What makes this time of year so appealing to so many? Well, a few things are at play. The warm summer temperatures have dropped to a point that in the early mornings, a fleeced jacket is essential while, in the evenings, a roaring fire in the centre of the boma draws the different groups of people to its warmth. The summer rains, for the most part, are a thing of the past, yet the landscape still holds a lush, green vibrancy that complements the long rays of the sun at dusk and dawn. Birdlife is plentiful as the migrants fatten themselves up for the long journey back north while the lambs and calves of the plains game are growing fast into young adolescents. With all the abundance that the rainy season brings, it certainly has its discomforts which slowly fall away as we dip into winter; the classical safari season.
This past week was filled with phenomenal sightings. On the predator front, lions seemed to dominate my viewings as the Kambula Pride flexed their hunting prowess by successfully bringing down a wildebeest one evening, followed by two impalas the following night and a zebra the following morning! With 18 mouths to feed, this illustrates both their opportunism and need to hunt so frequently. The Ntsevu Males also made the news when they were shaken up by a visit from the dominant Plains Camp Males in the west. This group of 4 young males and their sister continue to grow in confidence and stature but also need experiences like this to learn from.
On the leopard front, the cubs of both the Nkoveni Female and Ximungwe Female are still the main attraction and have been providing some of the best leopard cubs viewing in all my years at Londolozi – long may it last. A strong birding theme runs through this week’s images too with a fantastic sighting of a flock of White Fronted Bee-eaters dust bathing, ever-present oxpeckers and a hunting egret.
Let us know which is your favourite in the comments below…
Enjoy This Week In Pictures…
Two Zebra quench their thirst alongside one another. I really liked the colour version of this shot too but chose the black white as my favourite in end.
I enjoyed a wonderful sighting of a flock of White Fronted Bee-eaters dust bathing in the road ahead of me. There must have been close to 50 birds on the ground and perched in the trees around me, all taking their turns at rollin around in the fine dust.
The Bee-eaters would gradually gather in numbers until one bird flushed, then they all took for the skies.
The Kambula Pride had a very successful couple of days of hunting, bringing down two impala, a wildebeest and a zebra in the space of 48 hours. Here, two lionesses eye out some impala albeit with little intent to actually hunt these ones.
Cheetah viewing has recently taken a bit of dip over the last month or more. However, we managed to find this male cheetah in the open plains a few days ago. He was moving between termite mounds searching for prey.
A collection of vultures silhouetted by the setting sun. The one at the apex is a Lappet Faced Vulture; the largest of the vulture family in in the region.
Driving out from Varty Camp this African Darter is often seen perched on the dead branches.
One lioness feassts on the spoils from a successful hunt.
The river at our causeway is at a perfect depth for crocodile viewing. Driving past there you could see up to 10 crocodiles either basking, swimming or lying in ambush in the faster rapids.
A pair of Yellow-billed Oxpeckers take a break on the back of a zebra.
The Ntsevu males continue to impose their presence across northern and western parts Londolozi. A few nights after this photo was taken, they appeared to have had a run in with the Plains Camp Males and have been separated since that night. Only one seems to be significantly injured but he should heal quickly.
After a run in with the Plains Camp Coalition, this young Ntsevu Male has been nursing his in juries close to the Londolozi camps. As is usually the case when lions fight, the majority of his injuries are around his hind quarters.
A rather recognisable hyena with a large portion of her upper lip missing, gnaws at the remains of a giraffe carcass. White the hyenas canines are not the largest in relation to other predators in the area, they pack the strongest bite force overall.
This was an interesting cloud formation we experienced on the horizon recently. It was a dead still afternoon at ground level but it seems some string winds were at work a few hundred meters above our heads.
An African Openbill Stork is not a common bird seen at Londolozi, so this was a great tick.
After a long hard search one afternoon, we eventually found the Nkoveni Female and her three cubs with an impala kill. At first we didn’t see the cubs. We had been viewing the mother until tracker Geshom spotted the three cubs in tree off to our left. Here, two are pictured in the right half of the frame, hiding in the branches of a Tamboti.
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 Great Egret has taken up residence at our camp waterhole. Here, he sits motionless on a branch suspended just above the water’s surface, waiting for an unsuspecting fish or frog to present itself.
A gloomy sunrise in the open plains of Londolozi, shared with a small group of Ostrich in the foreground.
