The lush green landscapes of summer provide the perfect backdrop for nature’s vibrant activity. The rains have transformed the reserve and continue to nourish it, making it bursting with life.
The greenery of the landscape offers a backdrop to the images this week with sightings of the Tsalala female in the northern reaches of the reserve and the Kambula pride in the southeastern parts. The Ntsevu males also made a brief return this week.
The leopard sightings have been great, as the Nkoveni female and Young Male continue to offer us unforgettable sightings. The Nhlanguleni Female, now almost 14 years old, spends her time near the Sand River west of our camps. The Three Rivers Female is also continuing to raise her young female cub, and thankfully, there has been little overlap between her and the Nkoveni Female’s territory as she has been seen further south.
With the rains comes the arrival of new life. Calves, lambs, piglets, and cubs have begun to appear across the reserve, a symbol of hope and renewal in the natural world. Whether it’s a wildebeest calf trying to keep up with its mother or a young impala tentatively taking its first steps, the presence of new life is a powerful testament to the continuity of nature and the ever-present cycles of life and death that define this wild space.
The wild dogs have been moving through the reserve more frequently as their pups continue to grow and manage to keep up with the hunting adults who have capitalized on the abundant prey. Also although still sporadic the male cheetah has been seen in the western parts of the reserve as the summer season brings dynamic energy to the reserve.
This week at Londolozi has been a vivid reminder of the beauty and complexity of the wild. From the thrilling hunts of predators to the tender moments of new life, the reserve continues to be a place where nature’s raw, untamed energy is on full display. As the rains continue and the land grows greener by the day, we look forward to more unforgettable encounters in the weeks ahead.
Let us know your favourites in the comments section below.
Enjoy This Week In Pictures…
The first of the morning light shone on the majestic coat of the Nkoveni Young Male as he walked towards us after drinking at a waterhole.
A flock of Yellow-billed Storks flew over us as they made their way to a nearby waterhole.
After taking the close-up portrait of the Nkoveni Young Male I was still a bit too zoomed in when he greeted his mother. However, I love how this photo captures the size of the growing Nkoveni Young Male with his mother.
Londolozi's most viewed leopard and prolific mother. This gorgeous female has raised multiple cubs to independence.
Four generations of elephants group together as they cross the Sand River
The Nkoveni Female lies on a fallen marula tree as she watches the Kambula Pride in the nearby distance.
After finishing off the remains of an impala lamb vultures soon landed to see if they could feed on any of the scraps. This wild dog kept chasing them away before they could steal any of its kill.
Soon after the vultures arrived a hyena came bounding in and was soon chased off by the wild dogs
The hyena managed to steal a part of the kill and the two wild dogs quickly chased after him trying to bite his behind
One of the impressive Ntsevu Males rests against a Marula tree
The nomadic Ntevu Males have been moving through the Sabi Sands and fortunately have been on Londolozi. This was taken a few days before all four brothers met up again in the southern reaches of the reserve before heading back north.
This male giraffe walks in the open grasslands with the purple hue of the sky as a storm approaches
The manes of the young males’ in the Kambula Pride are beginning to grow more and more. These youngsters are starting to become more interested in hunting opportunities, particularly with the abundance of young animals around.
The Kambula Pride are difficult to capture the sheer number of them. After some of the young males in the pride tried to hunt distance Wildbeast the rest of the pride then followed and lay in the clearing. This was what had captured the attention of the Nkoveni Female from her vantage of the fallen Marula tree.
The Ndhzenga Male approaches the Kambula Pride with caution.
Just as the sun had set these two male zebras fought on the crest kicking up some dust
The Xinkhova Female continues to provide us with some great sightings as she has been seen more and more in the previous territory of the Plaque Rock Female. We can only hope she remains here and raises a litter of her own soon.
A stunning young female with a very similar spot pattern to her mother, the Nkoveni Female. Litter still completely intact March 2022.
The Tsalala Female gazes upwards as she smells the air as the wind blows towards her. With her eyes closed her sense of smell is what she is relying on from the distance herd of impala.
The male cheetah finds a fallen marula tree to scan its surroundings for any potential prey.
The warthog piglets have finally emerged from their burrows as they begin to feed on the lush greenery of summer.
