This week we enjoy a predator-rich and diverse week of fantastic sightings. The cool winter morning has meant that activity lasts long after the sun has risen with the golden light filling many of the scenes. We enjoy a number of sightings of cheetahs, one particular one was during a very misty morning when the mother and cub settled on a termite mound to survey their surroundings.
A snap of the Nhlanguleni Female’s cub makes it in along with a stunning shot of one of the Xinzele Female’s cubs who climbs up onto the boulder to get a better look at what was going on. One of the Nkoveni Young Females leaps from the branches of a fallen marula tree to land on top of her sibling who was calmly resting beneath.
Sunbirds, Oxpeckers, African Hawk-eagles and a Spotted Eagle-owl make up the amazing birding contingent of this week. With elephants and lions making up the rest. All-in-all a fantastic week was had by all.
Let us know your favourite image in the comments section below.
Enjoy this Week in Pictures…
The Xinzele Female’s cub. Patience rewarded us after spotting the mother lying on these boulders. After some time the cub came out to get a better look at us. Such a sighting, in such a magical scene, is very easily the rarest and most special.
A small female often found in NW Marthly. Similar spot pattern to her mother the Ingrid Dam Female.
A misty backdrop made for an ethereal scene as this mother cheetah scanned the clearings ahead for any potential prey.
With the cub lying at the base of the mound, the already hungry pair were on the search for anything they could find!
Catching a glimpse of the Nhlanguneni Females’ cub in-between the dense foliage.
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.
A White-bellied Sunbird probes into one of the many aloe flowers on offer.
One of the Nkoveni Young Females rests on a fallen marula tree. You can see the matted texture of the fur on her paws and chest. A result of playing with her sibling earlier in the long dew-covered grass.
Also young and playful but rather with a spot pattern of 3:2. She is slightly bigger than her sister.
With her sibling resting beneath her this Nkoveni Young female leaps out of a marula tree from a height of over three metres to pounce on her unsuspecting sibling. Honing valuable skills she will use later on when hunting most of her own prey.
This tall aloe stood out above the rest of the flowerbed and seldom got any visitors. That’s until this White-bellied Sunbird landed on it. He chose not to feed and instead used it for more of a vantage point from which he should can scan the flowers below and planned his next move.
The detail in a tusk can be beautiful.
The not so common, and very beautiful Yellow-billed Oxpecker. Here three of them, two adults and one juvenile, rest on the back of a young buffalo while it grazes.
The sun rises over a small herd of wildebeest cavorting in a clearing.
A cheetah rests atop a fallen marula as the late afternoon light begins to fade.
A young elephant calf raises his trunk while investigating us in the vehicle. These young elephants are very curious but seldom wander far from their mothers, whose shadow is cast over this one’s face.
Shortly after descending a marula tree, the Ximungwe Young Male uses a termite mound to gaze over the open grassy crest for anything of interest.
A great spot from a guest gave us a stunning view of this Spotted Eagle-owl!
A lioness claws a leadwood tree before moving on to hunt.
Two elephants extend their trunks out towards each other in a greeting ritual whereby they place the trunk into one another’s mouths.
The three Ndzhenga Males on another territorial patrol looked formidable.
A breeding pair of African Hawk-eagles perched in the bare branches of a dead leadwood. These birds were using this vantage point to scan the surrounding open clearings for any potential prey – usually, ground birds such as helmeted guineafowl or francolin.
A large female giraffe presented herself beautifully within an open clearing. With a massive height advantage and keen vision, she kept a casual eye on a hyena wandering about in the distance.
Many terrific images this week, but my vote goes to the more detailed shot of the elephants greeting one another by Patrick. It’s different and I appreciate the aesthetics of the b/w, and subject material. The little elephant calf was my runner-up. So many choices…!
The vertical cheetah with the misty background did it for me this week. As I scrolled up on my iPad, the mist looked like snow covered trees in the background. It was magical.
Thank you so much, Chelsea. The cheetah viewing has been amazing of late and this morning was particularly special.
Nhlanguneni Females’ cub in-between the dense foliage is my favorite
Thank you so much, Sandra.
Sean, Spectacular images and stories. Our favorite image is the “elephant hello” by Patrick! We added it to our favorites as well!
