It’s been an action-packed week with sightings of a myriad of different species in equally varied scenarios. The water table is still as high as it can be, the seep lines are flowing, and the plethora of shallow pans dotting the reserve make for plenty of opportunities to catch an animal quenching its thirst.
Elephants abound throughout the reserve, relishing the abundance of water and forage, with curious and playful calves dotting the herds. The Leopards of Londolozi are taking advantage of the healthy populations of prey species, the impala fattened on grass, with the species’ males becoming distracted as the rut slowly kicks in. A highlight has to be the Plaque Rock Female, as she treated us to an incredible show of her prowess, taking down an impala ewe in the middle of the afternoon.
The wild dogs have moved through, leaving the usual trail of destruction in their wake – angered giraffes, shocked zebra, and not a few impala carcasses. There’s some very exciting news there too: the alpha pair of wild dogs have been mating, as has the beta female, which means that in only two and a half months, there will be pups about! Where will they den though? With the incredible sightings of the 2021 pups, we can only hope that it’s here!
Let me know which is your favourite image in the comments below.
Enjoy This Week In Pictures…
A curious youngster touches their face distractedly while peering at our vehicle.
The Long-tailed Paradise Whydahs have been showing off their breeding plumage, and we couldn’t resist the opportunity to capture this clean silhouette.
The huge pupils of the Three Rivers Female in the lowering dusk light captured our attention.
These wild dogs had an impala ram cornered in a waterhole and were collectively losing their minds with frustration trying to chase it out. Here, one member sprints around the waterhole, leaping over a small rivulet as the impala made a break for the water’s edge.
Only this pack member, I assume the alpha, was willing to brave the water, trying to panic the stoic impala, which had found safety in the deepest part of the small pool. Here, he shakes off his coat after another failed attempt at scaring his prey into bolting.
One of the highlights of one of our guests’ stay was having this massive herd of elephants amble down the road and flow around our car, all animals incredibly relaxed.
The Senegal Bush Male looking as fierce as always and sporting a few new battle scars.
A flock of White-fronted Bee-eaters gathers on a fallen macula that had dropped into the Sand River during the recent rains.
A musth bull walks through a clearing to investigate a nearby female.
The Plaque Rock Female gains the height advantage of a handy termite mound to scan a nearby herd of impala for potential prey.
She became more focused as the herd moved in her direction. Soon after this, she slunk off the mound and began her stalk. We doubted her chances as the odds seemed stacked against her; she was hunting into the sun, the herd was huge (more eyes), muddled with wildebeest and zebra (even more eyes), and it was mid-afternoon. But she seemed to fancy her chances and went for it!
Soon after we lost sight of her, a massive commotion through the herd let us know that she had gone for it! We couldn’t believe our eyes as we rounded the corner and were greeted by this spectacular scene.
A shy leopard tortoise refused to cooperate and emerge from his shell, but still made for an interesting snap nonetheless.
A Grey Heron perches atop a deadwood as the sun begins to rise.
The Three Rivers Female pauses in her drinking to glance up as a branch snaps nearby.
A huge giraffe bull strides down the road past our vehicle.
A young elephant grazes serenely against the backdrop of a stunning African sunset.
A lilac-breasted roller fluffed up against the morning chill.
This female treated us to a stunning scene as she paused to drink from a waterhole while she and her pride made their way north towards the river.
Seeing a silhouette like this from afar is always an exciting moment.
The Ntomi Male, now less often seen, continues to thrive as he deals with independence. The characteristic dot in his eye is clearly visible here.
An intent stare comes from this male as he pauses to watch a giraffe mother and calf down the road.
This mother giraffe was having none of it, as this pack of eight decided to investigate her calf. We could feel the thump of our hooves from all the way down the road! The pack quickly lost interest after this moment and bolted into the thicket to the left.
Soft backlighting shows off the whiskers of this stallion.
I loved the reflection of this hyena as it crossed a small stream in the otherwise dry Manyalethi riverbed.
All great photographs, Kyle. Well done. Wishing all at Londolozi a great Easter weekend.
Thanks for reading, Ian. It was a very festive Easter over here, hoping you had a great time too!
Lovely photos. Always a pleasure, to get treated to so much beauty.
Thank you, Jos, I’m glad you enjoyed!
The curious youngster ellie is my favorite!
Thanks Sandra, I really enjoy that one too.
I love all your photos, Kyle. They are really great.
The one with the giraffe defending her calf is the most interesting one, for me. I have never seen such a scene.
Thanks for the beautiful photos.
It was the first time I had seen anything like that too, Christa! Thank you for reading/viewing.
Oh Kyle. Can I just LOVE THEM ALL! Simply Stunning!!!!
Thanks so much for reading, Camille!
Great group of pictures Kyle! Really loved the one of the hyena and the one showing the Three Rivers Female’s dilated pupils! Is the Ntomi Male being pushed by the Senegal Bush Male that you all have seen or is naturally starting to wander?
Hi Michael, thanks for reading and commenting! Re: the Ntomi male, he is definitely being seen further west than his natal territory but not by more than roughly a kilometre. We’ve not witnessed (witnessed being the key word) any pressure from the Senegal Bush male but I am sure there has been some. We are expecting further dispersal from the Ntomi male soon, as much as we’d rather he sticks around.
