This week was mainly about the north, which we can access again after some temporary repairs to the flood-damaged Causeway over the Sand River.
The Nanga female was found with a hoisted impala kill, although we were slightly concerned to see she was not putting any weight on her back left leg. We don’t know what happened to her, but the resilience this leopard has shown before when hurt means we aren’t too worried for now.
The Nkuhuma pride was found on a wildebeest kill in the Manyelethi River, reinforcing our theories that they are going to be pushing further and further to the south.
We’re not completely done with the rains yet, although having already well surpassed our numbers of last year, we can be more than content with the level of the water table, which will probably facilitate nutritious grazing for the herbivores well into the winter months.
Enjoy this Week in Pictures…
Although injured, the Nanga female was still well able to manoeuvre her impala kill around the marula tree she had hoisted it into, although it was a young ewe, so significantly lighter than an adult would have been.
It was an awkward tree to get comfortable in, and at this point she was simply sitting staring at a hyena that had come sniffing round.
Two waterbuck bulls tussle it out. These were both young waterbuck and it wasn’t a proper fight for dominance, but it was still interesting to see the effectiveness of the ribbing of their horns; the concentric rings lock into each other and prevent the horns slipping, so a proper fight is less an attempt to stab each other and more a test of strength, in which the bulls set their position and simply push to gain the upper hand.
Southern Carmine Bee-eaters are among our more beautiful migrant species, but the summer is already coming to an end as many of the birds we only see at this time of year are already starting to head back north for the winter.
A young Ntsevu male stands up out of the long grass. This pride continues to remain split, which means that although we aren’t seeing such an impressive single group of lions anymore, there is far more chance of finding one or another small unit of them somewhere on the reserve.
Female red-billed hornbills will often moult their tail feathers and some of their primary flight feathers while they are locked in their nest cavity. The male feeds the female through a slit and she can regrow her feathers. However, if something happens to the male before the female has regrown her feathers, she is forced to break out out to forage for herself once more. This might be what happened to this female, although maybe her tail feathers were pulled out by a would-be predator and she managed a lucky escape.
The heat of summer often drives elephants into the cool comfort of water; sometimes to splash around in the shallows but sometimes to get right in deep like this young bull.
The Londolozi trainee rangers approach a sighting of the Ntsevu pride. Guiding a safari is about far more than just understanding animal behaviour; driving techniques, vehicle positioning and presentation skills are fundamentals in creating an experience through which guests can connect to the wilderness with ease.
One of the Birmingham males tests the urine of an Ntsevu female, seeing if she is ready to mate or not. Since no copulation was forthcoming, we suspect she wasn’t quite in oestrus.
A helmeted guineafowl provides a splash of colour on an otherwise gloomy overcast day.
Up close and personal with an African giant. The trainee rangers again, appreciating that saying nothing is often far the better course in a sighting; just letting it unfold around you is the real magic.
We weren’t 100% sure how this zebra sustained the injury to its rump. Lions can inflict such wounds but in the absence of other damage, we suspect in this case it could have been something else. Either way, it seemed relatively superficial and wasn’t causing the zebra any undue worry.
A young Ntsevu lion stretches as dusk falls.
I’m cheating as this photo was actually from a couple of weeks ago. The hippo bull that has taken up residence in a small pan in the central parts of the reserve will regularly put on a display as evening settles, establishing his dominance before heading out to feed for the night.
One of the Avoca males drinks deeply from the Manyelethi river after gorging himself on wildebeest meat. This sighting is literally just over the hill from the Londolozi camps… Will the Nkuhuma pride and Avoca males be crossing south over the Sand River soon? The males have done so on a couple of occasions, and the pride is edging closer…
James, I loved all the photos, especially leopard🤗
James, I loved all the Hippos🤗
Have never seen an elephant as submerged as the one here!
Great week in photos.
Beautiful pictures!
Interesting about the female hornbill tail feathers. I didn’t know they did that, but it makes perfect sense. It’s like being in a car wearing a cocktail dress versus a ball gown.
Perfect week in photos-especially the hippo!
These are great pictures! Seeing the life of conservation at its best is so lovely!
Love the birds this week James, particularly the helmeted guineafowl 👌💕💕.. fascinating learning more about the red billed hornbill. I would imagine it must b difficult finding food without part of one’s ‘flight gear’ 🙃😉
Lucky you to have the Avoca and the Nkuhumas…..we miss them up in the northern Sands….
Hello!! Always LOVE the updates!!! Has Anyone seen OR any updates On TSALALA Lioness and Daughter??? I LOVE THE TSALALAS!!! THANK YOU !!!!!!!
Hay dear James.
I just now watching the NGW documentary “Sisterhood”. It’s about Nkuhuma pride, Birmingham and Avoca males. Is it possible that is about the same pride and males that are now on Londolozi territory? I am confused because they speaking about 4 Birmingham and 3 Avoca males. (Documentary is from 2020. Djuma Game reserve). Please respond.
Tnx
Best regards Ana
Hi Ana,
YEs they will be the same ones. I believe there is a third Avoca male from this group but he stays to the north of us. We re close to Djuma so see a few of the same lions as the prides and coalitions have quite big territories…
Thank you for your answer. But if there were four Birmingham males., it’s that also means that 2 of them stays north.? Do you now what happened with them?
How long have these two Birmingham males been in the Londolozi area.? (sorry but I’ve been following you for about 2 years. I haven’t all figure out yet ).tnx
Unfortunately there are only two Birminghams left of the original 5.
I believe one died of wounds sustained in an encounter with a buffalo.
4 made it onto Londolozi, one of which disappeared a few months after they arrived and I don’t know what happened to him.
Three were left and one of them got a badly injured hip, but still survived for over a year. He eventually died in 2019, leaving the two that we see now…
Beautiful shots, especially the Nanga leopard!
Great photo journal this week James. I love how every picture has elements that are revealed with deeper looking.
So glad you found Nanga. My favorite leopard!
I love how the image of the elephant trunk continues “down into” the water.
I hope the nanga female will be alright, not good to hear she is hurt. The hippo showing his huge teeth and open mouth is fascinating. Loved the bee-eater, and interesting to hear that about the tail feathers of the female hornbill. Sorry to see the gaping wound on the zebra, hope she and leopard that is hurt will be okay. Lovely foto of the elephant in the water, they enjoy the abundance of water. Beautiful foto’s James.
Great TWIP again, thanks. Wasn’t it Nanga who had a horrific looking injury last year, which healed incredibly well?
Loved all the brilliant TWIP James!….thanks so much….all express the unique special beauty of Africa!….James, has anyone at all heard if the Marimba make HB, is still alive?….he would be at least 15 now I think…just wondering if anyone had heard anything across the Reserves…v difficult with all the rain of course….thanks James again….
Wow it was a incredible week of sightings once again! How do one get to be a trainee ranger at Londolozi?