One of the highlights of the week for me was seeing the Kambula Pride feeding on a zebra they’d caught the night before. Here, their attention is pulled away from the meal by the approach of three hyena.
Competition around a lion kill is extreme. The cubs, from a young age, must learn to fight for what they want to keep.
An adolescent aged Zebra rests its head on the mother’s rump.
An elephant bull slowly feeds his way across one of the open crests in eastern Londolozi.
The Ximungwe Female leads her one cub past one of our vehicles. There aren’t many places in the world that one can have such intimate sightings of these elusive cats.
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
Thank you for your well-curated collection of images today Chris. As always, it’s difficult to choose favorites but here goes: I have an affinity for sunrises so that’s my first choice followed by the Kambulas feeding on their carcass. After those I loved seeing the young zebra resting its head on its mother’s rump, always great to see in b/w, and the portrait of the Ntsevu male.
Lovely TWIP, Chris. My favourite this week is of Ximungwe and her cub walking next to the Landrover. I also love the Nkoveni cubs hiding in the tamboti tree – which made me wonder aren’t tamboti trees pretty toxic? It obviously doesn’t affect leopards, and I assume the Tamboti female of old was named after one that she particularly favoured lying in. Which leads me to another question: have you any idea if her daughter, the Island female, is still alive?
So many wonderful pictures makes it hard to choose. I love the bee eater pictures and the zebra pictures. Thank you.
Has the Ximungwe leopard lost one of her babies? I hope not!
Chris, as always it is difficult to choose a favorite as all the images are super. I am drawn to the black and white of the crocodile and the shot of the cloud formation showing the winds just above.
Great composition photo on the flushed birds, color almost abstract. Great job!
The little cub in the tree is similar to the only shot we got (of a adult leopard) on our visit to Kenya…love it for that reason! The clouds in that shot look like waves! Very cool! I think the cheetah pic is my fave tho…quintessential safari scene!
Another astounding collection Chris! To me, the “Gloomy Sunrise” looks like the arrival of the flying saucer in “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. As for my favorites – Oh Chris! Those bee-eaters! I remember when I felt I hit the jackpot spotting one 100 meters away!
So many images to choose from Chris which makes it difficult. But the image of the Ntsevu male lion who was injured in my favorite this week. Following the Nkoveni cubs peeping through the bushes. Loved the Bee-eaters bathing in the dust, so many of them must of been a fantastic view. Stunning images all round this week, thank you.
Thanks for all the beautiful photos, Chris. As always, hard to choose.
So the Novena female still has her three cubs? And the Ximungwe only one left?
Another great Week in Pictures.
Fun collection of photos to, Chris. While my fav is the young Ntsevu Male, I’m drawn to the hyena with kill. The hyena’s unusual mouth/teeth alongside the stark ribcage against the sunlit background is engaging, telling a story of Africa…
Beautiful images. I thought it might interest you to know that the “interesting clouds” you spotted have a special name: Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds, after their discoverers Lord Kelvin and Hermann von Helmholtz, both famous physicists who made pioneering discoveries in fluid dynamics, which are used to explain the Kelvin-Helmholtz cloud formations. There is also a fancy name for the sunbeams in your other cloud photo: “crepuscular rays”.
Thanks for providing that cloud info Charles! 🌊 ☁️
My first choice is the cheetah. One and only, as the species in most areas is, in the endless wilderness. Second the Ntsevu male and the zebra adolescent with his mother. All very meaningful images. Then the elephant bull and the peculiar clouds… all pictures are really beautiful
Awesome week of sightings Chris! Question, was the image of the hyena with her upper lip missing taken in the northern/Marthly area of Londolozi by chance?
Incredible collection Chris. I love the black and white edit on the zebras, as well as the composition (and subject matter) of the hyena with the giraffe ribs. The egret and stork were also lovely. Took me a minute to find the second cub in the tree, but I found it eventually. What a beautiful week. Please keep us updated in the Ntsevu male’s injuries.
Great group of photos Chris. My fav is that GORGEOUS cheetah shot! 🙏🏻📸💗
Another week of wonderful pics, thank you Chris. I love the White Fronted bee eaters bathing in the dust and my other favourite is the artistic Great Egret. Beautiful cloud and sunset pics too. Always tricky to pick one or two out of each beautiful collection.