This week the Lowveld has warmed up significantly, with temperatures returning to what we would expect in the middle of summer, above 38 degrees celsius or knocking on the 100-degree Farenheit’s door. Although with this in mind, the mornings and evenings still had a little chill in the air. However, this has not had an impact on the sightings this week.
We have spent some time with the new lion Duo, the Tsalala Lioness and her great aunt, a Mhangeni Lioness. One of the Ndzhenga Males features and then a few leopards of course.
The Mashaba Female has been found a few more times, but sadly we have not yet been able to find her cub. We think it is still alive but finding it has proven to be more than challenging. The Senegal Bush Male gets chased into a tree by a hyena. And the Ndzandzeni Female is found in the late afternoon just as she was about to go and have a drink.
Outside of the predators, we have some fantastic sightings of a few regular birds and don’t forget the giraffe and impala silhouettes.
Let us know your favourite image in the comments section below.
Enjoy this Week in Pictures…
Sheer focus in her eyes. The older Mhangeni Lioness that has joined up with the Tsalala Lioness fixates her gaze into the distance.
While waiting near a large waterhole to see what came down for a drink. We noticed this Red-billed Hornbill digging away through a pile of elephant dung in search of any insect grubs to eat.
After tracker Equalizer spotted her tracks on the road, we had only followed them for a short while before spotting the Mashaba Female sitting atop a nearby termite mound. It’s always special to witness a leopard almost at eye level with the vehicle.
The Mashaba female is currently Londolozi’s best-known leopard. Her relaxed nature means she is comfortable around the vehicles.
Shortly after stopping for sundowners, we came across a peaceful silhouetted moment.
This male giraffe follows a female around the open crest ready to mate.
One of the four Ndzhenga Males props himself up while lying out in the open.
Now at the back end of winter, the landscape is drying out with dust and smoke filling the air making sunsets at this time of year a spectacle. A large male giraffe made for. fantastic silhouetted subject.
While we were sitting with the Nkuhuma pride full-bellied after killing a waterbuck, we watched as the vultures descended and tried their luck with any of the remains.
The Senegal Bush Male jumps up a fallen marula tree to escape three hyenas that came to investigate if he had a kill to steal.
Initially seen as a young male in 2016, this leopard only properly established territory on Londolozi in mid-2019
Staring down at the hyena that had chased him up the tree with a very unimpressed look on his face.
A Black-collard Barbet perches in the canopy of a flowering Weeping Boer Bean. A striking splash of red in the bush during the month of August.
As the moon shifts towards full and is more than half illuminated it is known as a waxing gibbous moon.
As the sun set behind the Drakensburg mountains, we spotted the Ndzandzeni Female approaching one of the water holes to drink. In the low light, a shot at motion blur seemed to work out quite well. She must have turned her head as the shutter opened and essentially kept it still while the rest of the body moved. This allowed for her face to appear in focus and the rest of the image blurred.
This female is a success story all in herself, being born as a single cub to the Riverbank 3:3 female in early 2012.
She then settled down for a drink facing away from us and the golden light on her stunning rosettes made for a great shot.
We then spun ourselves around and had this as the view. Certainly my favourite time of day.
The Ximungwe Young Male gracefully descends a fallen marula tree branch in pursuit of his mother nearby.
A single cub of the Ximungwe Female's second litter. Initially rather skittish but is very relaxed now. Birth mark in his left eye.
August TWIP Photographer Winner…
Thank you to all of you who voted for your favourite images throughout the month of August on our blog and as well as Instagram – we have a winner… Our TWIP Photography competition happens over the course of every month and relies on your votes – our blog and social media followers. The winner of every month gets to draw a prize/voucher out of a hat for all the energy, patience, skill and passion they needed in order to get “the shot”. We are thrilled to keep sharing some amazing photographic content with you every week. Make sure to vote every week for your favourite picture.
Now onto the winner for August – Congratulations to Kyle Gordon once again…
I love all the photos of sunsets. The silhouettes of the animals are so beautiful.
And the photo of the moon is so clear. One could imagine grabbing the moon.
Thank you so much, Christa. The sunsets and silhouettes are always gorgeous at this time of year.
The Ximungwe young male coming down the fallen marula tree takes the trophy today! I liked many of the others, but this was my favorite! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much, Darlene. The pic of the Ximungwe Young Male is stunning.
Some cracking photos, the cheetahs, the moon…
Thank you so much, Ian.
Well done Kyle, that was such an amazing image of the cheetahs. Lots of gorgeous ones again this week, but my vote goes to Jess for the one of Senegal Bush male in the tree….if looks could kill those hyena would definitely be dead!
I’m really curious about the young Tsalala female meeting up with her great aunt, might they have been together when she was a cub perhaps? – and has the Mhangeni female broken away from the rest of her pride? It must be good news anyway if they stay together.
Thank you so much, Suzanne. If only looks could kill. In all honesty, we are not too sure how they met up or what the interaction was like when they did, but to my knowledge, I don’t think they had ever met before. We are also not too sure what will happen if they (Tsalala Female and Mhangeni Female) meet up with the Mhangeni Pride so we will have to wait and see.
Sean, my favorite shot this week is thew silhouette of the impala at sundown. Tayla did a great job with this shot.
Thank you so much, William. It is a very pretty shot.
Sean, I still recall the Mashaba Female trying to fugure out how to retrieve the impala carcass she dropped from a tree which nearly landed on the vehicle. Quite a moment!
That was such an awesome sighting. I remember it so clearly.
So many interesting compositions this week – and beautiful sunsets! I loved the up close and personal image of the white hooded vulture. It’s not often you can see a reflection in their eye.
Thank you so much, Chelsea. It is an unusual shot and great to be able to see the reflection in its eye.
Some brilliant sunset colour and some great portraits, but my favourite this week is the photo of the Mashaba female.
Thank you so much, Darryl. It is so great to see the Mashaba Female.
As always, beautiful photos! Any one of the leopards is always my first choice!
Thank you so much, Lisa.
Wonderful images this week and after much consideration, my vote is for Kate’s images of the Ndzanzeni female. I like the two equally as they are a bit different, more artistic. There were a few more that I really liked but ……
Thank you so much, Denise. The two shots of the Ndzanzeni Female are quite different and artistic.
I loved the close up vulture shot such great detail! Also the hornbill and giraffe.
Thank you so much, Kara.
Sean, We are always happy to hear about Mashaba and hope that her cub is still healthy! The images are beautiful! Our favorite this week is Kate’s shot of the Ndzandzeni Female. Such a great perspective and her coat and rosettes are very dramatic!
I really hope that she is able to raise the cub successfully. Thank you for your vote, I agree is a great image.
Hi Sean, my favorite foto is the Ndzanzeni female leopard. Actually both of her foto’s are gorgeous. Congrats to Kyle for your winning foto. It is a special foto for sure.
Thank you so much, Valmai. It is a great shot.
Congrats Kyle! Absolutely deserved that one! The pic of the cheetahs is absolutely superb!! 👏🏻
My fave this week would be the two giraffes standing beside each other and that amazing sunset!
Thank you so much, Carly. Those are some great pics.
The sunset photo is my favourite. Having seen many of them in my life time. That depicts a typical African bushveld seen.
The sunset shots are amazing and certainly depicts a truly African scene.
So many fabulous shots this week Sean. My favourite is the blurred image of the Ndzandzeni Female. Such a different image than we usually see.
Thank you so much, Barbara. It is such a different image and that makes it rather appealing.
Great pictures! Love the vulture and the rear view of the leopard!