This week the predominant theme seems to be leopards and birds. With it being very leopard-heavy we have had some incredible sightings nonetheless. The Nkoveni Female and her two cubs were eventually found after a long few days of tracking and attempting to find the trio. Being rewarded with an amazing time as they played.
The Flat Rock Male was found in the central parts of Marthly, with an impala kill. Spending some time with him there was a high likelihood that he would do down to a nearby waterhole for a drink, He Did! The Nkuwa Female was seen for the first time in a while. The Picadilly Female’s youngster was also seen by himself.
The Avoca Males have been relatively consistent in appearing on Londolozi following evenings of continuous roaring. I know we have said and will probably say it time and time again, the lion dynamics are going through a very interesting time, and a shift in power is imminent.
On the birding front, nothing out of the ordinary but just a few well-lit snaps of Yellow-billed Oxpeckers and a bird party of Little Bee-eaters, White-crested Helmetshrikes, and Chinspot Batis.
Although the entire herd of probably 500 individuals moved through the south of the reserve there was one individual who has the most spectacular set of horns and boss that made it in.
Enjoy this Week in Pictures…
The Nkoveni Female has been successful in raising her two cubs to this point, nearing the age of eight months old now. It is not yet plain sailing from here, the challenges are still enormous, as these cubs grow their adventurous spirit and everything becomes a game.
A gorgeous female who is found to the east of camp. Easily recognised by her 2:2 spot pattern she is often to be found in Marula trees.
A nearby tree is the local jungle gym for the cubs to entertain themselves for the morning, while their mother tries to rest in the shade. Up and down the tree continuously for hours, this particular shot the cubs was launching out of the tree aimed at its sibling.
Glancing up at its sibling tearing off into the tree again wondering if it should join the game or rather rest for now. This sighting was a spectacle for a number of guests at Londolozi.
Worn out, it is now time to rest, with the mother right beside this cub.
The large herd of buffalo, now nearing about 500 individuals has passed through the southern grasslands, feeding as they go, they have been covering some serious distances in very short amounts of time. One of the Bulls in amongst the herd, although not the biggest-bodied buffalo, certainly had horns and a large boss, the centre part of the horns, to make up for it.
A Yellow-billed Oxpecker perches neatly on a buffalo’s back. We generally only see this species of oxpecker around buffalo or the larger herbivores.
The Picadilly Female and her cub have laid claim to the north-eastern parts, directly across the Sand River from the camps. Here the youngster was found without its mother along the Manyelethi River. Settled in the shade, you can notice a gash on its back left leg. Nothing life-threatening to the resilient nature of leopards, one can only wonder how this gash came about. Most likely from chasing after some form of prey and tumbling into a log or rock.
This female is most often encountered near the Sand River to the east of the Londolozi camps.
We stumbled across a small bird party, which essentially means exactly what you think, however, the birds are there to have a good time in pursuit of a food source. Surrounding a termite mound which sported a large flowering Knobthorn tree, we were not sure exactly what insect these birds were feeding on and they appeared too small for us to see without getting too close. The following three images were all at the same time. Firstly this White-crested Helmetshrike.
Also joining the party the Chinspot Batis rather uses the higher branches in pursuit of tasty insect treats.
The Little Bee-eaters opted for the lower branches or twigs and sticks on the ground as the prime positions in order to pursue the insects.
Who knows what’s in store for us over the next few weeks or months? Are these younger males starting to move in? Being seen more regularly on Londolozi, sometimes in the presence of the Nkuhuma Pride in the north and other times with a couple of the Ntsevu Pride Females in the south.
The Nkuwa Female, now having established herself in the western parts of the reserve, has proven rather elusive through the thicker vegetated areas. Now three and half years old we would be expecting her to either be seen mating or if we miss that hopefully, we are able to find her pregnant or having given birth very soon.
One of two sisters born to the Nhlanguleni Female, both of whom made it to independence, the first intact litter to do so in 7 years.
A young crocodile crawls its way out of the shaded pool of water along the Manyelethi River to take advantage of the last bit of heat for the day before nightfall.
Not too much remained of the impala carcass as we arrived, we knew that at some point the Flat Rock Male would need to descend the tree and most likely head down to a nearby pool for a drink.
