on one of her morning territorial strolls. Leopards may have to mark their territory more regularly in the summer months as the frequent rains wash away the scent of their urine. Photograph by Kevin Power 1/800 @ f5.6 ; ISO 400.
A zebra stares at us as we roll quietly past. I always love seeing how perfectly the stripes are formed on these animals, and I’m always amazed that each individual has its own stripe pattern – just like our finger prints! Photograph by Kevin Power. 1/1000 @ f5.6 ; ISO640.
The lighter-maned Matimba male watches as a lioness from the Tsalala pride approaches him. We have noticed one or two of the Tsalala lionesses mating and moving with these males, but interactions between the entire pride and the two males have still been quite aggressive. When interactions have occurred, the two males seem to focus on chasing the young males of the Tsalala pride. Could the time for these young males to leave be drawing near? Photograph by Kevin Power. 1/640 @ f5.6 ; ISO640.
A young elephant stops for a wallow in the mud along the banks of the beautiful Sand River. With temperatures soaring in the past few days, elephants will try cool themselves down by wallowing in mud wallows. Being so big and dark, elephants heat up very quickly throughout the day, therefore needing these baths to help them cool down. Photograph by Kevin Power 1/320 @ f5.6 ; ISO640
The darker-maned Matimba quenches his thirst after finishing off a meal with his brother. These two have proved to be very efficient hunters having made many of their own kills over the past few months. A common misconception is that only lionesses hunt but these males prove once again that this is untrue. Photograph by Kevin Power. 1/250 @ f5.6 ; ISO400.
The Mashaba female’s cub stares down at a passing hyena as she sits in the safety of a tree with her mother. I cannot believe how much this little cub has grown over the past few weeks. The Mashaba female is doing a fantastic job in making sure her little one is fed on a regular basis. Photograph by Kevin Power. 1/160 @ f5.6 ; ISO640.
A leopard tortoise keeps an eye one me as I try get a different angle on him. One can see by the colouration on its shell why it gets the name the “leopard” tortoise. Photograph by Kevin Power. 1/500 @ f5.6 ; ISO400.
The Sand River female, previously known as the Mashaba young female, stares over her territory in perfect morning light. We have recently named this female as she has clearly set up a territory of her own, bordering her mother’s. Sometimes females will establish a territory adjacent to their mother’s or even go so far as to inherit small portions of their mother’s territory. Photograph by Kevin Power. 1/2000 @ f5.6 ; ISO.640
A herd of wildebeest settle down for the evening as as a Bateleur eagle soars past in the setting sun. Photograph by Kevin Power. 1/1000 @ f8 ; ISO250.
Written and photographed by Callum Gowar & Kevin Power, Londolozi Game Rangers.
Stunning pics this week. The new born elephant is amazing.
In the Northern Sabi Sands everyone calls the lighter maned Matimba “Ginger” and the dark one is named “Hairy Belly”. In case you want to use those names. We are pleased to see how well these boys are doing after leaving the North to the five Birmingham Boys. Thank you for all of the great Photos! Love your week in pictures blogs!
Beautiful pictures, they must teach great photography lessons at Ranger school. Lighting and composition of the weekly pictures is quite professional.
Amazing pics as always! Do we know the sex of the remaining Mashaba cub?
Thank you for the wonderful photos! Love seeing the critters from your corner of paradise!
Some great pics Kev and Callum!
Loved the giraffes drinking and Mashaba’s cub in the tree…
There is no place I’d rather be than whereI am right now….in the middle of these animals…..and the outstanding rangers and trackers.
Fantastic shots. Love the pangolin , heron and of course the baby elephant!
Great pictures Callum and Kevin! I especially love the Giraffes drinking, the newborn Elephant and the Mashaba cub, also the Sand River female shot is really lovely with the sunlight. What a great week in pictures! Have a fantastic weekend everyone!
you capture nature at it’s finest..I am so fond of the b/w zebra’s..When I came I had a canvas made of a zebra group drinking and it is an amazing addition to our den..Of course the baby elephant is one I’m sure will never be forgotten..Thanks for sharing!!
Nice to see you two young guys take centre stage this week! Your pictures are all stunning & all favourites, especially the Pangolin. Thank you both & have a stunning Sunday
Super photos as always! Thanks Callum and Kevin 🙂
Glad to hear (and see) that Mashaba’s cub is still alive and well. Also good to see that the Sand River Female is doing so well! She is such a beautiful and elegant leopard.
Super photos, guys! Looking forward to more on the wild dogs…. Love how you got eye to eye with the tortoise, Kevin, your composition was “spot on!” Thanks for the great pix! #missinglondolozi