Another combined TWIP today, from the rangers still here and taking to the field.
Many people have asked if we have noticed a change in the wildlife since we had to close our doors for the Lockdown.
The answer is no.
It was incredible before, and it is just as incredible now. The main difference between pre-lockdown and lockdown itself is the freedom of access our camera crews have to the sightings. Guests always have priority here, so it’s slightly harder for the on-site film crew to get into the high profile sightings if guests vehicles are there (we cap it at three Land Rovers per sighting). Now that it’s just the rangers on site, Londolozi has become our photographic playground, and we are able to pick and choose where we want to go. Wild Dogs? No problem. Leopard in a tree? Choose your angle. Lions waiting to roar? All we have to do is wait with them. No pressure.
In fact our main difficulty is choosing what to go to. We try and dispatch one vehicle to each high profile sighting to capture whatever magic might play out, but occasionally if there’s something extra special happening, we congregate.
Look out for our wild dog video being released on Facebook in the next 24 hours. It was a particularly epic sighting…
For now, enjoy this Week in Pictures…
The golden breath of a Birmingham male shows the approach of winter as he searches for a female from the Ntsevu pride.
A favoured stance by Zebras; they can each conserve energy by resting their heads on each other’s backs while also keeping watch in all directions for any threat.
Hippo’s will often open their mouths wide to show off their impressive tusks in order to intimidate potential rivals.
The Nhlanguleni female stands on the banks of the Sand River. We sat with bated breath waiting to see if she would leap over the channel, but she unexpectedly turned and went back the way she had come.
The alarm call of a squirrel will often lead us to the predator that it has spotted, but being that small they have a lot of predators so if you are expecting to always find a leopard on the other side you may be disappointed.
A few weeks ago I was able to capture a photo of the Xinzele female leopard lying on a termite mound silhouetted against the dawn sky, which made this photo quite special when we found the same leopard on the same termite mound except she was silhouetted agains the evening sky this time around.
A wide angle lens helps emphasise the size of this elephant. The number of these pachyderms on Londolozi at the moment is higher than we’ve seen in many many months.
The sounds of rutting impala nearby spurred the Makomsava female to stalk off this termite mound in order to try and get herself into a position where she could try and hunt one of them.
It’s not always visually appealing to see animals on the tarmac of the airstrip but it does provide some unique photo opportunities.
An elephant bull grazes under a large marula tree as the sun dips towards the horizon. A stitched panoramic of three images captured the whole scene.
A Bateleur eagle takes flight. A narrow black band on the trailing edge of the underside of its wings indicates that this is a female. The male has broadband. I couldn’t help myself….
Three bull elephants gather amongst some pools of water at a beautiful point along the Manyelethi River.
Two wild dogs from the local pack of thirteen eye out an approaching hyena. Look out for our Instagram Story (which will also be available on Facebook) on this sighting in the next 24 hours; it was incredible…
An elephant bull walks out of the Sand River having just waded through its flowing waters.
Three lionesses from the Mungheni Pride emerge from some granite boulders on the edge of Ximpalapala Koppie. One lioness paused and stared up into an iconic large-leaved rock fig tree.
Such an exposed leopard is relatively uncommon. Take into consideration that this is on the main access road into Londolozi, and the Ximungwe female is sitting in plain sight. Guests arriving by road transfer would have enjoyed their first view of a leopard before they even reached the camps.
![Ntsevu Pride, Wild Dogs And Rhino (6) [rcb]](https://media.londolozi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/12140043/Ntsevu-pride-wild-dogs-and-rhino-6-RCB-280x178.jpg)
Stunning pics. Love the wild dogs and the elephant bull at sunset.
💯% ✅😎
I wonder if you all might ask other reserves if they have noticed a difference. My guess is that they would have which would be an intriguing comparison for Londolozi 😉
Awesome photographs each and every one. Always love the leopards and this time it was the Xinzele female that took my breath away, such a beautiful shot. Thank you.
Amazing coincidence with the sunrise/sunset photos of the Xinzele female.
Good job Peter with the stitched panorama of the elephant bull.
James, I saved Lion breath (James Souchon May 3), the Two Zebra (James Souchon May 3), the hippo (James Souchon May 3), James Tyrell, Bateleur Eagle (May 4), Makomsava Female (James Shouchon May 5), James Tayrell Wild Dogs (May 6), Pete Thrope May 2 Elephant Bull🤗. Actually I loved them all
James – just stunning photos. Thanks for brining back so many lovely memories of our last trip to Londolozi. All the best to the entire team.
Wonderful sightings! I am looking forward to seeing the dog video. Thanks for sharing.
Can’t wait for the video of the dogs especially if its going to be a vs Hyena sightning those are always insane. Great to see Nhlanguleni turn up ok. Have you seen the Styx recently at all?
Hi Blair, yes they were in western Londolozi a few days ago, but not since then.
Incredible gallery this week!! Love the wide-angle shot of the elephant bull, and the golden light on those wild dogs is stunning!!
Great photos, as usual. The wild dog photo made me wonder if the one-eared female has had her puppies yet. Any sign of them? Did they stay on the property?
True to the Londolozi high standards, this is another fabulous TWIP- on a personal level, your wide angle of the elephant bull is stellar! We’re all living vicariously through your photos and looking forward to the wild dogs video.
James the Birmimgham male is great and the Bull Elephant is impressive
Love the photos + daily updates and currently the Boyd Varty 40 days stories too , keeping our imaginations live during lockdown.
That was some stitching of the panorama of the elephant bull at sunset. I would say you can sew my Covid-19 mask anytime but that would be a waste of talent!
James- I enjoyed viewing these pics. Could the Makomsava leopard’s father be the Anderson male? And do you know of any leopards that he more than likely sired?
James – another great TWIP! They all went straight in the faves! Thanks for keeping us connected!
While I’m always drawn to the sunrise and sunset pictures, my first pick for this week is the Xinzele female leopard. The picture gives peaceful closure to the day. (even though it is said to be have been taken in the early morning. It could easily, I’m to assume go either way day or evening?) – My second is the elephants! Wow! As I scroll down the page, seeing the up-close pictures of them, is always surprising! To think you guys see those big huge animals up front and personal in the wild is just amazing! – The “technicolor,” or should I say, brilliant clarity of everything seen and captured on film is just such a treat and venture in and of itself!
All great as usual. Pete the elephant bull coming out of the Sand River really caught my attention.
Was the photo of the Nhlanguleni female recent as I recall there was some suspicion surrounding her whereabouts?
Super photos, like the elephant shot, taken by someone hanging out of the Land Rover and facing upwards ?
Please keep pictures coming
Sorry I should have said Pete Thorpe rather than someone, could I ask you edit the comment ?
Hi Ian, yes I lowered my arm outside the footwell on the driver’s side for the elephant shot.
Best regards.
Stunning pictures!! Thank you
Tsalala lioness with her daughter are okay?
How are the Tsalala female and cub? It’s been many weeks since I’ve heard something about them…
Beautiful pics as usual, thank you! I’m a tad jealous of all the amazing photographic opportunities you guys have, especially now that it’s quiet 🙂
Thanks for the great update! We are all so jealous of the incredible sightings you all are having!!
Stunningly beautiful images. I love all of the diversity in terms of subject, composition, setting, lighting etc. really wonderful!
Thank you for the amazing pictures.
James: We hear poaching is up in Krueger – do you think that is why you are seeing more elephants?
Hi Linda,
We generally have a big influx of them into the reserve at this time of year due to the drying conditions; they start congregating around the Sand River, so no, I doubt the two are related…