As previously mentioned, the change in the season is upon us as we feel the fresh morning air on the game drives, winter is on its way. The shades of our lush green summer begin to fade and the crisp mornings and evenings are followed by glorious warm clear days. With slightly more dust in the air, the afternoon light and breathtaking sunsets create amazing photographic opportunities. So by lapping up any opportunity, we managed to get a great and diverse selection of images this week.
Starting with the leopards that feature quite strongly, we spend an exciting morning with the elusive Xinzele Female and her daughter. The excitement here stems from the fact that although we saw this youngster as a tiny cub, presumed to be born in early April, the two have been rather scarce and we have not had too many great sightings of them until now. After a brief glimpse of these two playing during a morning drive, they were then found a few days later with a sizeable carcass in central Marthly. This meant we had a couple days of exceptional viewing.
The Flat Rock Male was seen again on a territorial patrol along the northern bank of the Sand River. The Nhlanguleni Female has been seen a decent amount fairly close to camp, has she detected that the Ximungwe Female has moved further south? The Three Rivers Young Male has been spending the majority of his time alone, is this an attempt from his mother to push him into early independence after she was seen mating with the Maxim’s Male almost three months ago? Only time will tell.
The Ntsevu Pride and two older cubs have been seen around the reserve as their mother is beginning to take them to carcasses to feed on meat and begin the weaning process.
The young male cheetah, who was seen for the first time a few weeks ago, has also still been around hunting in the open grasslands on the eastern parts of the reserve. To keep the levels of excitement up, we have had a large pack of wild dogs come in from the south, numbering over 20 individuals.
If that wasn’t enough, throw in a first for many at Londolozi, an albino buffalo calf. Unfortunately, the survival rate of these animals is not very high but was an amazing and unexpected sight to see. The general game has been incredible to watch as they prepare for winter with many young animals growing up and the bird life is soon to change as the migrates begin to leave. The times are certainly changing, not only in the lush greens beginning to go yellow and brown but as our night sky of Orion and the Milky Way make way for our winter constellations of Scorpius we look forward to what the winter holds.
Let me know your favourites in the comments section below.
Enjoy This Week In Pictures…
The brief view of the Xinzele Female and Xinzele Young Female playing before walking off into the distance.
A small female often found in NW Marthly. Similar spot pattern to her mother the Ingrid Dam Female.
A confusing image at first where it looks as though this leopard is a contortionist, but it is in fact two leopards. The Xinzele Female had climbed into the tree first and was soon joined by her eager youngster from the other side squeezing underneath its mum’s front legs.
The brilliant colours of this Malachite Kingfisher as he looks down for any movement in the water. This is a kingfisher which we don’t see too often, let alone capture some close-up images of.
Seeing this enormous pack of wild dogs was exhilarating, everywhere you looked there were just wild dogs. It was as though there were three different packs of wild dogs joined into one.
With the cooler morning temperatures these two crocodiles warm themselves up in the morning sun.
This young Ntsevu Lion Cub looks directly at us as its mother listens to the distant calls of the Ndzhenga Males.
The size of this lion cub in comparison to its mother’s look is a great comparison to how much these animals grow.
This young male cheetah rests in the shade of a Gardenia tree but is intrigued by the distance alarm calls of impalas behind us. Cheetahs are highly alert animals always keeping an eye out for any danger sneaking up on them.
While on a territorial patrol, the Flat Rock Male walks just north on the Sand River. Often it is natural boundaries like a river that the leopards will use to divide the territories. They will scent-mark along here to reinforce this boundary.
A dominant male leopard over the majority of the north. He originally took over the 4:4 Male's territory when he died.
A kaleidoscope of African Monarch butterflies
The Nhlanguleni Female pauses for a moment to listen to the bush around her while on the search for any prey. Utilising her remarkable hearing to detect any potential meal up ahead before stumbling upon it.
Initially skittish female who transformed into a regular presence. Made history by raising first intact litter since her own generation.
The exquisite winter’s afternoon golden light illuminates the young male cheetah while he scans his surroundings. A male lion not too far away kept him highly alert.
The contrast of a zebra’s mane.
With the change in season, it is certainly evident in our night sky as the Milky Way begins to set earlier and earlier and make space for our winter constellations.
An unbelievable sight of a brand new albino buffalo calf. Believed to only be a matter of hours old, the fate of this young calf is in the balance from the moment it took its first few steps.
