With each passing week, we can feel the bush transforming towards summer. We experienced our first bit of rain for the season which we welcomed with arms wide open after a period of extremely warm and uncharacteristic weather for this time of year. The early morning and late afternoon light is still soft and adds a stunning glow to many of the pictures this week, running as a constant theme in many scenes. But over and above that we have a lot of exciting news this week.
Firstly, the Birmingham Male is back and looking as good as he has ever. He is now moving around with the Nkuhuma Male, a direct offspring of the Birmingham Male coalition whether this Birmingham Male is his father or uncle, there seems to be a strong bond between the two. We look forward to following this story as it all unfolds.
Secondly, on a recent morning game drive, Robbie Ball managed to find two pangolins with their tails intertwined. With a slight suspicion as to what might be happening, it was only upon doing some research that it turns out they were in fact mating. Such a unique and rare sighting to have witnessed, however, hugely promising.
We see a number of different leopards all providing us with incredible sightings. The Ximungwe Young Male, often being found by himself now as we soon discover his mother is off mating with the Senegal Bush Male. These are some promising signs for her and potentially having another brood of cubs, while daunting for the Young Male who will soon need to take on life as an independent young male leopard. The Three Rivers Female turns up after a period of being rather scarce and seems to be pushing her territory a lot further south into Dudley. The Flat Rock Male still controls the majority of the north but occasionally is seen just south of the Sand River.
Let us know your favourite image in the comments section below.
Enjoy this Week in Pictures…
The Ximungwe Young Male is one of the more frequently viewed leopards on Londolozi, with his independence rapidly approaching, we wonder where he will end up.
A single cub of the Ximungwe Female's second litter. Initially rather skittish but is very relaxed now. Birth mark in his left eye.
With the sun rising through a light mist, there was a gorgeous orange hue in the air surrounding this giraffe female.
The Birmingham Male is back and looking as good as ever. He has been spending his time in teh western sector of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve with his son/nephew, the Nkuhuma Male.
Sometimes I find the activity of the oxpeckers around the buffalo herds distracts you from the buffalo themselves. These little birds are quite charismatic.
The buffalo cow was rather curious and wandered up alongside the vehicle. When she turned to face us, we noticed her milky eye. I can’t say for certain what caused it but I doubt she has much vision in that eye.
Two Ntsevu females sit watching a herd of wildebeest up ahead.
The Birmingham Male has been seen for a few consecutive days now. Lets hope he stays.
Two young elephant bulls square off in a playful bout of fighting. Young elephants will use these moments to practice skills necessary for later on in life when they would need to challenge other large elephants for the right to mating with a female in heat.
The Three Rivers Female pauses for a short while on the bank of the Maxabene, allowing us to get eye-level with her.
Forced into early independence as her mother was killed by the Southern Avoca Males.
An adorable young elephant stretches its trunk up while trying to find its mother’s nipple. With its mouth open like this, one can’t help but think that the young one is embracing a cheek-to-cheek smile.
The Senegal Bush Male and Ximungwe Female are mating once again. The Ximungwe Female called relentlessly for the morning until finally, the Senegal Bush Male showed up.
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
The start of the next four days… The Ximungwe Female and Senegal Bush Male began their mating affair on the Londolozi airstrip.
In the golden afternoon light, we spotted a squirrel perched on a marula tree catching the last of the sun’s rays. Before we knew it, two smaller squirrels popped out from behind the adult!
While resting in the branches of a large tree, the Ximungwe Female’s face was lit up by the afternoon’s golden light.
Yet another spectacular sunset over the plains of Londolozi, I just couldn’t resist trying to get a snap of this amazing scene.
The Flat Rock Male was found late into the morning drive, still moving about on a territorial patrol. Although the Senegal Bush Male has shifted further north encroaching on the Flat Rock Male’s territory, he seems to be holding out and still ventures south of the Sand River near the Londolozi Camps.
A dominant male leopard over the majority of the north. He originally took over the 4:4 Male's territory when he died.
![Pangolins Mating [2] (rb)](https://media.londolozi.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/13131418/Pangolins-mating-2-RB-scaled.jpg)
A once-in-a-lifetime sighting of pangolins mating. No words could aptly describe the significance of this occurrence.
After doing a little bit of research we can almost be sure that these two pangolins were in fact mating. Pangolins are solitary animals. Based on the size of each individual it is unlikely to be a mother and a pup. So therefore it was two adults and the way they were intertwined is believed to be how they mate.
A young male elephant flaps his ear chasing away a few flies. It takes a bit of a stretch of the imagination to see it but with the highlighted parts of the elephant here is a heart shape.
While photographing a few elephants down at the Sand River, I looked up and noticed this tiny little Malachite Kingfisher.
A pair of African Fish Eagles perched on this dead tree made for a fantastic image of the two together.
Okay, this week’s vote goes to Patrick for his wonderful image of the little elephant smiling, laughing or whatever. He really captured the moment. It is wonderful to see the Birmingham male looking so well and healthy. I have photos of him from 2018 and he doesn’t look much different, except for a few more battle scars, and perhaps graying fur around his muzzle. All the photos are wonderful so each week it’s difficult to choose one…..
Thank you, it is a great image Denise. He is a magnificent male lion, and it is awesome to hear that you’ve been following his story throughout the years.
The beautiful sunset is my favourite.
It is a great picture of the sunset! Thank you, Ian.
Favorite is young elephant stretches its trunk
Thank you, Sandra. It is a stunning pic.
