Another week of rain and cloudy conditions but the sightings have been as good as ever. These conditions, if not raining, present unique photographic opportunities.
Lion, leopard and elephant sightings have been incredible over the past week. The Ntsevu Pride continue to allow us to view their precious cubs that have the most relaxed demeanour. There are now five different litters of cubs that we are aware of.
The Three Rivers Young Male leopard is popping up all over his mother’s territory, showing off his very confident behaviour. The Ximungwe Female and Ntomi Male rolled back the months and were very playful with each other for a brief moment before she left him to his own devices once again. The Plaque Rock Female and Xinkhova Female have provided some amazing viewing on the marula crests. We spent one whole, spectacular morning viewing the Mashaba Female in a beautiful marula tree. We savour these moments as sightings of her are becoming less frequent.
The wet and cloudy conditions have allowed for the most unique and striking photographic opportunities. From using the dramatic skies as backdrops to getting lower down and dirty with the giant land snails – we have to make the most of the conditions presented to us.
Please let us know your favourites in the comment section below.
Enjoy This Week In Pictures…
The Three Rivers Young Male stares at some lions walking through a clearing nearby.
Somewhat skittish after becoming independent, he is an impressive young male with a rich golden coat.
It has been ages since I have seen the Ximungwe Female and the Ntomi Male interact in a playful way. Now over two years old, it’s a matter of time before the Ntomi Male becomes totally independent.
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
A single cub of the Ximungwe Female's second litter. Initially rather skittish but is very relaxed now. Birth mark in his left eye.
Having all this water around means that Giant Land Snails are out and about in full force.
Being able to see lion cubs like this is really something to behold. The relaxed demeanour of the Ntsevu Pride has rubbed off on these young cubs.
Climbing all over their mother.
The Ntsevu Pride has a strong hold on the Southeastern parts of Londolozi. Having these established females as well as the Ndzhenga Males around means that these cubs have a great chance of making it.
The mothers of these cubs show such great patience.
We are seeing birds like this juvenile African Fish Eagle in areas we wouldn’t have in the past due to all this water being around.
This bull elephant presents an incredible photographic opportunity as he walks through the clearings north of the airstrip.
The Plaque Rock Female descends a marula tree toward a herd of impalas she noticed in the distance.
A pretty young playful female found along the river to the east of camp
The Xinkhova Female shows her youthfulness as she jumps from one branch to another.
A stunning young female with a very similar spot pattern to her mother, the Nkoveni Female. Litter still completely intact March 2022.
The Xinkhova Female stashes the head of this young impala ram as she finches off the rest of her kill.
Giraffes and dramatic skies go hand in hand in this image.
There is something so special about the eyes of elephants. Time slows down when you are eye-to-eye with them.
We had a visitor while having a sundowner on the airstrip. I had to snap a photo of my good friend and tracker Dorence with this elephant, before getting back in the vehicle.
Silhouette of the Mashaba Female in a marula.
Londolozi's oldest territorial female. Distinguished by her nose spot, this Sunsetbend matriarch's legacy lives on through her daughters.
She remained in the marula for some time, allowing us to get multiple different shots of her.
My favourite shot of the week. Seeing the Mashaba female is always special.
Awesome to see the Mashaba Female! Sad that you all don’t see her as frequently, but her lineage is no doubt set with two daughters, a grandson, and three granddaughters all seen on Londolozi!
It makes it very difficult to choose, so I’ll rather say, they are all beautiful and special.
While I do enjoy pictures of the “bigs,” I so savor photos of the littles. So, the land snail is my favorite this week.
Another amazing week in photos. Im not sure which is my favorite. The lion cubs are just beautiful and the leopards are wonderful as usual. The elephant eye closeup also interesting. Thanks for sharing
So hard to choose they are all wonderful pictures.
I love the silhouette of the Mashaba female in the marula tree. Glad to see she’s still around, even if seldom seen.
Super photos, though a cuteness warning was appropriate in this case
Great to see some photos of the Mashaba female again.
I love all the photos. The one with the big elephant bull against the open field is one of my favorites.
However, the lion cubs are just sooo cute!
Patrick, my favorite this week is the eye of the elephant. Just a great shot.
Really great to see Mashaba again…..and Plaque Rock too! Saw both of them in 2019. And it is charming that Ntomi is still occasionally hanging out with his mama…..we all know now special those young males are as they slowly but surely grow up and away from their mamas.
My fav of the week is the first photo of the Mashaba female shown in landscape format, black and white. Her silhouette against the darkened sky is iconic. Seeing her brings back many memories…
The lone lion cub is my winner this week…too precious.
Thanks for the Mashaba update. We haven’t heard much from her recently,
My favorite leopardess the Mashaba female, so good to see her again. She is my She is coming of age now, but she is still is the most popular leopardess. All the other leopards are stunning and the lion images are beautiful, especially the cubs.
So many wonderful images and amazing variety. Impossible to choose a favorite, or even a few favorites Patrick! One odd question, what is the scale of the giant land snail?
Patrick, you’ve posted a great collection of images this week and whilst I was tempted to favor the last lion cub capture, ultimately I chose Xinkhova’s leap from one branch to another. Bravo!!
Great pictures. I have heard posts of a death of a lioness. Any details in to that?. Is it a Nstevu or any other lioness. Also, any update on Tsalala lioness?
Lions cubs are a top view and experience! But my favourite is “the Mashaba female and the Marula tree”… they are both old and still reign over their world. I love both and hope for them to have a long healthy life.
I love all the photos this week but particularly the first one in black and white. Thank you for a great week in pictures!
Fantastic pictures – my goodness those lion cubs are precious. Great to also see Ximungwe female – haven’t seen her in the blog lately.