Kyle. Beauties! A few of those look familiar. 😜 Could be because I was sitting behind you for a most incredible, action packed week. Thanks again for all the memorable sightings and photo help. Hope to see you next year. 👍
Hey Allan! Yes sir, a few of these may look a little familiar for sure. It was an incredible 6 days and we all can’t wait to see you two again next year!
Kyle we were spoiled with so many images this week. All of them are absolutely stunning and it is hard to choose just 1 favorite image. Going through them all again I will choose the Ntomi male leopard which is my favorite image for this week. Also loved the elephant calf and the giraffe bull.
Thanks so much, Valmai, I really liked that portrait of the young male as well.
Wow Kyle … a ton of great pics! But my favs are the wild dog jumping the creek towards you, the leopard tortoise and of course the baby elephant at the start!!! Beautiful pictures!
Thanks Bob! That Wild dog sighting was very special and we sat at that crossing after seeing them leap over in great anticipation for them to do it again for quite some time. But eventually, we were rewarded and it was pretty special. As you know, any animal crossing water is very exciting!
Wow! The whydah and the bee-eater photos are superb. But the zebra chin hairs also are quite something.
Thanks so much, Willa, I was very happy with the way the zebra chin came out with the back lighting!
WOW Kyle! Each pic is better than the last! What a spectacular week! The first baby ellie pic wins for me this week tho Ntomi male is my favorite creature on earth right now! Love the wild dogs and the lone hyena too! Thank you!
Thanks, Anita, it really was a very special week, even for me who lives here! The curious ellie is definitely one of my favourites. And hopefully, we’ll see you at Londolozi and you can see the Ntomi male for yourself and see that charismatic eye spot!
On my bucket list for sure! Everyone should do safari at least once in their lifetime but once was not enough for us! We visited Kenya in 2017 so our next visit will def be to Londolozi! But first to Rwanda to see the mtn gorillas 🙂
It’s a beautiful collection of images Kyle and certainly varied in content. If I have to choose, then the detailed head/chin shot is my favorite. I have an affinity for this type of shot and yours was executed perfectly.
Thanks so much, Denise, I was very happy with how it turned out. I believe you’ll be around soon? Definitely going to have plenty of opportunity to try for that shot, I was using the 600mm that day but I am sure a 400mm will do if you find a relaxed individual nice and early in the morning!
The Wild Dog leaping at the water is great but this weeks pic has to go to the Plaque Rock Female with the Impala?
Fantastic seeing how huge the Giraffe is to the Wild Dogs.
Thanks so much, Tony, the afternoon with the Plaque Rock female was insane!
Great TWIP, Kyle! Some memorable shots including the whydah silhouette, the bee-eater flock and the leaping wild dog! And it is the latter that is #1 for me. I always find it so difficult to capture good shots of the always-moving dogs and this one is amazing!
Thanks so much, Mary Beth. I know what you mean, Wild dogs are far and away the most difficult subject to capture well. We were very lucky as they had an impala trapped in the water and were just running around in circles, allowing us to plan a little bit more than you normally would.
All pictures are superb. Especially big cats, then elephants are really expressive. We love all leopards and the picture of ghe lioness with her reflection in the water. But this week unanimously we chose the mother giraffe facing wild dogs and winning this match. She is great, a super mum to be awarded!
That mother giraffe facing down the wild dogs was an absolutely insane moment, Francesca! The dogs actually did not want to back down until a big bull arrived on seen but unfortunately I missed that moment.
I always love the week in pictures. this weeks favorite for me is Long-tailed Paradise Whydah. Wonderful shot needs to be printed.
Thanks so much for that, Mark, appreciate it! It flew off a half second later and I wish I could have just held the shutter down for a moment longer to capture it in flight.
That flock of bee eaters is really something else!
Thank you, Michael!
My favourite hands down is the pic of the bee eaters on the tree this week! Such a beautiful picture!!!
Thanks, Carly, I’m glad you like it!
Great photos – love the close-up of Zeb highlighting the contrast between those beautiful markings and filigree whiskers.
Thanks, Jennifer, I am very happy with the way that turned out.
Great pictures this week Kyle. My favorite is the young elephant with it’s trunk touching it’s face.
I think that is my favourite too, William. Thanks for reading!
Kyle, Great shots this week! We had a hard time picking a favorite! We chose the backlit Zebra as our top pick!
Thanks so much, Michael and Terri, it was a spur of the moment shot as I was lugging around the 600mm but I am very happy with the way it turned out and will remember that for the future.
The description of the wild dogs “collectively losing their minds with frustration” made me laugh. I know the feeling! So many interesting images and stories this week. I particularly love the close up of the lioness drinking and the bull giraffe ambling by. I felt like I was right there with them. Glad the wild dogs lost interest in the young giraffe.
Thanks for reading/viewing, Chelsea! It was very funny to watch them trying to work up the courage to swim. I am very happy with the way the lioness drinking turned out as she just managed to fit in the frame! I don’t think the giraffe calf really had anything to worry about but it was still fascinating to watch the mother stamp her massive hooves at the tiny dogs!
Amazing photos, Kyle! Can’t pick a favorite! They all make me happy and longing for our return to beautiful Londolozi!
When are you guys going to be back, Dolores? Thank you so much for reading and commenting.