After the exciting news we released last week of the Plaque Rock Female having her second litter of cubs, Kyle has an amazing sighting as she lifts her head from behind a log clutching a tiny cub within her jaws. You all know too well how excited this gets any wildlife enthusiast, rangers especially.
The Nhlanguleni Female’s cubs have also provided some great viewing as they grow so quickly in both size and confidence. The mother has been moving them from carcass to carcass forcing the rangers to work extra hard in order to find the mother and carcasses.
The Birmingham’s last surviving offspring have managed to avoid any conflict with any other lions and seem to be thriving as a small breakaway pride from the Ntsevu Pride. Elephants have also been abundant along with stunning sunrises and sunsets.
Lastly, there has been a decent number of cheetah sightings which are always super exciting.
Let us know your favourite image in the comments section below.
Enjoy this Week in Pictures…
After revealing her cubs to us and us putting out a story on us finding the den last week, there was another magical moment as the Plaque Rock Female bends down behind a log and picks up her cub revealing it to all those in the vehicle.
A pretty young playful female found along the river to the east of camp
This elephant bull was feeding beneath the canopy of a torchwood tree searching for fruit. Just after he had shaken the tree he was moving around to collect his fallen fruits.
The last of the Birmingham Male’s lineage lies within three young cubs, two of which are young males and one young female. Here an adult Nstevu Female stays back with one of the young males as the second female stalks a distant wildebeast on the horizon.
Blue Waxbills are some of the under-appreciated yet, just as stunning little birds. When sitting and watching them flutter between the branches of trees for long enough they often expose themselves and with the right lighting, they make for great photographic subjects.
One of the Nhlangleni Female’s young cubs looks across at its sibling while moving into the crisp morning light.
Initially skittish she spent a lot of time in the Sand River, now relaxed she makes up the majority of leopard viewing west of camp.
Giraffe make for fantastic subjectsto photograph in high key and convert to black and white.
A Red-billed Oxpecker flees his fellows with a prized morsel, a fat juicy tick! He was robbed soon after by a larger and more aggressive Yellow-billed oxpecker. It is always fun to watch these miniature battles play out, they can often be as entertaining as watching some of the mammalian predators!
The afternoon winter golden glow illuminates this male cheetah as he uses the termite mound as a vantage point. Their chestnut eyes caught in the light makes them captivating.
An inquisitive look of one of the Nhlanguleni Female’s cubs as it glances deep into the camera with a boulder in front of it and a nice dark background to accentuate the cub.
A vervet monkey gains the height advantage of a dead Leadwood tree to scan the surroundings.
On a recent cold morning, setting out from camp we saw a thick blanket of mist lining the lower lying areas. Getting some elevation we were able to get above the mist making it almost resemble the ocean.
The fixated gaze of a Nstevu Female as she stares across the horizon in the morning light searching for the rest of the pride which she was separated from the night before.
A very special moment as the light caught this female’s eyes as she looked into the canopy of a tree where her kill was stashed.
Forced into early independence as her mother was killed by the Southern Avoca Males.
Sean, So exciting to hear about and see the young leopards! Hoping they all make it to adulthood! The image of the young leopard with the dark background is our favorite and we also love the B&W image of the giraffe! Wonderful sunrise and sunset shots too!
It is very exciting. We just hope that the young leopards are able to survive.
Sorry I can’t choose. Every shot is unique and amazing. There is something special in each image. An equal first to all entrants!
They are all amazing shots and I am glad you like them.
I love the Elephant Photo. I saw an elephant shaking a tree when I visited Africa. And it was a happy reminder of that time.
Thank you so much, Barbara.
Favorite photo? Oxpecker with tick. Excellent representation of the southern expression ‘tight as a tick’
Seeing the Oxpecker pluck off the tick is a classic photo.
It’s heartwarming and so impressive that the Nstevu females have kept these three cubs still alive. The Birmingham males were beautiful and powerful and it’s sad that they are gone now. I find it perplexing that the four Ndzhenga males with all of their physical defects and to be honest, not the most handsome of male lions have moved forward and merged with the Nstevu pride. I would have thought their lineage to be too weak. One can hope these deformities won’t carry through to the cubs.
We are so happy that these young cubs have survived this long. I hope they make it through. We will have to wait and see what unfolds with the lion dynamics going forward.
A lovely TWIP again, but how can anything compete with Plaque Rock picking up her tiny cub? – well done Kyle!
It is such an amazing shot. A photographers dream as you would know to see a mother carrying her cub.
So tough to name a favorite! The Three Rivers female looking up is captivating…just what is up there??
Thank you so much, Mary Beth.
Oh my gosh- the cubs! Such beautiful shots Kyle and Kirst – and as always Sean😊. Love seeing all the blogs- especially the week in pictures and obsessed with the leopard cubs. Can’t wait for my next trip!
The cubs shot are stunning.
TWIP’s is wonderful as always updating the weeks activities . I especially like the sunset photos. Thanks Sean.
Thank you so much, William.
All pictures are absolutely gorgeous and peculiar and it’s a very hard choice! I love the Three Rivrr Female I think she is a very beautiful leopard with stunning eyes..
But I succumbed to the Nglanguleni cub’s charm, she is a real poser! All gorgeous, leopards, cheetah, lions, the elephant bull, the giraffe , the little bird and of course the Plaue Rock Female with her new cubs! Great, a Weekend gift
Thank you so much, Francesca. They are all great pics.
Hi Sean what a good mix of foto’s this week. My favorite foto this week is the Plague Rock female with her tiny cub in her mouth. Who can resist this foto, to precious for words. Loved the lions lying together and the Blue Wagbill is such a pretty bird. Nhlanguleni cubs are growing by the day.
Thank you so much, Valmai.
Thanks to all of you who have taken these amazing photos!
Love them all.
Thank you so much, Christa.
All the furry leopard cub images are too wonderful to choose one, so my choice this week is the magnificent male cheetah, standing tall on the termite mound. His eyes totally captured the sunlight
The leopard cub pics are always great.
For me, it was the Nhlangleni Female’s young cub looking at a sibling. The beautiful morning light really enhanced the photo.
Thanks, Vin. The Nhlanguleni Cubs are providing such great photographic opportunities of late. We are so fortunate.
What an awesome variety of pics this week! It’s hard to choose my favourites – so I’m going with 3! The beautiful Blue Waxbill (such a stunning little bird), the male cheetah and the vervet monkey all have my vote! However, there were so many good shots! I also loved the elephant, the giraffe and all those cute cubs! Well done guys!
Thank you so much, Carly. Those are three great choices. In a way it is a good thing if we are making it difficult to choose a favourite amongst these.
Oh Sean, what a lovely leopard cub photo
Thank you so much, Ian.
As much as I love my big and now little cats, I have to cast my vote for the beautiful, misty sunrise. Well done, my friend!
Thank you so much, Linda. Sunrises in winter are spectacular.
The Nhlanguleni cubs obviously take after their mother in the looks department. Gorgeous little cubs. And the Ntsevu females are doing an exceptional job keeping the three youngsters away from the Ndzhenga Males
The Nhlanguleni Cubs are really cute little cubs at the moment and certainly taking after their mother. I agree, the Ntsevu Females are do a fantastic job of keeping the last Birmingham Cubs alive.
Beautiful…..simply gorgeous! Always love TWIP!