This week we enter my favourite month of the year, and the sightings have not disappointed me. With a recent stint of some quality good rain, the fauna that was starting to fade into autumn colours has once again bounced back into abundant greens. Beautiful sunny blue skies, magical African sunsets, migratory birds lapping up the last of the heat, and young impala lambs showing the start of their horn growth – it just can’t get any better. Don’t be fooled, however, there is definitely a nip in the air on those early morning starts!
As I’m sure you’ve seen – The Nkoveni Female has cubs! Along with the Ximungwe Female, we are spoilt as always with leopard viewing, and we just can’t get enough of having five leopard cubs around. Seeing three cubs together was a first for me, and exciting times lie ahead in and around the Maxabene River as we continue with the habituation.
The southeast of the reserve has been a hotspot of activity in the last week, as these two leopards, and the Kambula Pride have spent a large portion of the week in the clearings, trailed closely by hyenas on many occasions.
There have been numerous sightings of no fewer than three different packs of wild dogs (again, absolutely spoilt!). The Ntsevu Males have been announcing their presence by both scent-marking and roaring close to camp on many occasions, and we wait with bated breath watching what their future has to hold.
Elephant bulls have been numerous, as have birds of every colour, shape and form – and as previously mentioned, the sunsets! Large grazing herds of zebra and nyala bulls are making the most of the last sprouts of green before we truly enter into winter.
Let us know your favourites in the comments section below.
Enjoy This Week in Pictures…
Beautiful blues skies, green leaves and the stark red necks of a family of Southern Ground hornbills as they ascend into the trees to roost for the night.
Nearing on 4 months old, most of the young male impalas have the starts of their horns showing! I’m sure a process much like teething, these lambs are starting their journey into adulthood.
One of the three cubs from the Nkoveni Female peers down at us from the safety of the branches. Already at this age, the cubs are exploring their soundings and learning the safety of the tree tops. The relaxed nature of their mother seems to be rubbing off on the cubs, and we look forward to continuing the habituation process.
A gorgeous female who is found to the east of camp. Easily recognised by her 2:2 spot pattern she is often to be found in Marula trees.
A cub pauses briefly while chasing its siblings across a branch, allowing us to soak in the innocence of those eyes! At this age, they are bundles of fur and energy, making every glimpse of them truly special.
The abundant greenery and large bodies of water still around make for a content Nyala bull grazing. Undoubtedly my favourite antelope.
As the sun dipped below the Drakensberg mountains, Ranger Dan Hirschowitz positioned his guests perfectly amidst the chaos of a wild dog sighting. Approaching the water, the dogs were understandably nervous.
Perhaps the reason for this being my favourite time of the year, you just can’t beat the sunsets. This large elephant bull was grazing the open crests, giving my guests and me the perfect opportunity to soak it all in.
A quintessential scene, a large African Fish eagle leaps into flight on a chilly autumn- morning!
The sun sets on yet another magical day in the Lowveld.
Following closely behind a pack of wild dogs, these three hyena settled down for the morning, obviously exhausted (as were we) from having to keep up!
The Kambula Pride at its full complement is 18 lions! With cubs of different ages, the five females certainly have their hands full trying to feed all those mouths. Here, ranger Dan Hirschowitz and his guests once again have a front-row seat to the antics of the inquisitive cubs.
A bloodied wild dog bounces through the long grass, trying to keep the rest of its pack in sight as they trot off to a nearby mud wallow to cool down after the hunt.
The Ximungwe Female in the Maxabene Riverbed. I have always found the imagery of a leopard walking away from the camera intriguing, and here with her tracks in the soft sand of the riverbed, I enjoy the story this photo tells.
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
A large male giraffe lifts his head and peers off into the undergrowth. What intrigued him I am not quite sure, but we certainly got to admire his impressive height!
There is undoubtedly emotion carried in the eyes of an elephant. Those long eyelashes, not often seen due to how close one needs to be to appreciate them, protect the eyes as this bull fed on some thorny acacia trees.
Textures of an elephant.
A beautiful female Citrus Swallowtail butterfly. Another reason this time of year is my favourite. The female is larger than the male and the anterior blue spots of her hindwings have orange on the outer side as opposed to yellow in the male.