A dominant male leopard over the majority of the north. He originally took over the 4:4 Male's territory when he died.
Shortly after catching his breath and grooming the remnants of the impala from his paws and cheeks, he looked up moments before strolling down to the waterhole.
The unobstructed view of him drinking was spectacular.
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Yey it’s leopard day! Actually you made my day by showing these pictures. The cubs are fantastic and the flat rock make drinking spectacular. But I love all each of them is a masterwork of beauty and expression. Impressive buffalo, is he the leader? Surely much respected… the colourful birds are always a pleasure to see.
Thank you, Francesca. We are so happy that this post brightened up your day. The Buffalo was one of the larger males but not too sure if he was a leader.
TWIP 508, what a wonderful journey, with beautiful pictures, Thanks Sean. The variety of wildlife is wonderful to see.
Thank you, William.
wonderful leopard photos. sometimes it is hard to see them so clearly. you have such have such a wonderful collection of beautifully colored birds. great to see them up close! thank you Victoria
Thank you, Victoria. It can be a challenge to see them so clearly but the viewing this week has proved that wrong. We were very fortunate.
Such beautiful foto’s of the leopards and the cubs. The cubs seems to be enjoying themselves and amusing each other while mom has rest in the tree. I hope the wound on the Picadilly male cub will soon heal so he can carry on with his adventures. My goodness but those are huge horns and a boss on that buffalo, he doesn’t seem to look very old. Gorgeous foto of the Flat rock male drinking water.
Thank you, Valmai.
Nice color and use of horizontal line in that young crocodile photo!
Thank you, Marcia.
So many different leopards, great! I am so glad that the two cubs are still doing fine.
And the bird pictures are just lovely.
Thanks, Christa. They are both thriving at the moment.
Hi Sean and Londolozi team, great selection of photos!
The Nkuwa Female was seen at the beginning of August mating with Hosana by Singita, so hopefully she will be successful in conceiving! Her sister, the Finfoot Female, was seen in July 3km before Paul Kruger Gate in the Kruger National Park along the fence line, which is unfortunate as I was hoping she’d stick around too. I suppose the female dynamics were just too dense and competitive.
Has the Piccadilly Female’s cub relaxed any more since the last few sightings of her? Would be great if that was the case!
Thanks, Michael. Yes, we are hoping she will be pregnant and hopefully give birth on our side soon. It was such a pity that the Finfoot Female moved further south I think we were all so excited and hoping that she was going to hang around here. I guess there was probably a little too much competition.
The Picadilly Female’s cub has relaxed a little bit but is still fairly nervous. This will probably change as it is exposed more and more to the vehicles, as they are being seen more and more in the north.
Thanks for the updates.
Thanks Sean, the birds were my fav this week! So beautiful!
Thanks, Carly.
Well Sean, it appears the leopard sightings have been amazing- especially watching Nkoveni’s cubs playing. Terrific photos of them! So has Nkuwa’s sister, Finfoot been spending most of her time in SabiSabi? I read she’s been sighted there. There’s certainly a lot happening and I appreciate the updates.
Hi Denise, yes it was an amazing leopard week.
The Finfoot Female had moved further south and was seen near to the Kruger so it seems that she is searching for a territory down there.
Wonderful leopards, another time to see how great the sightings of leopards could be at Londolozi-thanks for sharing it.
Thank you, Jutta.
A nice TWIP Sean – nice to see the cats and some really good shots of them. Thanks for sharing with us.
Thank you, Leonie.
What a incredible week of leopards and the images you have captured are just fabulous!!👌🏻💕 I’m curios Sean about the bird in the first shot, not one I rememberseeing, what’s it’s name ?
Thanks, Cally. It is a White-crested Helmetshrike.
Sean, Simply spectacular once again! The Leopards shots are breathtaking and how great to catch all the birds! Getting the profile of the crocodile with the eye so clear was so lucky!
Thank you, Michael and Terri. it has been a very fortunate time for photography.
That pic of the Nkoveni cub is fabulous!!! Ohhhh to see little spotty cubbies playing in the bush…..and so happy to see Nkuwa……hoping that she will be having Hosana’s cubbies in the near future!