With the photographic opportunities at a high this week the team on the ground has produced some incredible imagery. Ranging from the biggest of them all right through to the smallest.
Lions and leopards feature strongly this week and with there being so many incredible images to choose from we could only put in so many. The Ndzhenga Males are still hanging around with the Ntsevu Females and some of them mating. The Three Rivers Female and her eight-month-old cub make it in. The Flat Rock Male on a territorial patrol, the Ximungwe Female and her year-old youngster to a carcass, and the Nkoveni Trio playing around.
We have a pensive young baboon in golden light, a spider hunting waps and its quarry, a large elephant bull feeding, bee-eaters showing off their stunning colouration, and a couple of large giraffe males battling it out for dominance.
Let us know your favourite image in the comments section below.
Enjoy this Week in Pictures…
A young baboon looks on as though it was deep in thought, contemplating life.
A spider-hunting wasp unusually drags its victim into a small shrub. The Wasps target spiders as a host for their eggs. A female will lay her egg on the abdomen of the limp, paralysed spider before she buries it in a burrow. The egg will hatch and feed on the fluids of the spider.
The young male cub of the Three Rivers Female gazes up at a Natal Spurfowl that had been spooked by his mom and found refuge in the branches of a tree above.
Shortly after quenching his thirst at a waterhole, this large bull continues on his territorial patrol as the sun sets in the background.
A Ndzhenga Male trying to pick up the scent of a female. This shot caught him using the organ of Jacobson in what is known as the flehmen response/grimace.
Perching on an outer limb of a dead tree this European Bee-eater was scanning around intensely for its next victim.
A Ntsevu Female attempts to entice a Ndzhenga Male into mating. The females will almost always initiate over the 4 – 5 day mating period.
After drinking at a pan, this large rhino bull moved into beautiful evening sunlight staring the vehicle down intensely creating a stunning image.
Summer is a great time for most animals, particularly elephants. They make the most of the abundance of fresh tasty vegetation. This elephant bull satisfies his hunger with the juicier tops of the grass growing in many of the clearings.
A huddle of Little Bee-eaters on a branch as the sun was setting behind us.
Playtime! The smaller of the Nkoveni Female’s two cubs pounce on her unsuspecting sister whilst the three of them were walking to a kill that the Nkoveni Female had hoisted in a nearby marula tree.
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.
Two male giraffes battling it out for dominance and in turn the rights to females in which they would hope to mate. The Male on the right had taken a full swing with his head hoping to land a blow with the top of his ossicones. The Male on the left could see it coming and managed to duck his head and neck out of the way.
A mating pair of lions takes a break in a shady spot on the road. The pair were mating at 10 – 15 minute intervals at this point!
After spending the evening with the four Ndzhenga Males, they settled in a clearing and let out a full-blown call.
Content and peacefully resting in the soft sand of the road.
Taking a temorary break on a fallen tree, The Three Rivers Female watches as her young male cub approaches, hoping to go undetected.
Forced into early independence as her mother was killed by the Southern Avoca Males.
A panicked herd of impala flee across the road close to sunset.
The Flat Rock Male while on a territorial patrol passes through a shaded patch but a glint of light breaks through to illuminate his eyes.
A dominant male leopard over the majority of the north. He originally took over the 4:4 Male's territory when he died.
The Ximungwe Female leads her young male cub who is the same size if not bigger than her, down the road on the way to a carcass.
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
Pausing mid drink, he turned his attention towards us for a brief moment before resuming his drink.
You’ve made a decision very difficult again this week but I’m going to offer a few favorites. Of course the rambunctious sister in the Nkoveni pair of cubs, the beautifully lit baboon, wasp , and Stoff’s elephant portrait against the saturated green grasses. The Flat Rock male’s eyes in that image are mesmerizing! Just can’t choose one!!
I am sorry for making the decision so tough, but I guess that is a good sign that there are some amazing photos being taken.
They are all great pics, Sean! Too difficult to choose. I love baboons though and they do not feature often in the blogs. And the fleeing impala are a great capture as well!
Thank you so much, Irene.
Sean, Every image is amazing. Cannot choose, love them all. Thank you for sharing these wonderful animals.
Susan
Thank you so much, Susan. They are amazing animals indeed.
All the pics are fantastic! But my 2 favourites are definitely the rhino bull standing at an angle towards the camera showing his tremendous power, and the rhino lying down showing how gentle they can be. I have to say that being a lover of all things buglike, I really appreciate the wasp and spider. That’s a great shot of being in the right place at the right time.
