Another incredible week in the Londolozi wilderness has come and gone, leaving guests, rangers and trackers alike with special memories that will last a lifetime. This week features mostly the big predators, with some interesting variety in between.
A few different leopards were found, including a beautiful young male – who makes his TWIP debut – that is very seldom seen or photographed.
The increasingly regular presence of the Ntsevu Pride in the summer months has been wonderful. Lion sightings have been on an all-time high for about the past year, so we’re incredibly fortunate to have them featured almost daily.
Although there is something magical about Wintertime in the bush, the beautiful greens of Summer and the rich vibrancy of life across the landscape rejuvenate one’s soul. It is always so gratifying for me to spend time with wild animals, photographing them in such an aesthetically pleasing environment.
Below are a few snippets seen through the lens, from another great week in the bush.
Let me know which ones are your favourites in the comments section below.
Enjoy This Week In Pictures…
A mother zebra and her foal show some affection towards each other by grooming one another.
A Ntsevu Lioness and her two cubs made their way to Shingilana Dam for a late afternoon drink. Here the mother keeps her eyes on the movements of distant herds of impala.
One of the most beautiful summer migrants, the Southern Carmine Bee-eater. Here one perches atop a dead Knob-thorn tree, scanning the nearby air-space for any insects.
The young Xinkhova Female elegantly makes her way down from the upper boughs of a large Marula tree. She had spent about an hour resting up high in the canopy, keeping a lookout for any prey or danger.
A stunning young female with a very similar spot pattern to her mother, the Nkoveni Female. Litter still completely intact March 2022.
The two Ndzenga Males charge through the Sand River with serious intent, in response to the distant roar of another male lion – who was perhaps a little too close for their liking.
Three young ostriches resting in the open grasslands on a misty morning. You can tell the males apart from the females by their darker plumage.
The beautiful Tsalala Female rests upon a boulder high up onto Ximpalapala Koppie. She looks out over the vast expanse of Marthly, which has been her home since the very beginning. This tenacious lioness will be 5 years old next month.
The Maxims Male wanders through a forest of Guarri bushes alongside the Tugwaan Riverbed in the evening twilight.
Fairly skittish male that is presumed to have come from the Kruger National Park.
A young male cheetah pauses briefly atop a small hill to survey his surroundings. This young male has started to show signs of becoming territorial, scent marking on many of the Marula trees to the area south of Weaver’s Nest Pan.
The Ntomi Male, who we seldom see nowadays, is in the process of dispersing from his home turf. He will venture off into unchartered wilderness where one day he will hopefully become a successful territorial male. Wherever he ends up, will be an extremely lucky place. He has provided 3 years of consistently phenomenal leopard viewing across the Londolozi area.
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 large crocodile lies in the shallows of the Sand River. Patiently waiting for small fish to flow between his jaws, at which point they will instantly slam shut with the most powerful bite force in the animal kingdom.
A long-distance spot by tracker Terrence revealed the Kangela Male lying on a fallen marula tree. He was very much aware of the large pack of wild dogs hunting in the distance and elevated himself to keep an eye on their movements. It was needless to say, it was an incredibly exciting afternoon!
A supremely relaxed male leopard, roaming a nomadic journey for the time being.
A majestic male kudu walks across a small open crest, surrounded by a large herd of impala.
The large Maxims Male rests atop a termite mound after finishing the remains of a young impala he had caught. Midway through what turned out to be a very lengthy grooming session, he lifted his head for a moment as something caught his attention.
A hippo bull shows a formidable set of teeth during a threat display. Hippo bulls can be highly territorial over the water bodies they occupy.
Like father, like son. One of the cubs from the Ntsevu Pride got up and went to lay down next to the larger of the two Ndzenga Males, adopting a very similar pose.
An incredibly beautiful and very relaxed young male leopard known as the Nottens Male. I believe this was the first time he had been photographed on Londolozi. He appears to be at the age now where he is beginning to roam nomadically, venturing occasionally into the most southern reaches of Londolozi.
A splitting image of his father the Nweti Male. He is a young leopard roaming the southern extent of Londolozi at the moment.
The Nottens Male casually glances down towards a large hippo bull, who stares at him from the water below.
The largest and oldest male of the Ntsevu Breakaways. Here he poses majestically atop a small termite mound in the early evening – a great vantage point from which to survey his surroundings.
An elephant bull crosses through the Sand River, trailing a small herd of females and their young.
One of the Ndzenga Males crosses the Sand River into Marthly in search of his brother who had been driving out intruders, who were very likely to be the Black Dam Males.
Matt, you don’t make it easy to pick a favourite! I’m
Matt, you don’t make it easy to pick a favourite! I’m torn between the Ndzhenga male crossing the river and Xinkhova gracefully descending the tree, but they are all fabulous. Great spot of Kangela from Terrence, say hi from me.
Hi Suzanne! Thank you so much, and I’ll definitely pass on your regards to Terrence.
Fabulous way to end the week. Thank you. Wish I was there
Thank you Susan!
Fantastic Photos Matt! I love them all. The one of the Tsalala lioness is beautiful; I always love to hear that she is well.
Thanks Christa! We’ll definitely keep the updates coming on the Tsalala Female. It’s always exciting following her journey.
My goodness the portrait of the larger Ntsevu male in front of the termite mound was almost too perfect! Lovely collection this week. So glad to see the Tsalala female, an abundance of healthy leopards and a seemingly territorial cheetah. The ostriches resting were a nice addition, too. We don’t see them as often.
Thank you Chelsea! So glad you enjoyed the pictures. The bush has certainly been producing some wonderful sightings lately.