I wanted to capture at least one photo during the recent rains, and here 4 Black Storks hunkered down amidst the rains as the river slowly started to rage around them.
Deliberately breaking the symmetry. The golden afternoon light coated the clearing, and these giraffes soaked it all in.
The Nkuwa Female has been seen seldomly over the past month, but finding her early one morning on a territorial patrol, we enjoyed hours of the finest leopard viewing! Settled in the dappled branches of a marula tree for the day, we left her content as can be.
One of two sisters born to the Nhlanguleni Female, both of whom made it to independence, the first intact litter to do so in 7 years.
The Ntsevu Males are growing in stature and confidence each day. Hearing their roars from camp, we raced across the river to find them on the open crest in front of Varty camp, eyes fixed north as what we assumed was the Black Dam Male’s distant roars gave away their presence.
An inquisitive zebra wandered closer to our vehicle with a mouth full. The unique markings of these equines are mesmerising.
Gazing upward to a duiker she had stashed in a marula tree, the Ximungwe Female lays in the long grass. With her cubs only just getting to the age where she will take them to her kills, we decided to wait patiently for her to go and fetch them (unfortunately to no avail.)
Difficult as always to choose – but i would say the photo of the Citrus Swallowtail Butterfly is beautiful!
I agree with you Keagan that April is a fantastic month for spending time in Londolozi. It’s the verdant grasses and trees that bring out nature’s best and wonderful backdrops for animal sightings. Favorites this week include the Citrus Swallowtail butterfly and the two sightings of Ximungwe, although your capture of Nkuwa was equally impressive. You all are so fortunate to have 5 cubs to view and share with your guests. Fingers crossed that all or most survive to adulthood.
Beautiful TWIP Keagan. My favourite this week just has to be either one of Nkoveni’s cub, both images are gorgeous.
Did you take those before Sean’s virtual safari of last Sunday, when he only saw 2 cubs?
the little cubs are so precious! They are my favorite along with the zebra picture.
Keagan, thanks for sharing a fantastic set of images this week. Seems like there’s so much activity going on. We don’t know how you keep up with it1 ! Our favorite this week is that gorgeous butterfly!
Keagan, just some of the most beautiful pictures this week. It is really hard to choose but the shot of the Citrus Swallowtail Butterfly is outstanding.
A fun TWIP, Keagan! I always love the leopard pics but this week the zebra is my choice for #1. To see the front end of this species – relaxed, curious and with a mouthful – is not common! And the black and white against the verdant green background is stunning!
Great week Keagan! I’d have to agree with the others that the Citrus Swallowtail takes the honors this week. That said, I also love the images of the Ximungwe Female!
WOW! SO MANY great shots this week! Not sure how the cubs in the tree aren’t everyone’s fave…but love the hyenas and contrasting colors in so many shots this week too! The zebra shot…the gorgeous butterfly…awesome!
The storks, the citrus swallowtail butterfly, and the Novena cubs – just too cute!
The Nkoveni cubs are my favorite this week. I also loved the image of the Nkuwa female lying so comfortable in the tree and she did not want to be disturbed at all. So glad to hear that all three cubs s of Nkoveni female are all still alive. Loved your foto of the Citrus Swallowtail butterfly, stunning colours.
All superb! The Nkoveni cub and the Butterfly are the top, but really all pictures. Herbivores close-up is fantastic as well as the very romantic Nkuwa pictures
What a splendid TWIP, thank you Keags. As ever, impossible to choose a favourite, but if I have to, the Nkuwa female is the most amazing pic. So much looking forward to our upcoming visit.
I love all your photos, Keagan. The one often butterfly is maybe my favourite. But they are all so beautiful that its hard to decide
I loved seeing the butterfly this week. And the Nkuwa females lashes are putting mine to shame!
Some super leopard photography (love the cubs) and a superb butterfly
My favourite email of the week , does not fail (yet again) to deliver
I love all the photos, but I found the one of the hyenas to be really fun. They look exhausted by their excitement! Great job on the photos this week. Thank you!