Thank you so much, Tracey. The pictures of those rhinos are amazing. We were lucky with the Spider hunting wasp and its prey. We saw it dragging the spider across the ground and followed it as she then starting to drag it into the small bush.
Hi Sean there are so many to choose from and it’s difficult. My favorite is the Ximungwe female and her male cub, her eyes are shining so beautifully. Secondly the Nkoveni females and her two female playful cubs. The elephant in the lush green vegetation.
Thank you, Valmai. The pic of the Ximungwe Female and her youngster is great. The Nkoveni Trio are such amazing leopards to spend time with.
I always appreciate when some of the lesser featured critters show up. Another beautiful TWIP.
Thank you, Chelsea. It is great when we get to feature some of the less common animals to see.
Sean. Of course I love them all! The subjects make the pull back to Londolozi all the more compelling. The Baboon pose definitely inspires the 2% degree of separation theory. This morning I am enamored with the leaping impalas because it is such a different photo as well as so joyous and thrilling. However, please answer my inquiry from last week…safaris know that the animals eventually will relax around the vehicles, but how long did it take Dave Varty to understand that the wildlife wouldn’t jump in and everyone would be safe as long as they were in the vehicle????
Thank you so much, Camille.
I am waiting for Dave to get back to me with the exact details so I can answer your question. As soon as he does I will let you know.
Loved the baboon–very pensive!
Thank you so much, Vin. Indeed very pensive.
Too tough decision this time. As a successful leopard duo cubs is a rarity and they are spectacular i choose them along with the wasp. Even if the scene is gruesome, the wasp is striking and not a common subject. Oddly, insectes make the 80% of overall species on earth so they deserve a 1st place for their ecological role, importance and variety. All photos are superb anyway!
Thank you so much, Francesca. Spending time with the leopard cubs is such fun. I agree that this wasp sighting is not one that we come across often.
As usual all are lovely photos The top favorite for me it has to be the baboon, with the sun setting behind the rhino a close second. Thanks for sharing them!
Thank you so much, Marcia. The baboon image is so great as it sits there appearing as though it is so deep in thought.
All wonderful – but this week’s prize definitely goes to Robert for his fabulous shot of Nkoveni and her 2 cubs, brilliant!
Thank you so much, Suzanne. It is such a great shot of the playful nature of those youngsters.
WOW! What an amazing TWIP. Very difficult to choose, but we are captivated by the Nkoveni trio having been blessed to see them back in December, so maybe we’ll go with that, but on the other hand …….. oh jeepers. How beautiful they all are
Thank you so much, Jane. The Nkoveni Trio are such fun to spend time with, one just needs to make sure you always have your camera at the ready as they are bound to get up to some mischief at some unexpected point.
Some very special photos – the baboon , the bee eaters and er the Nokveni female and cubs, even by the very high standards of this blog, that is exceptional
Thank you so much, Ian. The rangers are really producing some great content at the moment and thankfully it showing through in the TWIPs.
Such wonderful photos again. The young baboon is one of my favorites, though actually all of them are. As Denise (below) writes , it’s really hard to say which one is a favorite. They are all just great!
Thanks.
Thank you so much, Christa. The picture of the Baboon is a cracking shot. Thanks for your comment.
Sean, beautiful pictures this week. I enjoyed the rhino, lion, leopard and bee eaters, especially. Keep them coming!!
Thank you so much, William.
We loved all the photos, but especially loved the photo of the baboon, the one of the rhino doing his sunset patrol, and the Nkoveni leopard and her 2 daughters. Incredible TWIP! Thanks for all that you all do to keep us feeling as if we are getting a little bit of Safari time with your posts. We enjoyed all the photos from this week, but those 3 were tops! Thank you again!
Thank you so much, Darlene. we are so glad that we are able to share this amazing place with everyone around the world.
Sean, some fantastic shots in this blog. All could be prize winners. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much, Leonie. There are some great images this week.
Great impala photo Nick!
Such a difficult decision Sean. I really loved the bee-eaters cuddled up on a limb. And the wasp/spider shot must have been tricky. Thanks for the explanation on that, I had no idea. A wonderful week in pictures!
Thank you so much, Barbara.
Beautiful! Loving all the rhino pics. The bee eaters are awesome too.
Thank you so much, Carly.
Truely spectacular photos this week…I’m blown away by the choice Sean and team‼️👌🏻 The light and the subjects are all superb. Just the composition and light hearted feeling I get from the Nkoveni cubs romping around with their Mum has to be my winner 💗..but the rhino photos are all close behind.