“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” – William Shakespeare
No, William, you shouldn’t. Pick winter instead. Yes, summer in the bush comes with its own wonderment, but it’s winter for me that takes the victory. I know it’s cliched to talk about the weather, but the combination of soft light, steam on your breath, the chill, lion roars travelling kilometres, leopards walking around at midday, and almost never a cloud in the sky, really makes me think that had Shakespeare visited Londolozi during Autumn/Winter a few hundred years ago – or at least that land it’s on as wouldn’t have existed for a while yet – he might have written quite a different sonnet.
The Birmingham males have been in full voice this week, accompanying some of the older Ntsevu lionesses. The sub-adults have been widely scattered, some ending up right down in the south-west of Londolozi as they begin to embrace a more nomadic lifestyle.
Elephants have been everywhere, particularly around water. We returned to camp this morning to find a herd feeding directly below Varty Deck, tucking into the wild date palms, Phoenix reclinata, that grow there.
Enjoy this Week in Pictures…
Despite all our talk of the Birmingham males ageing (fact), when push came to shove they still managed to corner and kill the Othawa male. To be fair, we don’t know exactly what happened that night (post coming soon with some theories), but the bottom line is they are still here while he is gone. With five young cubs in the Ntsevu Pride and another lioness looking pregnant, let’s hope this coalition can make it through another year at least…
Despite regularly seeing elephant bulls investigating the reproductive status of cows, actually witnessing them mating is a rare event. This was a rather dramatic sighting as the bull pursued the cow for some time until she eventually relented.
The onset of winter is a time for block burning as part of our fire-management regime. A breeze that picked up late in the day put things on hold for awhile, pushing the burn back by half an hour into sunset, creating fantastic colour matches between the fire and the sunset.
The last of the flames sink down as night settles.
The Mashaba female is still alive and well. Although Londolozi’s most senior leopard (she was born in 2008), she should still have some good years in her yet, as females have been recorded living to 18 or even 19 years.
Londolozi's oldest territorial female. Distinguished by her nose spot, this Sunsetbend matriarch's legacy lives on through her daughters.
Hairy caterpillars beautifully backlit by the rising sun. This time of year is when we start seeing the processionary lines of the reticulate bagnest moth caterpillars (which these were) forming. The caterpillars walk end to end in long lines, very slowly, the theory being that to an avian predator they will resemble a stick or a snake, and be left alone.
A hyena drools as it looks up from gnawing on an impala skull. We don’t know if it had killed the impala itself (quite possible as many males are still distracted by the late stages of the rut), or if it robbed the kill off a leopard. This second scenario is more likely, but it’s impossible to say for sure.
A wattled lapwing stoops for a drink. Ten years ago these birds were rare on Londolozi, but for whatever reason their population has increased to the point where we may see as many as a pair every couple of drives, although specific pairs do tend to be resident in specific areas.
A sub-adult of the Ntsevu pride. With these lions splitting up all over the shop, we are finding splinter groups of them spread far and wide across the reserve. This one was part of a group of four that killed a young impala an hour later, but it was purely through the impala’s mistake, not in any way due to their hunting prowess, which is lacking!
The same lion in a slightly different position.
Tracker Dorrance Khosa fords the Sand River on his way to delivering a breakfast basket to guests out in the bush.
This was actually from a little over a week ago but I felt like including the picture anyway. A pack of twelve wild dogs had just had their kill stolen by marauding hyenas, and these two came down for a drink before joining the others and trotting off into the thickets.
On this morning a Birmingham male and a female from the Ntsevu Pride just got up and started running. Ranger Nick Sims had thought he’d heard a buffalo distress call, and the lions were clearly responding to it. We searched the area and then just stuck with the lions, but neither us nor them managed to find anything. There were tracks of another coalition close by, and we presume it was one of the young pairs of males that are currently roaming southern Londolozi. Maybe they’d made an attempt on a buffalo but been unlucky..
The Ndzanzeni female stalks one of her own cubs (the tail can be seen just disappearing into the grass). A bad limp means the mother can’t engage with her offspring like she normally would, but she gives it her best nonetheless.
Royal descendant of Mother Leopard lineage. Remarkable single cub success story who overcame injury to continue the royal bloodline.
Elephants at a waterhole; one of the greatest joys to be around.
Another great collection of photos, James. Thanks!
Good to see a recent photo of the Mashaba female. She has been a constant during our visits.
Sorry to hear Ndzanzeni has a leg injury, is it a bad one do you think? Has anyone seen Nanga recently, I was wondering if her bad leg has improved. I’m so jealous of the guests awaiting their breakfast in the bush – I suppose delivering breakfast to the UK is a bit of a push?!
Wonderful pictures! The Mashaba female has a bigger neck a bit like mature males…wow!
