Spending time in the south-western grasslands has proven to be great for game-viewing in the last couple of weeks. This week’s Virtual Safari was no different. We spend some time with a large elephant bull as he moves from one marula tree to the next, feeding on the fallen marula fruit. During this sighting, a male cheetah is found nearby. We head into the area, hoping the male cheetah will begin to get active.
A few mornings later, Robbie Ball finds the Senegal Bush Male near to the Londolozi airstrip. We move into the sighting hoping that this leopard will add to the long list of incredible viewings we have had near the airstrip in the last few weeks. We were treated to a spectacle much greater than we could have imagined… He appears as though he is following the scent of another two male leopards in the area, quite possibly the Maxim’s Male and the Flat Rock Male. So fixated on the other leopards’ scent he marches past numerous herds of impala unbothered by their raucous alarm calling.
Enjoy this Virtual Safari…
Initially seen as a young male in 2016, this leopard only properly established territory on Londolozi in mid-2019
To view the YouTube link, click here.
Thanks for another great weekly video!
Enjoyed all of it.
Thank you so much, Christa.
Sean , the elephant bull is so big and I see the right tusk is a bit worn. It is astounding to see the strength of this elephant and amazing to see how he smells the Marula fruit on the ground. Oh the Senegal bush male is quite upset about those two male leopards on his claimed territory. I really hope there will not be any fights about the territory. The impala and wildebeest were also upset and watching his every move.
It was indeed a large elephant. Often elephants are one side dominant, so he has most likely used that side a lot more. The Senegal Bush Male was on a serious mission trying to find the other intruders.
A video full of males this week… the apppsrent peaceful elephant bull , the wary cheetah and the bold leopard… all gorgeous! So happy to see that cheetah are present in Londolozi besides the leopard dynasty.
It was indeed a week of males. There have been a few different cheetahs on Londolozi over the last few weeks, which is always so great.
A nice drive Sean. Nice to see the ellie, cheetah and leopard. I have often wondered if the trees that the ellies push down are replaced? Seems they push them down but eat very little of the leaves, etc. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much, Leonie. Sadly, the trees are not replaced and it is only a matter of time before there will no longer be any large marula trees left in the natural spaces such as Londolozi.
How exciting this virtual safari was today. The youngish bull elephant is quite good looking although I did notice his left tusk’s tip has broken off – perhaps playing with another elephant?!
It’s always great to see a cheetah and thank you for the close-up on his eyes. That color is so unique and can’t be duplicated.
And then Sean, the footage of the Senegal Bush male was incredible, especially with the alarming of the Impalas in the background. He is such a beast and obviously not happy with the scents of other leopards on his territory’s border. Interesting enough, just a year ago we followed the Flat Rock male on his patrol of this same area. It’s hard to believe that just a year ago I was three days into my stay, eagerly awaiting a visit by the Easter bunny whilst out on our drive – great times.
Thank you so much, Denise. It does look as though the left tusk has been broken, and this could be from a fight with another elephant or maybe while ring-barking a tree.
The cheetah’s eyes are such an intense deep orange colour.
A lot can change in the space of a year, now the Flat Rock Male is dominant in the north and this territory is the Senegal Bush Male’s.
Exciting times those were. Easter is always a great time to be at the lodge.
Sean, Thanks for giving us an opportunity to “be” with these magnificent animals in this way. So wonderful to understand more about what makes them tick!
Thank you so much, Michael and Terri. It is always amazing to spend long periods of time with these fascinating animals.
Super that you got to spend time with the Cheetah Sean. What sort of age would you say he is and, like the other cats, has he made claim to this area for himself? If that is the case you might be seeing more of him with luck ?
…and …fabulous to watch the Senegal Bush male so intent on remarking his territory and ignoring the meals all around him, he certainly provided some great viewing for us ! Thanks Sean for yet another great round up this week 🙏🏻❤️
Thank you so much, Cally. It is always difficult to guess the age of cheetahs, but I think this cheetah must have been roughly around eight or nine years old, so in his prime. There are so few cheetahs around and he is unlikely to be under too much pressure from other rivals. We see him every now and then in the southwestern grasslands.
The time with the Senegal Bush Male was great watching him patrol his territory.
Sean, any thoughts as to why he rubbed the ground and rolled back & forth over that one spot. Was he rubbing out the other male’s scent or did he find the scent of a female ?
Bob, often leopards will do this to mask their own scent with the scent of another animal’s dung, particularly buffalo or wildebeest. So that is what I think he was doing there.