In this week’s TWIP, and in the process of going through my latest camera roll, I found myself marvelling at the process of animal habituation and deep gratitude for the sightings and animals we get to witness at Londolozi every single day. I’ll dive deeper into these thoughts in a separate blog next week, so stay tuned!
But what I will iterate is that the term “habituation” refers to the process of gradually acclimating wild animals to the presence of humans and minimizing their fear response. This process is particularly important for elusive and potentially dangerous species.
And all things considered, as it appears to be each and every week at Londolozi, we’ve had a predator-dense week that has blown my mind. Over and above the predators, there’s been an abundance and diversity in general game and birdlife. From the Three River Young Male and Ntomi Male continuing to remind us that they are no longer cute cubs dependent on their mothers, to the reputable Ximungwe Female and Three Rivers Female, leopards have been seen in abundance.
On the lion front, the Ndzhenga Males have been seen reinstating their territory across Londolozi in response to distant neighbouring lions’ bellowing roars. The Ntsevu Breakaway have also been successful (and will reiterate the emphasis on the word success) trailing a large herd of buffalo. In addition, in the past few months, we continue to be blessed with a myriad of cheetah and wild dog sightings, including a particular cheetah sighting I will remember for years to come. I’ll leave the rest of the story to the images below.
Let me know your favourites in the comments section below.
Enjoy This Week In Pictures…
After spotting the Three Rivers Young Male hiding in a spike thorn thicket, we decided to wait it out and after giving him a little bit of time and space, he rewarded us with approaching a nearby wallow to drink. Since leaving his mother, he has become rather skittish around the vehicles, but this sighting reminded me that the process of habituation takes time and patience, and a whole lot of reverence for these incredible cats.
One of two cubs to survive, the sister lost at five months. Still dependent on his mother, but is growing into an impressive young male.
He was very thirsty! For this brief moment, he completely relaxed with our vehicle repositioning to get a front view of him drinking. And to top it off, the sun’s rays decided to break through a rather grey cloudy skyline that morning, illuminating his face and reflection perfectly.
We came across two giraffe bulls tussling with one another right next to the road. I had my 100mm-500mm lens that afternoon and in the excitement of trying to capture the action, I realized the animals were too close to the vehicle given the lens I had on. Nonetheless, I made do with what I had and the patterns and dust made for a different image.
Weaving through thick vegetation alongside one of the many drainage lines of Londolozi, we followed the Ntsevu Pride and a number of their cubs. One of the mothers decided to use this branch as a vantage point, only for a brief moment, but our vehicle was ready and waiting with just enough time to capture it.
The Ntomi Male confidently walked towards our vehicle in the heart of his mother and father’s territory (the Ximungwe Female and Senegal Bush Male). Only time will tell how much longer he’ll be tolerated in these areas.
A single cub of the Ximungwe Female's second litter. Initially rather skittish but is very relaxed now. Birth mark in his left eye.
A young male cheetah glances up as a White-backed Vulture flies past us. We often see cheetahs out in the open grasslands, so I really enjoy the composition of this image, with him sitting atop a termite mound surrounded by lush evergreen guarri bushes.
He was clearly in a hunting mood. While taking a moment to view his surroundings from a point of vantage, he stared out into the distance with such intent and focus, which is what I tried to capture in this image.
Cheetah cubs! This is a first for me. We got news from our neighbours that there was a mother cheetah with THREE small cubs moving north through the Sabi Sand. A perfect moment of being in the right place at the right time – a few of the Londolozi vehicles on that particular day got to view these animals while they traversed north through our reserve. Given their size, their mother stuck to the thicket lines so I was fortunate to have my 500mm lens with me that morning!
The notorious Plaque Rock Female striking a regal pose atop a termite mound. With it being a relatively overcast day, this provided a great opportunity to convert this image into a hi-key black and white photo.
A pretty young playful female found along the river to the east of camp
While crossing the Causeway late one afternoon, we came across this Saddle-billed Stork playing around with a stick in the water and fanning its wings at the same time. It all happened rather quickly, and I was glad my shutter speed was fast enough to capture the exquisite detail of their incredible outer primary feathers.
