The final TWIP of 2020! A year that has quite literally rewritten history and will be spoken about for generations to come.
For us, it was the first time that Londolozi was forced to close its doors to the public. However, putting the pandemic aside, it has nonetheless still been an incredible year. Our media team did a fantastic job at bringing the wilderness to you, across all corners of the globe, for many months as we were all locked down.
This allowed the magical game viewing to continue as we all followed with bated breath as the wild dogs denned and raised their pups on the reserve for the first time in years, how a female cheetah raised two young cubs while a Birmingham male paid a visit to an evening drinks stop and a honey badger was given a second chance at life.
These are but a few of the incredible highlights of an otherwise very unusual year. We can’t express how happy we are to be open and operating once again; sharing this incredible place with all our visitors.
Seasons greetings to you all.
Enjoy this Week in Pictures…
I still find it amazing how tolerant the herbivores are of their oxpecker companions. They are often seen pecking away inside the rhino’s large nostrils and ears.
These two elephant bulls were having a standoff. When we initially came across them they were peacefully feeding alongside each other but as they both approached a small pan to drink and wallow in the warm morning sun, the larger and presumably older bull (on the right) took exception to the company. The wallow wasn’t big enough for the both of them.
The Piccadilly female perches herself on a fallen over Jackalberry tree on the northern bank of the Sand River. With the vegetation being the densest it has been in years, the animals often need to make use of natural vantage points to scan their surroundings.
Bateleurs often scavenge and will regularly follow descending vultures in the hopes of getting a small meal out of it. This female bateleur (the whitish wing panels indicate her gender) was perched on a low branch, just above a small flock of hooded vultures which were feeding on what looked like an afterbirth of an impala.
Yellow billed oxpeckers aren’t nearly as common at Londolozi as their red billed relatives. However you stand good chance of seeing them if you happen to find a large herd of buffalo.
A naturally framed elephant calf drinks alongside its mother. These two were part of a herd of roughly thirty elephant which we sat with for nearly 45 minutes as they wallowed and drank at one of the many wallows around at the moment.
Water (or nile) monitors are the biggest lizards that we find in Africa and can grow up to 2.5 meters. However, specimens of this size are quite rare. The markings on this particular individual really caught my eye and it allowed us to get rather close before darting off into the water.
The Piccadilly female carefully descends an acacia tree that she had stashed an impala ewe kill in. We have enjoyed some consistent viewing of her and her cub recently who still remains rather shy around the vehicles.
A female giraffe feeds on an apple leaf tree just a few meters from our vehicle. The dexterity of their lips and tongue is incredible.
A portion of the Nstevu pride keep an eye on a small herd of elephant as they slowly approach in the distance. The dynamics of this pride at the moment seem to be confusing everyone but I personally haven’t heard of them all being together for a couple of months now indicating that a split is essentially underway.
The abundance of water around at the moment is spoiling the birds like this pied kingfisher who have plenty of small pools on the rivers edge now to stake out.
Another kingfisher that I have really enjoyed seeing over the last few weeks is the grey headed kingfisher, a pair of which are nesting downstream from the Londolozi camps. You are almost guaranteed to see at least one of them if you drive through that area.
The rocky outcrops in the northern reaches of the reserve are the only place you’ll see klipspringer antelope. They can be difficult to spot but this female presented herself rather nicely on top of this large granite boulder.
The Birmingham males still hold a significant territory in the eastern half of Londolozi. But for how much longer? The coalition of two remaining brothers will soon start to feel the pressures of younger males closing in.
One of the charismatic creatures of the bush; the vervet monkey. Troops of these small primates are often encountered across the reserve and keep us quite entertained with their antics. This one was comfortably perched on a broken branch of a knobthorn, watching the other members of the troop forage beneath.
It’s always quite interesting shooting into the sun. The photographs don’t always turn out how you imagine they should but I enjoyed this one of a young elephant bull making his way up the crest in the late afternoon.
A leopard’s tail dangles from the branch of a marula tree.
Ir was an exciting year. As you mentioned, the wild dog den was indeed the highlight. Loved all the pics and instagram stories.
Tremendously difficult year for all especially with the political tension in the USA. We thank you for bringing a sense of normalcy from “the real world.”