That’s heartbreaking the tsalala lioness has been all alone for almost five years. She breaks my heart
Sometimes I feel the same for her Tammy, but I’m hopeful that she continues to thrive the way that she has been for the past few years.
What a range of beautiful sitings!!! My heart is yearning to see some of these favorites again!
Thanks so much Camille!
I have 2 favorites: mother zebra and her foal, and the oldest male of the Ntsevu Breakaways as he poses. He’s so beautiful.
Thanks Sandra! Those were both certainly high up on my list too. I knew the zebras would win some of us over!
So many gorgeous photos!
Thanks so much Meenah! Hope to see you guys here again soon!
WOW! Thought I had a fave then the next shot and then the next! First the Tsalala Female with all the green. Hands down tho the Ntomi male is just the most gorgeous animal…just love him…hope he doesn’t venture too far so that you guys can keep up with him! The like father like son shot is adorbs and the Ntsevu Breakaways King shot fantastic! Of coarse mama zebra and baby is the sweetest. Super week! You are so lucky!
Thank you so much Anita! I’m so glad you enjoyed the pictures this week. We are very lucky indeed. It’s a great privilege to live life alongside some of the world’s most majestic animals.
Another great portrait shot of the Maxim’s male! But my favorites are the sweet father-son lion image and the golden Ndzenga Male crossing the Sand River! Really lovely range of photos!
Thanks so much Mary Beth! I’m hopeful that you’ll be able to see the Ntsevu pride on your next visit. I’m so happy you enjoyed my pictures!
Hi Matt, what a variety of animals this week. Each one is stunning and it’s hard to choose one favorite. I think I will go for the Zebra mother and her fowl as my favorite for this week. Nottens male leopard is a magnificent young male, glad to of seen him. Wow that kudu bull has extra long horns, so impressive. Oh so good to see the Tsalala female again, I love that lioness.
Thank you Valmai! It certainly seems like the mother zebra and foal are getting a lot of attention so I’m glad to have included them in the TWIP. It’s a lovely time of year with many young animals around.
This TWIP is absolutely am unbeatable treat and I can’t pick pictures they are all so special, beautiful or unique! The zebra foal with its mum melted my heart! Also the Ndzenga male with his cub. Big cats are superb as always. I can’t believe the Tsalala lioness is already five years old. Sadly no cub yet. The Ndzenga males crossing the river and the fantastic Ntsevu lions are spectacular. The latter is wonderful, looks alike the Birmingham males. I loved the three ostriches, never seen young ones of different sexes together at that stage. The Maxim male is as superb as a lion and the Ntomi male so beautiful, with his exquisite green eyes, head, many spots and dark nose. The cheetah is so elegant and lovely. The Nottens male and Kangela male are such an exciting view, the big cats dynamics seem to be at their peak… thanks for this spectacular opportunity
Thank you very much for the kind words Francesca! I’m so happy that you’ve enjoyed all the content from my TWIP. It really is so such a rewarding process photographing animals and trying to capture the perfect moment.
Ps my sister’s choice is the hippo… another great picture
Amazing photos, the Ndhzenga male with the cub is my favorite photo.
Great photo of the Ntsevu male too, though correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think he is actually the oldest. I’ve been keeping track of the Mangheni pride and their offspring, and I’m pretty confident that 3 of the Ntsevu Breakaway males are littermates. I’m saying this because I know that the 2/6 original Ntsevu females who died sort of recently, were the daughters of one of the still living original Mangheni females, and one of these 2 dead Ntsevu females had a litter of 3 males which are 3 of the Ntsevu Breakaway males born in mid-late 2018, slightly younger than their 2 older brothers who went to Kruger.
So, to my understanding, despite the larger Ntsevu male having a much more well-developed mane, he isn’t any older than 2 of his coalition partners. It’s only one of the males that is younger, born around May 2019 to a different Ntsevu female, and the Breakaway female is his littermate, at the time of the takeover, being too young to be accepted by the Ndhzenga males.
Thank you Rein! It was definitely one of my favorites too.
Thank you for the info! You could very well be correct. Sometimes I use the term ‘oldest’ quite loosely as he certainly behaves like he’s the bigger, older brother. But yes you’re quite right about the one male and the female being littermates and younger than the others.
I have always loved the cats in order of leopard, cheetah then lion but because we were spoiled for choice today my vote has to go the Zebra and her foal.
Well, you presented us with a difficult challenge to choose a favorite as they’re all so special. But… the first one of the Zebra with her foal is enchanting- I’m a sucker for this type of image. My other favorite is Tsalala, my favorite lioness perched so perfectly on that amazing boulder, her fur matching the colors in the massive rock. Thanks so much!!
Matt, What an amazing set of images. Each one more beautiful than the others! The shots of the Nottens Male, Ndzenga Male on the river, and Ntsevu Breakaway male are stellar. Our favorite though is the Ntomi Male! You made the choices really hard!
I love them all. I like the shallow depth of field on most of them. But I love the Zebra and mum and the 2 cubs best.
Matt, you’ve captured magic from your lens! It’s really great to see some of these rare leopards – I love the photo of the Ntomi male – stunning full face view. He was the first leopard I started to follow (before he was named) when I joined the Londolozi blog, and then came for a visit, so it’s special to see photos of him!
You captured a spectacular image of the Ntsevu breakaway male if front of that termite mound – it’s all centred and focused so beautifully, the warmth of his colours against the gray and softened green in the background – wow! Award-worthy!
Great collection of images!
Take care, hope to see you in June, Kylea