A member of the Toulon pack of wild dogs pondering about whether to continue down the road towards the entrance to Varty camp. It was an exhilarating morning, not more than five minutes after leaving camp, Barry Bath radioed to say the pack had been found right behind Varty Camp access.
Amidst the chase of trying to keep up with the pack of wild dogs on the move, they momentarily paused at a waterhole and were greeted by a grumpy old hippo. Naturally, they were suddenly deterred from the urge to drink and swiftly moved off.
There has been a male ostrich roaming the open crests in the northern parts of our reserve, and on this particular afternoon, given the short winter grasses, we spent a lot of time simply observing its bony bright pink legs and renowned didactic (two-toed) feet – a feature that is unique to only this type of bird. The pink colouration makes up part of the male’s breeding colouration/plumage as he attempts to attract a female.
While having a drink, the Ximungwe Female is interrupted by something that catches her attention. She scans her surroundings before continuing to quench her thirst.
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
Early one morning, with the sun’s golden rays reaching our Londolozi airstrip, one of the Ndhzenga Males sits listening to the distant roars of other lions. With a number of other male lions traversing different areas of Londolozi, this coalition will have to be extra alert and vigilant to the possibility of encroaching threats to their territory.
Deciding to settle up right next to our vehicle, I could not help but be mesmerized by this Ndhzenga Male’s orange eyes and white lower eyelid.
The Three Rivers Female stares towards an impala kill hoisted in a nearby Tamboti tree that she had stolen from the Nkoveni Female overnight. These two female leopards have been seen together a lot recently, and with an aura of hostility surmounts between these two and their neighbouring territories as I am sure you saw in Sean’s recent blog.
Forced into early independence as her mother was killed by the Southern Avoca Males.
Nothing better than heading out straight from camp towards the river to find elephants drinking and an abundance of birdlife – a perfect scene!
As the sun begins to set, and herds of impala and wildebeest make their way towards the open clearings, a sudden haste of movement from a herd of impala surprised a nearby group of kudu that caused them to scatter in all directions.
This is not a sight we get to see every day, but the Ntsevu Breakaways slowly seem to be perfecting the art of hunting buffalo. After an evening and morning of them seen trailing a very large herd of buffalo, we were in the right place at the right time when the fate of a subadult female buffalo was realized. This particular buffalo had been targeted as it already looked slightly injured (reason for injury unknown) and as a result, there was very little fightback or resistance.
The leopard and lions shots are exquisite as always, but the Cheetah lying on the Termite mount has something special about it. Always difficult to chose one.
Thank you so much Gawie!
Thanks so much for TWIP Kate. All of your images are representative of days spent in the bush, looking for interesting shots for you and your guests. My favorites are the Three Rivers young male at the waterhole and the b/w of Ximungwe. Both are representative of time spent on safari!
Thanks Denise, I am glad you enjoyed so many of the images.
Wish we could get a update on the Tsalala lioness, please
Hi Tammy – although she was not in any of my images from this past week – she is still being seen around central Londolozi and the Sand River. She is looking healthy and seems to be vocalizing looking for potential mates.
Kate, Thanks for a fantastic set of images! We loved the shot of the wild dogs with the hippo – great timing to catch that. We were on the vehicle next to you with Nick & Joy for the lion hunt for the Buffalo and ultimate take-down. Incredible experience to watch the young males strategize without making any noise! The drama between the two female leopards was intense too!
Michael and Terri – it was so lovely to meet you both. And to share that incredible sighting of the Ntsevu Breakaways together! Hope you guys had a fabulous trip and thank you for your support of my images.
Hi Kate, love these photos and super interesting to hear that the Three Rivers Young Male has become a natural shy leopard (just goes to show how much each leopard is an individual I suppose!). Just a quick note, the first image (black and white) of the Ximungwe Female is actually an image of the Plaque Rock Female :). Thanks again for sharing these great images with us!
Thank you very much Michael!