Hi Francesca, yes, she is our biggest female for sure!
The older leopard, when she can’t catch as many kills will you or someone help her not starve to death, she deserves that much. The leopard with the bad limp does it appear like it will get better. Can someone help her with food, I’d she dies so does her cubs. These animals employ and entertain many people so when they need our help please give it to them. It’s wrong to let any animal suffer when someone can provide help
Good morning James!
Collectively, this weeks winning picture(s) is definitely the Elephants! The colors of the environment within the captures are breathtaking and so refreshing.
Next, the pictures of the Ntsevu Lioness,.. She is so Pwetty. 🙂 – Her facial expressions give way to her “feminine” side. She looks so sweet.
Lastly, got a question for you? .. Why are the Birmingham males so “mean?” .. After the killing of the Othawa male, it’s heart breaking. I get that it’s a “dog-eat-dog life out in the bush for the animals, but!! We all know that Othawa was “rare” amongst the bunch, but the final story makes me not like the Birmingham lions. They seem to be the “rough, tough hood rats” of the bush, similar to notorious gang bangers here on the mainland! Do any of the lions or other animals ever AVOID the Birmingham’s when they make their presence? I’m going to “assume” that from the time the lions are cubs, their “upbringing” molds them into what they become? here they come into the world so precious and innocent, and then some of them turn into voracious huge beasts! Just seeing the size of their heads leaves me awestruck! They’re born into this world with adorable tiny head, and helpless cub calls, and then years down the road, they’re heads (skulls) grow HUGE!
Being the Zoologist that you are, what causes their cranial bone structure to become so big? – In comparison to a human, their head is said to weigh 8 pounds. How much does a lion’s head weigh? (not to mention an Elephant Bull? – That bad boy IS MASSIVE!) Has that ever been determined? I’ve read some thing about their neurological makeup, but once again, I’m going to assume that that has nothing to do with their bone structure as they grow into adulthood.
Another contrast that I can’t get over, is seeing the endurance of the Leopards and the Lionesses. They walk and travel an immense amount! Just seeing how they go about their lives to survive makes me verrie.
Your pictures for this week are so beautiful, yet so many questions come to mind,.. Your passion is amazing and inspiring!
Terrific TWIP! Loved that last photo the best! Beautiful colors, water drops and of course, those magnificent animals! Thanks for sharing!
Good to hear the Mashaba female leopard is still alive and well, she is my favourite leopard. The Birmingham male lions are impressive, but so was the Othawa male lion, pity he crossed over into the Birmingham male lions territory and they killed him. Elephants at a waterhole are always a pleasure to watch. Never ever seen elephants mating before and that is a very rare sighting, good foto in the end. Shame I wonder what happened to the Ndzanzeni female, as you say she has a bad limp. Cubs are gorgeous. Wonderful foto’s thanks James.
James, loved the lions🤗
Love ellies and ‘soon’ there will be a new one. Great shot and the one of the ellies drinking. I could watch them all day long.
I know you must burn, but I have to ask: Do most animals make it to safety? (BTW, great pics, especially the elephants!)
I hope as well that the Birminghams have another year in them to maintain their territory for the sake of the cubbies.
Has the Mashaba Female shown any signs of being pregnant or birthing another litter? Really hoping she manages to raise at least one more cub to independence! Also wondering where the Ntsevu female sub-adults might establish themselves. Will be interesting to see where they end up!
You’ve some fantastic images here, especially the lions. The Birmingham males, although not looking as handsome as they once were, are still a formidable unit. It certainly seems the Othawa male ventured too far into their territory and met his fate…. and then elephants mating, that is an amazing sight to witness. Thanks for another interesting week in pictures!
Thanks for the great photos Jamo. If memory serves me correctly, I believe that the Ndzanzeni had an injury to her hind quarter when she was raising the Tortoise Pan male.
Hi Al, to be honest I think the times she HASN’T been injured are less than the times she has…
Sad to hear that Ndzanzeni is still limping…no better than 3 weeks ago?
Great images this week James! We were amazed at the two beautiful shots of the controlled burn – the sunset one is incredible! We are always happy to see that our Mashaba is doing well!!
Very glad to see Mashaba doing so well! Any sign of cubbies for her?
It is amazing that she is well and healthy. We were hoping to see her being pregnant or with a milk pouch but no luck as of yet. We will keep a close eye on her over the next few weeks and let everyone know if there is any signs.
Fabulous photos James, certainly a very unique one of the Bull elephant ! When you burn an area I would imagine it’s well scouted before hand for hidden cubs etc ? Rather worrying when a breeze picks up I’m sure, having witnessed some awful fires along the kwazulu coast in the past, I fear for the wild life. Stunning shot at the end with the elephants drinking in that winter light. Too right the winter is such a perfect time to be in the bush 🙏🏻💕