While spending time with the herd of buffalo, another young buffalo calf lifts his nose to investigate us further, a characteristic ingrained in the buffalo from a young age.
An incredible view of a gorgeous Three-banded Plover as it searches for food in the shallows of a mud wallow.
The guiding trunk of the elephant mother gently eases this very young baby elephant closer to it as the rest of the herd of elephants walks by the vehicle.
Two zebras lean on each other’s backs in the afternoon sunlight. Often one will see zebra standing in this arrangement, known as reverse parallel. Apart from the simple benefit of being able to rest ones head on the other’s back, zebra can quite literally watch each other’s back for any approaching danger.
The Three Rivers Young Male walks through an open clearing with his tail curled up as a sort of ‘white flag of surrender, trying to encourage the nearby birds and squirrels to stop alarm calling at him.
Somewhat skittish after becoming independent, he is an impressive young male with a rich golden coat.
Born into a litter of two, male cub did not survive. She is seen more and more in central Marthly and rapidly approaching full independence.
A colony of White-fronted Bee-eaters on the banks of the Sand River perch temporarily in the branches of a small tree while scanning for any insects nearby. From here they will launch and swoop in to catch the prey, often then returning to their previous perch in the tree to continue scanning.
Stunning pictures, Kirst. I couldn’t say which I like best, they are all so wonderful.
A question regarding this albino buffalo calf: is it in particular danger because it can be seen from far away by lions etc or does the herd reject it?
Thank you Christa. You are right about both of your observations. Due to the abnormality within the herd, it can be at risk of being rejected by the herd as well as its white cot reflects more light, therefore, making it more vulnerable to predation.
Dear Kirst
Thanks for your reply.
I just wonder about the points one gets for taking part in the discussions. During the whole of April, I didn’t get any points (or nearly none) for taking part. And now it seems to be the same with May. Why is this the case? Do you, or anybody else know?
Hi Christa, We did a big update of the blog and there were a few gremlins which we came across and the points allocation was one of them. We are working on the reallocation of historical points during this time and will hopefully have it resolved soon.
great pictures!
Thank you Dina!
So many wonderful pictures. Makes it vey hard to choose!
Thank you Sandra, was a great week in the bush for sure!
wonderful set of images to end the week. Thank you
Thank you Susan!
Great photos, Kirst. Thanks.
Thank you Dave!
Is the albino buffalo calf in particular danger relative to other calves?
Unfortunately, the leucistic buffalo calf is more vulnerable to predation due to its white coat reflecting light more as well as to the rest of the buffalo herd.
Amazing photos. I can’t wait to come back to Londolozi!!
Thanks David, we can’t wait to welcome you all back to Londolozi!
I always enjoy seeing photos of the African birds; the malachite kingfisher and the bee eaters are spectacular. Thanks.
Thank you Doug, it always amazes me the colours and contrasts of the birds and their feathers.
Great Roundup Kirst. Nice compositions. Love that closeup of the young calf’s face. So cute!
Thank you Ann, was a great week in the bush.
So, the most resonating photos for me are the zebra mane, elephant group and white-fronted bee eaters. Most eclectic grouping, Kirst. Enjoyed it.
Thank you Willa.
Wow! What a great week!
Beautiful photos and live all the colors!
Thank you Barbi! Always a great time in the bush just before winter kicks in.
Oh wowzer, a bumper crop of superb leopard photos , may I just say how good the butterfly photo is
Ian thank you so much. It was amazing spending time with these butterflies.
Awesome TWIP Kirst! So thrilled Xinzele’s cub is doing so well! Never seen an albino Buffalo before wow!
Thank you Tracey. I must say I have seen very little of the Xinele young female so was great to spend time with both of these two leopards! It was definitely a first for me too.
The little kingfisher is my fave this week…so cute and colorful and I love the off center shot!
Thank you Anita!
Kirst you have given us a variety of animals to choose from, so difficult to just pick one. The colorful Malachite is special and can even see some drops of water on it’s front side. So clever of the Zebra to stand parallel to one another, checking for predators and off course resting their heads. So special the albino buffalo calf, never seen that before. Tiny elephant calf to precious for words.
Thank you Valmai. I was fortunate that the zebra came quite close to us and bent down to graze to get a parallel picture.
So many beautiful images this week with great details and colors. I spotted a recently fledged leucistic house finch on my bird feeder this week so this must be the season for uncommon white baby animals. The kingfisher was absolutely stunning!
