As the first rains of the season have graced Londolozi, the landscape is undergoing an extraordinary metamorphosis. Emerging from what has been the closest encounter with drought conditions for quite some time, the bush is responding with astonishing vitality. The once dusty and sunbaked terrain, painted in the muted yellows and browns of winter, is now beginning to glow with the vibrant greens of summer. Each droplet seems to breathe life back into the soil, rejuvenating the flora and fauna that call this remarkable place home. Personally, this is one of my favourite times of the year in the bush as it brings with it the promise of new life – vibrant colours, migratory birds and impala lambs.
As always the Leopards of Londolozi have stolen the show with some incredibly special sightings of The Three Rivers Female and her young female cub who continues to impress as she grows in confidence. Sightings of the The Ndzandzeni Female, Xinkhova Female, Makomsava Female, Nkuwa Female and Tortoise Pan Male provided some excellent photographic opportunities of these mesmerizing big cats. On a slightly more somber note, given the tragic news of the Nkoveni Young Female’s passing (who I was incredibly fond of), I have included some of the last shots I managed to snap of her as a little tribute.
It is safe to say that regular sightings of the Makhatini Female Cheetah and her little trio have stolen the hearts of all those who have been lucky enough to view them. As they continue to grow, we are feeling extremely optimistic of the prospect of some new Cheetah dynamics in the Sabie Sand Reserve. Lion viewing this winter has been slightly more erratic than usual however, we have welcomed some more regular sightings of the Kambula Pride and their growing youngsters, the return of the Kambula Lioness who has now broken away from her four brothers and the Ntsevu Pride who seem to be shifting further south of the Sand River.
A highlight for me was a very tender moment that was shared between a mother Zebra and her newly born foal. We had just missed the actual birth itself however, witnessing the mother cleaning the vulnerable little foal of the afterbirth and carefully removing the umbilical cord was a moment I will never forget!
Let us know your favourites in the comments section below.
Enjoy This Week In Pictures…
The Tortoise Pan Male has been spending a lot of his days in and around Mahlahla Dam recently as it has become a favoured stopping point along his territorial patrols. He is fast becoming one of my favourite Leopards to view on Londolozi!
Born in 2016, this male spent his early years in the south-east of Londolozi, but began moving further afield in late 2019.
After having marched along the Mahlahla Dam Wall, The Tortoise Pan Male settles atop a termite mound scanning his surroundings, looking for potential hunting opportunities.
As the Tortoise Pan Male slept on the cool mud on the northern side of Mahlahla Dam, we were pleasantly surprised as Ranger Keagan informed us of the approaching Makomsava Female who came to quench her thirst on the southern side of the waterhole.
The only surviving cub of the Nanga female, currently territorial northern Marthly. Currently denning north of boundary
A dazzle of zebra pass by Nanga Pan to quench their thirst after a warm morning drive in the North.
After the recent rains, the newly lush and green grasslands provide the perfect backdrop as the Makhatini Female leads her cubs towards a safe place to rest for the evening.
The three cubs of the Makhatini Female have stolen the hearts of all of those who have been able to view them. We are feeling extremely optimistic about the prospect of these youngers reaching maturity and adding a much-needed boost to the Cheetah population within the Sabi Sand Reserve.
One of the Kambula Pride’s young male cubs pauses before rejoining his siblings who were finishing the remains of a meal. Their impressive size at such a young age is already starting to show their potential to become a formidable force in the near future.
The young male of the Kambula Pride quenches his thirst at Water on the Rocks after earning the lions share of his meal.
Ranger Megan follows the Toulon Pack of Wild Dogs through the open grasslands at sunset.
The Three Rivers Female rests within the Inyathini Drainage on an overcast and rainy morning.
Forced into early independence at 11 months. Despite her small size, she's proven resilient, currently raising a cub in SE Londolozi.
A beautiful young Yellow-throated Longclaw provided us with a beautiful opportunity to view it as it tested right beside the road.
The Ndzandzeni Female scans her surroundings one last time before returning to feed on her prized meal.
Royal descendant of Mother Leopard lineage. Remarkable single cub success story who overcame injury to continue the royal bloodline.
The highlight of the week! A very tender moment was shared between a Zebra mother and her foal who had only been born minutes before we had arrived. You can still see the umbilical cord attached to the foal. The mother gently cleaned the foal of the afterbirth before standing on the cord to pull it off of the foal. A truly precious moment that I will never forget.
A tribute to the late Nkoveni Young Female. One of the last sightings I had of this beautiful female before she tragically lost her life to the Kambula Pride. A stark reminder of the harsh reality of life in the bush.
She was such a stunning little female and every sighting of her will be cherished. Here we saw her stretching just before she headed towards her mother.
With a little glance towards our vehicle, she dropped down the bank of the Maxabene River.
