The Weekly TWIPs present a journal celebrating the diversity of life and beauty surrounding us here in the heart of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. As we reflect on the past week with crisp mornings and warm winter days, we’ve been fortunate to witness amazing wildlife activity across the reserve, from predators and prey to large herds of elephants and giraffes, to birds and everything in between.
Viewing of the Kambula Pride continues, and the 13 cubs are doing very well. They were seen in a very playful mood one morning.
We were excited to see the Ntsevu Pride again after a lengthy period with them spending the majority of their time in the east. Their territory is now primarily north of the Sand River in Mala Mala. However, two of the lionesses killed a nyala on Londolozi, which encouraged the movement of their three young cubs back west for a few days. A Ndzhenga Male was also seen in this sighting, marking his territory with a few eardrum-buzzing roars.
On the leopard front, we spotted the Three Rivers Female as she scent-marked her way through the Maxebene River bed. We had an awesome sighting of the Nkoveni Female and her two cubs at a carcass. The Nkoveni Female managed to kill and hoist a young impala ram, and we were blessed with incredible views of the cubs climbing and playing in the tree between bouts of feeding.
Lastly, we also had a memorable sighting of a herd of elephants drinking at a waterhole. They were then joined by a dazzle of zebras, which created a beautiful scene.
Let me know your favourite images in the comments section below.
Enjoy This Week In Pictures…
A young Elephant bull drinks water by the gallon from a waterhole.
Two members of the Kambula pride played on the edges of a mud wallow. The youngest litter of the pride are now approaching 10 months.
The cub got distracted for several minutes as the mothers tail whipped back and fourth swatting at the biting flies.
An adorable moment as one of the young cubs from the Kambula Pride is completely absorbed by the movement of its mother’s tail.
One of the members of the Toulon Pack of wild dogs pauses as he watches the rest of the pack trot up the road ahead.
A captivating stare from the largest Owl in the region, A Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl. One evening we stumbled upon this fascinating creature of the night on route back to camp.
An exciting discovery was finding the older Nstevu Lioness with her three young cubs. This was the first sighting of them as they have been staying on the eastern side of the Sand River in the neighbouring reserve.
A large elephant bull walked up the road and gave me a memorable picture opportunity. However, he was in no mood to make way for us so we drove off the road and allowed him to walk down the road.
The Ndzenga male was also seen with the Ntsevu lioness and the cubs. The coalition have been spending greater time with the Ntsevu pride as they ensure safety for the growing cubs.
An unforgettable sighting of the Nkoveni Female’s female cub scrambling down a tree after feeding on a hoisted carcass.
A leopard cub in a very playful mood! We watched as it jumped from one branch to the next.
It has been a privilege watching The Nkoveni Females’ cubs enhance their climbing ability day by day.
A mother Leopard looks on as her two cubs play around the base of a termite mound.
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 portrait of the beautiful Nkoveni Female. At the age of 12 years old, she is proving to be a very successful female leopard.
Another Leopard cub picture! this time the female cub of Nkoveni poses while she is up in an Apple leaf tree.
The largest Heron on earth, A Goliath Heron. We drove down past the causeway and noticed him preening his feathers. Their necks have to be quite flexible in order to reach the feathers on their backs.
A large herd of Waterbuck walked up the bank of the Sand River and across the road in front of us. I really admire the unique marking these antelope have.
A beautiful dazzle of Zebra drink at a watering hole.
A unique view of a Giraffes neck as this male bends down to scratch an itch on his shoulder.
The Three Rivers Female is in fine condition as we are seeing more of her in the southeastern parts of the Reserve. One particular morning, we followed her for almost two kilometres as she scent-marked her territory.
Forced into early independence as her mother was killed by the Southern Avoca Males.
An unusual sighting of a baby crocodile and a Terrapin laying together on a rock in the Sand River.
At first glance the opposing size difference between the terrapin and baby crocodile had me confused. No, it’s not an elephant sized terrapin, it’s a baby crocodile 😂. That was fun to see. Lovely photos of all the cubs. I’m glad they all appear to be thriving.
Thanks Chelseas! I was also shocked to see the tiny crocodile next to the Terrapin.
The leopard and lion cubs are just adorable, Nick. I love alle these cub photos and am really looking forward to meeting all these youngsters soon. Relatively soon, can’t wait.
Having said that, all your photos are great. very special the one of the turtle with the baby crocodile. As tiny babies even crocodiles look nice.
I recall fondly seeing waterbuck when I was at Londolozi, but never such a large herd. Is that common?
This was by far the largest herd I have witnessed during my time at Londolozi.
Great photos! All in such beautiful sun and colors! The Terrapin and baby croc looks like a trick photo! But I love this the most: ‘However, he was in no mood to make way for us so we drove off the road and allowed him to walk down the road.’ 😉 Cheers to the weekend!
Thanks Anita! I thought the same when I was capturing the moment. Very interesting to see a small crocodile happy sharing a rock with a terrapin !
Nick, not sure I have a favorite this week. Several pictures caught my eye. The eagle owl was beautifully framed a night and the elephant bull walking straight for the land rover and not giving way the road. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks William!
Hi Nick, very unusual to see baby croc and terrapin lying together on a rock. My favorite this week is the waterbuck foto. They look so lovely and warm with their long hair. I loved Nkoveni’s cubs, they are so cute and growing by the day.
Well, hands down the photo of the group is the terrapin with the unusually visaged baby crocodile.
Thanks very much Willa
Love all these photos Nick. Give my best to Kate!
Thanks Marcy! She sends her regards back to you!
Many compliments, one picture after the other they deserve an award! As always cubs are unbeatable, both leopards and lions, the little lion looking at its mum’s tail and the delightful young leopard poser are my first choice. After the cubs I think the Great Heron and the elephant bull, and, of course, the curious baby crocodile and the terrapin laying together!
As usual, great week of images Nick. Difficult to select favorites but, your portraits of Nkoveni and Three Rivers females are terrific. On the cuteness scale, love the photo of the Kambula cub on his back staring at his mom’s tail in addition to the Nkoveni cubs. Love your zebra photo as well as you captured its eye perfectly.
Thank you, Denise.
Lovely TWIP Nick, thank you. I especially loved the ones of Nkoveni and her surviving cubs – would they be about 6 months old now?
Thank you, Suzanne. Nkoveni’s Cubs are just over 6 months old.
Cracking pictures as always.
Thank you, Ian.
As usual , lovely photos ¡ Thank you.
Thanks James!
Lovely and diverse TWIP Nick!!
Thanks Paul!
Hi Nick,
Just discovered the blogs today. Looking at these beautiful pictures brings back the wonderful memories. Wish I could be there now … please say hi to Joy!