After a heat wave of temperatures reaching the high thirties, it has been a chilly last few days with strong winds and far cooler temperatures. This made game viewing difficult as fresh tracks were blown over by the dust and many animals retreated to the thickets to lie low. Despite it being windy and cool conditions, it meant the ranging and tracking team needed to work that much harder to find what we were looking for. Highlights this last week were that of the Ntsevu pride feeding on a giraffe calf, multiple leopards on hoisted kills and a few good cheetah sightings, which is always very special as these elusive cats are few and far between. Enjoy the following images showcasing this last week.
Enjoy the week in pictures…
The hyena den in the northern parts of Londolozi has been a big highlight. At times there are around nine little cubs, all of which are roughly the same age of a couple months. Soon they will be getting their spots and resembling the same pattern as their mothers.
The Mashaba female continues to move through large parts of Londolozi. As all leopards are territorial, we can usually predict which individuals we may see in certain areas. This hasn’t been the case with this female leopard as she covers huge distances, often venturing into the territories of other females.
Londolozi's oldest territorial female. Distinguished by her nose spot, this Sunsetbend matriarch's legacy lives on through her daughters.
The cubs of the Ntsevu pride are growing fast, many of which are males. It is now evident that their manes are developing and only a matter of time before the pride will be a formidable force as the cubs begin partaking in hunts.
A sea of horns. A large herd of buffalo enjoy the warmth on a cool windy morning. Buffalo cover fast distances in search of better grazing and have not frequented Londolozi that often over the last week yet they provide a mass spectacle when such opportunity does arise.
A low angle shot of a white rhino bull as it moves off after a cooling mud bath on one of the hot days this last week.
The Hosana male has been seen a fair number of times in the northern parts of Londolozi and has been very successful in hunting and hoisting meals. This last week he had not one but two impala hoisted in the same tree.
The Hosana Male arrived in mid-2018 and is now dominant over Othawa, rarely seen on Londolozi's western boundary.
Dust and cool winter mornings cover the landscape in jaw dropping orange hues. A young zebra walks across a dusty clearing as the warming sunlight illuminates its mane.
A young male and female cheetah have been frequenting Londolozi this last week and have been covering last distances. Still young, yet successful, what will the future hold for them?
A white-backed vulture sits atop a dead tree. Notice the full crop. White-backed vultures are known to hold up to 1.5kg of meat in this crop. This allows them to quickly feed and then digest later.
A grey heron caught in mid flight. If one meanders along the river or water holes you are likely to find these successful water birds.
Early morning sunlight burns off the cool air. The Ndzanzeni female climbs a fallen over marula tree to look back at the distant call of the Inyathini male leopard.
Royal descendant of Mother Leopard lineage. Remarkable single cub success story who overcame injury to continue the royal bloodline.
A family of banded mongooses scratch through the grass and leaf litter in search of any insects. These larger mongooses can be very entertaining to watch as they swarm through the area looking for food.
Stripes of mother and foal. Notice how a zebra’s coat changes through time and as it ages.
With it’s mother in close proximity, elephant calves often come running toward the vehicle with ears and trunk out in an act of intimidation before running back to the safe confines of mom.
Stunning pics this week. Love the leopards and the rhino.
Alex wonderful pictures this week. The Zebra pics were excellent. Looking forward to seeing the Hyena cubs grow
Hyena cubs are the cutest! And glad to hear Hosana is thriving and you all at Londolozi are enjoying having him!
Lovely photos, especially the cub looking directly into the lens.
Alex, were those the 2 cheetahs we saw when we last there in 2018, I think their mother passed?
We speculate so, yet can’t confirm 100%
All suberb images this week, Alex. Seeing the beginnings of manes on certain male cubs shows how quickly they mature. Even a stronger force to be reckoned with in the near future. I don’t understand why the Mashaba is roaming further and further into new territories with a cub that is far from mature! How can that little one fend for itself? Puzzling and disappointing since Londolozi needs all cubs to survive to adulthood.
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Completely right about the strengthening pride Joanne. As it stands Mashaba doesn’t have any young offspring. It is possibly her last mature cub born 2015 (Ximungwe) that you might be thinking of? Ximungwe currently has one cub that is doing well.
Alex, there was speculation that Mashaba was pregnant when we were there in August. Update?
Thank you Alex for wonderful images this week, especially the leopards and zebras. So look forward to this blog every Friday!
Great TWIP Alex. Any news on Ndzanzeni’s cub, also Mashaba’s litter?
I speak under correction but it seems as though both Ndzanzeni and Mashaba have lost their most recent litters. Both have been quite secretive of late so time will tell.
What a great week in pictures. You all have no idea how your blogs cheer us up as the country is in chaos. It is just what we need to get thru another day! Victoria
Thought you all might be interested to know that Moya/Nanga is currently in the northern Sabi Sands (around Elephant Plains) mating with Hukumuri. Not sure how often you see her these days.
Thank you Michael. We are aware of the mating pair. It seems as though Nanga/Moya has shifted her territory further north of our northern boundary, yet she still ventures onto Londolozi now and again. This in turn allows more territory for her last successful offspring, the Makomsava female.
Alex, any idea as to the exact sex ratio of the Ntsevu cubs?
Amazing photos this week! The curiosity and bravery of an elephant calf sounds like a wondrous sight to witness.
It’s incredible how much distance those two cheetah have covered. I wonder if they will eventually split up or surprise everyone and stay together.. because not everything in nature happens the way textbooks say they should! ….And Hosana… Looks like he has been rubbing his face in dung again… such a silly, yet entertaining leopard. I’m very happy to know that he is thriving. It will be interesting to know where (and when) he finally decides to settle, and set up shop.
It’s amazing how different the Ntsevu Lion cubs look, in contrast to the Tsalala cubs. – At least, to me, the picture of the growing Ntsevu cub,.. he looks “fiercer” than the Tsalala cubs do.
Grant you, Life in the Bush, isn’t easy for any lion, especially for the cubs as they grow up. Yet this week’s picture of the adolescent cub is striking in way that you can see his “male lion features” coming into place, which I’ve never seen in past pictures. The cub looks like he will be quite a force within his coalition when he becomes a fully grown adult!
We haven’t had wi-fi for around 5 / 6 weeks. Telkom doesn’t repair / replace stolen cables anymore. So no phones, emails, NOTHING and, of course, no TWIPs which was so sad! However, we now have FIBRE (uncapped) and it is MUCH more reasonable and covers both phones and computer! Having to catch up now on all the Londolozi news and pics. Loved the Grey Heron in flight and have taken it as a Screensaver! Missed our “bush fix” every day. Wendy M
Incredible photo of the white-backed vulture, making it look somewhat majestic,
These images are amazing!!! Nice work on capturing that vulture!
Your image of the Hosana male stole the show for me this week, though those two cheetah were a close second. Thank you for the update – I enjoy your images immensely.