After spending the afternoon feeding amongst the large herd of buffalo, this flock of Cattle Egrets make their way to a nearby pan of water to quench their thirst.
The Kambula Lioness who has now broken away from her four brothers is alive and well and has been seen spending time with the Styx Young Male. A shot of her captured mid-contact call as she looks to rejoin her new partner.
The Xinkhova Female takes a moment after rolling in some fresh elephant dung. By rolling in the dung, she is trying to mask her scent to aid her hunting efforts.
A stunning young female with a very similar spot pattern to her mother, the Nkoveni Female. Litter still completely intact March 2022.
The rising full moon never fails to disappoint with its mesmerizing colours and textures.
The Three Rivers Female and her young female cub stroll through a tamboti grove in the early morning light. The Three Rivers Female opportunistically pounced on a Bronze-winged Courser chick that caught the attention of her young cub.
A precious moment captured of a Black-backed Jackal pup scanning for its mother during the fading light of the afternoon.
We heard a lioness calling right next to camp so we set off to find what was to be one of the females from the Ntsevu Pride patrolling along the bank of the Sand River looking for a male that she could potentially mate with.
The Nkuwa Female has been spending a lot of her time west of our boundary. Now her two young males have successfully reached independence and dispersed from her territory, we are beginning to see a return of this stunning leopardess.
Raised as an intact litter, first in 7 years, who has now made her own history by raising two males to independence as an intact litter.
A male Giraffe pauses along the banks of the Sand River as he bathes in the golden afternoon light.
The Three Rivers Young Female pauses to groom herself after having fed on the Impala that her mother had caught earlier that morning.
So hard to choose. They are all beautiful pictures. ebra mother and her foal, jackel pup are my favorites.
What a delight to see a jackal pup. They don’t feature often. The zebra mare and foal was quite sweet, too; what a tender moment to witness. How are the stolen pups of the Toulon pack thriving?
Wow, Reece, TWIP’s is wonderful. The shots of the leopards and cheetahs are great and I cannot pick out a favorite. If I have to choose, it would be the mother zebra and her new foal and the spectacular rising moon. Just a great week, thanks.
I’m just a sucker for “long claws” Beautiful!!
Thank you Reece for a beautiful TWIP – impossible to pick a favourite!
I had such amazing sightings a few weeks ago when I was at Founders, including the cheetah family, but Ndzanzeni and Tortoise Pan eluded me again. I just hope they’re both still around when I come back next year, but meanwhile I will rely on the blogs to keep me updated.
It’s great to see Nkuwa is still around. It’s wonderful that she’s repeated her mother’s amazing feat in bringing both her cubs to independence.
Wow, Reece, what a wonderful collection of photos of all those cats! Thanks for the pictures of this beautiful female cub of the Nkoveni female. I am still so sad that she had to die and enjoyed seeing some last photos of er immensely.
The one of the zebra mum cleaning her baby right after birth is really very touching.
All the photos are great!
Hi Reece, well, as beauty and nostalgic feelings are concerned, I’m surely struck by the young Nkoveni Female, she was joyful, perfect from the tip of her tail to her toes and had the wonderful eyes of her mother. What a loss… and sweetness follows, with the young newborn foal and his loving mother, and the Three Rivers young female, I’m moved by the proximity she always keeps to her mum and the way she looks at her. She looks so innocent and dependent on her. Alla leopards are incredibly stunning and there are many relatives, such as the Ndzanzeni female and her son and son on. I’m so happy that the Nkuwa female raised her sons successfully! All pictures deserve a mention. The closing image of the sweet Three Rivers female is just adorable!
Reece, thanks for the great update and we are glad the rains have arrived! Our favorite image is the one of the young male of the Kambula Pride. The setting is just beautiful!
Dear Reece, what a nice collage of different leopards, love the Tortoise Pan, and my favorite is the zebra with it calf, never seen such a small one. Thanks for this TWIP.
Terrific TWIP Reece! I love that you captured the tender moments between the zebra mother and her newborn. Those sightings are very rare and stay with you forever. Other favorite images are your last photos of the Nkoveni young female. I’ve been editing my photos from last month’s stay and treasure each of those pictures taken of Nkoveni plus her two cubs. Tortoise Pan is another favorite in addition to Ndzanzeni and Three Rivers and her cub. Sunset photos are always special and yours captures the magic at the end of a day in Londolozi.
Hi Reece, yes my favorite this week is forsure the little Zebra foal. So very precious to see this in the wild. Loved all the leopard images and thanks for the ones of Nkoveni’s little female cub. She was cutie. My heart nearly stopped beating when I watched that awful tragedy. Beautiful images this week Reece.
Love all the leopard images this week, Reece! Like you, I continue to be sad about the loss the the Nkoveni Young female making the Three Rivers Young Female a real bright spot!
Wonderful TWIP Reece! Too many great options to choose from, but always love any shot of the extraordinarily beautiful Xinkhova Female!!