Thank you so much, Michael and Terri. I love watching elephants and this little interaction between them was intimate and special.
Super photos, especially the cheetahs and sunbirds
Thank you so much, Ian.
Whoa! Cats galore and beautiful birds, etc.! Loved the cheetah pics, but have to pick ‘the leaping leopard’! What a leap and what a surprise for her sister! Terrific week in pictures!
Thank you so much, Darlene. It must have been a huge surprise for her sister having this one land on top of her.
They are all wonderful! The birds pics are very beautiful with those bright colors, the b+w images of the elefants are always great because of their interesting textures and structures, the image of the two cheetahs is very beautiful with its soft atmosphere that – I do not know why – looks in my view like the historic animal pictures in children’s books. The litthe leopard in the tree is a wonderful portrait with beautiful light and the leopard in leap – great! Yet my favored of all is the first one – the little leopard on the tree trunk. So cute, and so soft with that bokeh grass on its side!
(Annotation: I think it would be a good idea to add a facility to like individual images. It would allow us to show our appreciation to them without having to write such long comments)
Thank you so much, Ulrike, for your in-depth comment. There are so many great images. There is a function whereby you can add the images to your favourites on our Fine Art site. But we do not have a “like” function yet.
Lots of great images this week! Patrick’s elephant trunk greeting photo is the winner for me.🥰👍🤩
Thank you so much, Marcia. I agree that Patrick’s elephant greeting is such an amazing shot.
Thanks for sharing all these amazing photos. I love them all.
Thank you so much, Christa.
The competition is always stiff, but I believe these to be the best set of pictures thus far this year! That look on the cheetah’s face! (Disdain?) The eye of the young elephant! (Mischief?) Topped off with amazing birds, elephant behavior, and the rest. Thanks for helping to make my Friday a good one.
Thank you so much, Linda. This week’s selection is fantastic and I am so glad that it has made your Friday a good one.
Sean TWIP is amazing. I have two favorites this week. The first is the Novena you female leaping to attack her sibling. The second is the greeting of the two elephants which just reminds me of their awareness of their social structure within the herd. Just saying a friendly hello!!
Thank you so much, William. The Nkoveni Young Females are such fantastic leopards to spend time with.
Sean my favorite foto is the little Nhlanguleni cub on the Boulder looking straight at the camera, too beautiful for words. Spotted eagle owl stunning foto. We had a pair of them breeding in our tree in a box that my husband made and hoisted up in the tree, they had 3 chick’s. We have moved since and now live at Kranspoort nature reserve with animals moving between the houses. Still getting used to see all these beautiful animals, just saw 4 bush pigs right here by my veranda and there is a Nyala bull that eats bread out of my hand.
Thank you so much, Valmai. The Nhlanguleni cubs are such great value. I am glad you now live in a nature reserve and are able to see some nice animals.
Pictures that make you go awww! As soon as I saw the first one it’s a masterwork , also the cheetah mum, they really are all spectacular. The Nhlanguleni female ‘s cub is a real poser i can’t think of a better one, she’s incredible!
Thank you so much, Francesca. There were some great shots this week. I agree the Nhlanguleni cubs are so photogenic.
Once again so difficult to choose. My vote is for: equal first to The Cheetah Mum and cub on the termite mound in the misty morning (looks like a painting) and The ritual greeting of the two elephants (an amazing shot).
Thank you so much, Jennifer. Those are two great choices.
Some great pics Sean. Lots of cats – love them all. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much, Leonie.
As usual lots of beautiful images but my favorite is the first one (Xinzele’s female cub).
Thank you so much, Marc. Leopard cubs always steal everyones’ hearts.
For content: Xinzele Female’s cub in the first image,
For “style”: The mother cheetah with the misty backdrop.–Magical
I would have loved to see that Nkoveni young female dropping onto her sister! That is quite a distance to plop down on something……this week is full of great photos!
Thank you to all the guides and trackers at Londolozi for your fabulous photos and info. The leopard cub images have been truly beautiful, something I’ve hardly ever seen before. Can I ask: do the leopard mothers tend to give birth at this time of the year? This seems to be the case.
How good is it to be seeing so many amazing pics of cheetahs!! They are so beautiful and get my vote this week! The sunbird is so pretty too. Keep the cheetah pics coming guys – they are awesome!