Two young warthog piglets greet each other
An intimate moment with the Three Rivers Female. Her characteristic spot on her nose and nick in her ear is captured here
Forced into early independence at 11 months. Despite her small size, she's proven resilient, currently raising a cub in SE Londolozi.
The Three Rivers Young Female rests under a Weeping Boer bean tree as she digests her meal.
The Othawa Pack briefly stopped to regroup before continuing on their hunt.
Difficult to capture the vastness of this herd they continued to come down the bank of the Sand River to drink one afternoon
The entire herd including the lambs came down to drink in the Sand River.
The remarkable Nhlanguleni Female. After sustaining various injuries from what can only be assumed from likely lions, the Nhlanguleni Female has recovered well. This leopard born in 2011 sits on a termite mound as she digests the food that she has stashed in a tree nearby.
Initially skittish female who transformed into a regular presence. Made history by raising first intact litter since her own generation.
The striking Nhlanguleni Female poses on a termite mound with a lush green backdrop as she digests her meal. The green of her eyes is complemented by the green tones of her surroundings.
Hi, the Nhlanguleni female is a top beauty and charming lady. Every picture of her is a masterpiece. I loved the piglets greeting each other! So cute! The Three Rivers duo touches my heart every time, as the Nkoveni s. I was impressed by the gorgeous picture of the Nkoveni Female looking in a peculiar way to the lions… a bitter look. She has so wonderful eyes. And so her daughter. The Stone Drift female has two adorable cubs! It seems that wild dogs and lions are the only ones that as enemies have their specimen only, besides the occasional hyenas. Lions are a real trouble to leopards. The Tsalala female is stunning and also the Ndzenga male and the Ntsevu males, I can imagine them in a few years… giraffe and elephants always welcome. Lovely cheetah and impala herd, beautiful picture of zebras fighting with dust creating an atmosphere
Lovely TWIP Kirst. I’m not surprised Nkoveni was keeping a close eye on the Kambula pride, after 1 of them nearly killed her. Let’s hope for no more leopard fatalities in 2025!
The wild dogs vs hyena clash must have been a great sighting, how did it finish?
WOW Kirst! EVERY SINGLE PICTURE is so beautiful! I think the piglets w/ their mom is my fave. The stork shot is pretty cool and the Ntsevu Male is great too! Great week! Lucky you 😉
Thanks, Kirst for this marvelous collection of photos.
I enjoy seeing my favorite leopards so much. The Nhlanguleni Female always seems to have such a melancholy look on her face. I wonder what is going on in her mind.
The big herd of Impala is so beautiful. So much new life, what a wonderful sight.
It’s good fun to see these young warthogs, the lions, elephants storks, just everything.
Kirst, lovely pictures this week. I really enjoyed seeing the impala, the wild dogs and the warthog piglets. Very cute picture.
Dear Kirst, great shots, I am a leopard enthusiast, but love the pic of the Tsalala female-unique pic. Thanks
Love your TWIP Kirst, for the variety and compositions. Every one is a favorite, but Tsalala is my number 1, no surprise here. Then I jump to the two male zebras engaged in an altercation, followed by the nose to nose image of the piglets – priceless! Portraits of the leopards are always favorites and it’s good to see Nhlanguleni looking better since her leg injury. However one I really love is the panoramic of the hundreds of impala drinking in the Sand River – that is impressive to see so many and you captured it beautifully. I can hardly wait to return late March to see the property green once again.
Wonderful images this week, Kirst! The Tsalala female still looks beautiful and unscarred, the Nkoveni young male is really growing and the Ntsevu male is impressive! Wish I was there…
Hi Kirst with so many new born on the reserve it is difficult to choose a favorite photo. Loved the Nkoveni male leopard and also the Three Rivers female cub. Tsalala female is my favorite lioness as she has been through so much hardship. So many impala’s together with their lambs makes a beautiful photo.
My favorite is the Tsalala Female gazes upwards and the wartie piglets.
I love the image of the Tsalala female sniffing the air. Because she doesn’t fight other lions at meals, she’s retained much of her youthful beauty. I recognize her instantly. Paws crossed more cubs will be on the way soon.