Hello Chris! This week in pictures is like a photographic comment introducing the year to come through tbe pensive look of the Birmingham male. I also particularly like the klipspringer and giraffe but all photos are great. And the leopard tail hanging leaves us in the mystery…
Your final TWIP is danged good and a fine end to a tough year. All the best to the Londolozi family for a smashing 2021.
thank you fir another wonderful week of pictures! I don’t think I have ever seen a klipspringer (?) at Londolozi! Victoria
The leopard’s tail!!! My favorite. Hau’oli Makahiki Hou from Hawai’i.
What stunning photos to end the year Chris..may the coming new year be filled with love and laughter and plenty of us all enjoying these sights for ourselves 🙏🏻💗
Leopard tails dangling from trees……..perfection!
Chris, I loved all the photos, especially Birmingham Lion🤗
Beautiful pictures,Chris
I really enjoyed these. Seems like I kept hitting “favorite”! Of course, I always like the week in pictures, but this batch seemed to have every one a hit – the black/white effects, the shadow, the subject, the action…all great.
What a year everybody has had, but so happy to see Londolozi and all it represents, is ending this year on a high and positive note. See you next spring.
Hi Chris… thankyou for these wonderful photos and info….could you tell me how old is the Picadilly female please?….loved her story but not sure of her age…..such a gorgeous strong colouration too…quite striking looking leopard…… I hope she is eventually successful in rearing her cubs…..so hard for leopard mother’s…… she’s beautiful…..
Hi Pauli,
Apologies for the delayed response!
The Piccadilly female was born in 2013. I agree, she has a very distinctive look about her with a beautiful dark coat.
Hi Chris…thanks for getting back to me re the beautiful Picadilly female ‘s age….greatly appreciate it….take care, Pauli
Absolutely great week in pictures!
Hi Chris, great selection of photos from this week! Was thinking about the leopards and three names crossed my mind that I have not heard of in some time – the Mashaba Female, Ndzanzeni Female and Tatowa Female. Have either of them been seen lately and if not, any idea as to their current whereabouts? I remember the Ndzanzeni Female was seen mating south of Londolozi a number of months ago, but haven’t seen anything since.
Hi Michael,
The Mashaba female is still viewed fairly regularly with her entire territory sitting in central Londolozi at the moment. She is now 12 years old and the oldest female leopard that we see here.
The Ndzanzeni female has been quite scarce of late. As you mentioned, I think she may be spending more time further south of Londolozi now days. As far as I am aware she was last seen quite close to our southern boundary about 2 months ago.
The Tatowa female’s fate is uncertain. As far as I know, she was last viewed about 3 or 4 months ago. Her territory sits in quite a thick and fairly unexplored area though so it is quite possible, especially with the thicker summer vegetation that is now around, that we have simply not found her but that she is still alive and well – we’ll have to wait and see.
Hi again Chris. Took the female giraffe pic and the close up portrait of the Birmingham Male who is such a handsome fellow! Both for my computer as Screensavers!! Thanks for the variety of pics! Wendy M
Chris, Thanks for sharing your beautiful images! We too are most excited to see 2020 come to an end. We are most looking forward to heading back to Londolozi mid-year!!!
A really super TWIP Chris. Hard to pick a favourite picture, but loved the leopard tail shot. Also a really good one of the Birmingham male, but all were good ones. I am so glad that you are finally able to welcome guests back after a long spell. Thanks for sharing with us. I wish each and every one of the Londolozi Famioy a happy, healthy, safe and prosperous 2021. I hope and pray this virus will be gone and people around the world can get back to a new normal. All the very best to you all from Toronto, Canada
Lovely shots – my favorites were the Elephant and calf, Rhino, Birmingham male and Giraffe. I really hope that in 2021 we continue to get the great videos and pictures! They are a daily pleasure for me. Thanks to all who put in the time to bring the blog to life!! Happy New Year to All!
An exciting year indeed Chris, and I agree, the wild dogs were the highlight! Great set of pictures this week!!
My son of 3.5 years old and I enjoyed looking at the photos and reading the descriptions, thank you.
@Jean Culbertson, as always I loved the beautiful pictures with such a detailed story! Thank you and happy Holidays!