Kate your images a stunning and each one tells it’s own story. Your image of the Saddle billed Stork is fantastic and perfect shutter speed you used for it. I see the one wild dog is wearing a colar. Always great to see these energetic dogs. My favorite this week is the image of the Ntomi male leopard, he has become such a stunning leopard. Your close-up of the male lion is stunning, those penetrating eyes and scars on his face can tell many stories.
Thank you Valmai!
My fav is definitely the Three Rivers young male at the waterhole, looking directly at the camera. I’ve been looking for a similar shot over seven visits! Maybe next time!
Thank you Mary Beth! Maybe next time – it is not a shot that is easy to get and it often comes down to being in the right place at the right time with a lot of luck!
Kate, following the Ntsevu Breakaways as they stalked the buffalo herd was amazing! The precision of their attack was incredibly orchestrated.
Thank you Vin! Hope you guys are back home safe and it was so lovely being able to share that incredible sighting with you and Michelle!
Great shots even close up! The close up of the Ndhzenga Male is the best but the stork with his wings spread is incredible! Also happy to see the Ntomi male always 🙂
Thanks Anita!
Super photos – as always. Cheetah cubs at Londolozi -wow . I do get the impression that the grasslands are becoming a haven for Cheetahs and Ostrich
Thank you Ian!
Great pics Kate! Three rivers side view, wild dogs hippo…and of course the saddle-billed stock which I just love everything about it! Habituation and wild animals is an interesting topic to me in regards to the modification of behaviors. During the pandemic I remember reading that when few people were around at a different lodge one leopard would casually saunter through dining rooms 😂. Thanks for the post. 📸🙏🏻🤩
I try not to see the kills – whether on safari or by picture – but I love the bird and giraffes legs!
As you wrote, the Ndzenga King and his eyes in the golden light are mesmerising. The cheetah looks like a sculpture, so elegant and beautiful and also the Ximungwe in black and white. Adorable cheetah cub! The Three River Young Male and the Ntomi male are gorgeous, each in his own way. The fight between the leopardesses and the loss of the cub(s) was shocking and terribly sad, although nature works that way, and the mother has to cope with her grief and go on living. I liked the old grumpy hippo, they are such incredible animals!
Kate, thank you TWIP’s. My favorite is the cheetah cub peeking out from the tall grass. Hope that some can survive and flourish.
Really beautiful photos,Kate.
All the images are so beautiful. So hard to choose. Love all the leopard pictures. But I think i enjoy the young cheetah cub the most. Thank you for all the pictures
That giraffe shot looks like something out of Escher.
Terrific TWIP Kate!! I think the cheetah on the termite mound takes it this week, but I also really loved the leopard images and the silhouette of the Ndhzenga male with the orange eyes. Again, those leopards though!!! Brava Kate!!
Great pictures of the week cheetah cub gets my vote this week!
Thank you for the wonderful photos, it is always a pleasure to catch up on Fridays This Week in Pictures. I haven’t heard anything about the Mashaba female in a long while and wonder when the last sighting of her occurred? Thank you again and hope you all have a glorious week ahead.
My favourite it the saddle billed stork with it’s beautiful wings out on display!
Thank you Carly!
I absolutely adore the image of the stork with it’s wings spread–how angelic! I agree the cheetah surrounded by foliage was a different composition that what we typically see, so I enjoyed that too. So many beautiful images!
Thank you Chelsea!
Kate – what an incredible collection of images from this week! Every one of them exudes a mood, a feeling, you’ve shown the character of the animals captured beautifully. I can’t pick a single favorite, so here are a few, and why: The Ntomi male: exudes calm confidence and strength, purpose “I”m not to be messed with!”
The cheetah cub: sweetness, innocence, curiosity, and timidity/caution; “I can see you, but can you see me??”
The stork with wings spread: stunning image, and detail of the feathers; beauty, pride, majestic. “I am here, see my beauty”.
The Three Rivers Female: ever alert, a fierce survivor. “I will not surrender”.
Every image was such a treat, wonderful representation of the land, flora and fauna at Londolozi.
Beautiful photos this week and as always, the leopards stole the show!