Sean, What an exciting week! So much activity! We are excited to see the Ximungwe Young Male getting ready to be on his own. Mating activity is crazy – seeing the Ximungwe Female and Senegal Bush Male mating in the open on the airstrip and two Pangolin entwined are two images to be saved. Our favorite image is of the young elephant – looks like it is emailing! A close second is the close-up of the Cape Buffalo – the reflection of the scene in it’s eye is amazing!
It certainly was a brilliant week with our rangers producing brilliant photographs once again. Thank you, Michael & Terri!
Quite brilliant photos, all the more exciting because I was there during several of these sightings.
How special, Willa! We look forward to welcoming you home soon.
As much as I love the Pangolin photos my favorite is the Senegal Bush male and the Ximungwe female mating on the airstrip. I can only hope their mating will ultimately bring forth a new set of cubs for her and Londolozi!
It was a very unique sighting, and we are very excited to share any updates in the coming months on the Ximungwe female.
that pangolin sighting….
a once in a lifetime sighting
loved the baby elephant
It really was a remarkable sighting, Ian. I’m so glad you enjoyed this week’s pictures.
Loved the pangolin photos, all those beautiful leopard pics, the African fish eagles in the tree, but the baby elephant caught my eye more than any of the others. Adorable shot! Glad to see the Birmingham male looking good! Great TWIP!
Thank you, Darlene. It was a very exciting week in the bush!
Hi Sean my favorite this week is the elephant mother and gorgeous calf. To cute and yes it looks as if it is smiling. All other foto’s are stunning and I loved all the leopard foto’s off course. Glad to hear and see the Senegal Bush male and Ximungwe female are mating, which means more leopard cubs.
It certainly was a very exciting week, Valmai.
As always all of the pictures are amazing. The Ximungwe male photo is so regal. What a beautiful creature but the photo of the baby elephant for me this week … OMG…how can you not smile when you look at that. Thank you for putting a smile on our faces too!
Thank you, Barbi. We are so glad this week’s images put a smile on your face!
How nice to see the remaining Birmingham male again. At one point it didn’t appear he would make it. Now he is in really good shape. He really is a warrior. Really nice pics Sean. Thanks for sharing.
I agree with you – he is looking incredible, thank you Leonie.
Great stuff Sean! Thanks for bringing me along on your adventures and keeping my mind in Londolozi!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this week’s stories, and hopefully, we will welcome you back soon Rob!
Those are all stunning pictures! My favourites are the giraffe with the glowing light and the elephant calf just steals the heart. I happened to be there for that Pangolin sighting… Truly an amazing thing! It was quite funny actually Alfred turned to the car and said casually “do you want to see a Pangolin?”…. we arrived to find not one but two!
How incredible, Kara! It has been a very exciting week of wildlife photography, and so special to hear that you were here to witness some of it!
I couldn’t help but smile at the baby elephant under her mom! Great pic.
It really is a great pic, Linda.
I love the eagles but I think I like the color version better 🙂 and of course the littlest ellie! Always look forward to the week in pictures (and the drives)!
Thank you, Anita. I look forward to sharing many more stories with you in the future.
Sean, my favorite picture this week is the Ximungwe Female in the afternoon light with her eyes closed. I think it is a great picture capturing a glimpse of the life of a leopard in the bush.
Thank you, William. It is a very pretty shot from Kate.
Congratulations on all the great photos!
The most incredible is surely the one of the two pangolins mating. I dearly wish I had witnessed such an event! Incredible! I have never seen a pangolin in my life and there were two… This is definitely on my bucket list.
However, the young elephant is so cute, and the leopards and lions are so amazing as well. The couple of fish eagles are beautiful as are the other birds and the giraffe in the golden light looks wonderful.
Thanks for sharing the photos.
Thank you, Christa. It really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience seeing two Pangolins together, and Robbie’s pictures of the sighting are wonderful.
Incredible about the pangolins! Lots of great pics this week so of course hard to pic…but for me the little elephant wins🥰 🤩👍
It was a very unique sighting indeed, Marcia. It is a very sweet picture of the Elephant.
What a phenomenal week at Londolozi, especially pangolins mating! Is the gestation period of a pangolin known? Lion dynamics continue to be intriguing, and wishing the XYM good luck as it seems he is on his own. He is (in my opinion) the most beautiful male leopard in the Sabi Sands (although there are a few up there for sure).
The Ximungwe Young Male is a very beautiful Leopard indeed & it really was a very special week here at Londolozi, Michael. The Temminck’s Pangolin’s gestation period is generally anywhere between 105-140 days.
Great pics this week! I think my fave would be the oxpeckers and the lovely pic of the giraffe. The fish eagles definitely look better in colour and that baby elephant is just too cute!
Thank you, Carly. Chris’s shots of the Oxpeckers are really beautiful!
Birmingham male looking much more robust than he did summer 2021.
Baby elephant gets my vote!
He is indeed looking beautiful, Vin.
My favourite photo this week is the smiling baby elephant, just tugged my heartstrings. I am so thrilled about the pangolin sighting, how exciting to be there at that moment!!
I agree – It is a very cute shot of the Elephant, Barbara.
How incredible to find mating pangolins!!! What a Grand Slam home run! All of the photos are great, but whoa the pangolins are just amazing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this week’s pictures Lisa, It was an amazing sighting that Robbie captured beautifully.
I loved the giraffe most this week, although the baby elephant and the buffalo cow also stirred something in me. And the pangolins! Just… wow! What an experience to have witnessed.
We really are lucky to have witnessed so much magic in the bush this week, Chelsea.
Mating pangolins. There is nothing else to say.
Couldn’t agree with you more, Linda.
The young elephant is adorable, and the sighting of pangolins mating is as cool as it is rare. But the photo of the two African Fish Eagles is truly majestic! Great TWIP Sean and team!!