Thanks Chelsea, it is great to see the uncommon and rare animals.
Kirst, the shot of the Malachite Kingfisher is spectacular. But, my favorite this week has to be the discovery shot of the albino buffalo. Just to see it alive is a momentous occasion . Please forward all the pictures you are able to over the next few weeks as the buffalo struggles to survive. Hoping for the best.
It was certainly a surprise for us too out there. I’m sure they will be a follow-up blog on the story of the leucistic buffalo.
Some great images, Kirst! I love the young
cheetah’s stare into the camera and the sweet baby elephant with mom and sib. But the malachite kingfisher is a stunner and my fav!
Hi Kirst, all pictures are superb and most even special and unique. On an emotional side my first pick are the African monarch butterflies. Insects are disregarded, yet they are so important, the number of mammals is insignificant in comparison and they are our life savers. But those butterflies are also sooo amazingly beautiful. I’m bewitched. I could comment one picture after the other and their peculiarities but meant to tell you that I have known of many different albino animals, lately for example of barn swallow, they are as successful as others it seems. Not many enough to tell definitely. The look of the lion cub under his mum’s big foot (my sister s choice)the Nhlanguleni female “with make-up ” and the sweet zebras and elephants are something, along with the fierce yet alert cheetah…
I couldn’t agree with you more Francesca about the butterflies. There must have been hundreds of them all in this area which was amazing to sit with and watch with their striking colours. Unfortunately, the white buffalo is more vulnerable to the rest in the large herd of buffalos as well to predation. Thank you for all the comments.
Thank you Mary Beth!
Kirst, absolutely love the zebra mane shot!!
Thanks Kathie, this zebra came quite close to us and bent down to graze.
Another stunner of TWIP Kirst! The variety of subject and content never ceases to amaze. Hard to pick a favorite, as there are so many wonderful images!!
Thanks Paul. It has been an amazing time in the bush before the winter comes.
A really beautiful and diversified portfolio of pictures and a great accompanying narrative that really enhances the whole experience of TWIP.
Thank you so much Darryl.
You’ve put together an extraordinary TWIP Kirst. Some I recognize from my time there, including the baby elephant being guided by its mother, my favorite this week. However, I’m torn as your Malachite kingfisher is amazing, as I love the water droplets on its breast! Stunning images, fantastic week of brilliant sightings, and incredible driving skills in order to capture some of these photographs. Thanks for sharing the experiences!
Thanks Denise! What a wonderful week of sightings we had! I’m sure you have some great pictures too!
Wonderful TWIP, Kirst. Hard to choose one – several have gone into my “favourites ” – but I particularly love the baby elephant and seemingly contortionist Xinzele female .
Thank you Suzanne!
Marvelous!
What a wonderful TWIP Kirsten, stunning collection of pictures. I am not able to pick one photo – they are all splendid. For JR though, the Flat Rock male was undoubtedly his favourite – we’d haven’t seen him on the last couple trips and he was worried he’d disappeared.
Thank you, Jane and JR. We unfortunately do not see him as much as we used to so it is always exciting to find him on his territorial patrols close to the Sand River.
Sorry Kirst, auto corrected your name!
Superb pics this week- but my fave is the Malachite Kingfisher. It’s absolutely stunning! I also LOVE the butterflies, the elephant with her bub and the cheetah staring down the lens. So beautiful!
Thank you so much Carly. The colours of the small Malachite Kingfisher are impressive for sure!
Phenomenal week you had at Londolozi Kirst! And great that you all have been able to see the Xinzele Female and her cub! Her older sister, the Xidulu Female, is currently raising a young male cub also believed to have been fathered by the Tortoise Pan Male. Where did you all locate them on Marthly if you don’t mind me asking? Would love to mark it on my map to aid in getting an idea of her territory.
Also really loved the photo of the elephants and the buffalo calf, what a special little guy or gal!
Wow, the albino Buffalo cub is breathtaking. That has got to be my fave this week. Are they only more vulnerable due to being more easily spotted or would they suffer from worse sight and hearing?
Great to see that the young male Cheetah has became a regular too.
They are certainly more vulnerable to predation, especially in low light as their white coat naturally reflects light more. It is believed that their vision may be impaired as well and due to their contrast with the rest of the herd they are sometimes not accepted by them either. It has been wonderful to have this young male cheetah around for sure!
All are beautiful, but I am always a sucker for those spotty kitties (both kinds!). And the albino calf is really special, too.