Well into the throes of winter, the mornings now arrive with a distinct chill, often accompanied by a veil of mist that hangs low over the open clearings before the sun slowly breaks through and begins to warm the day.
With the grasses thinning and visibility improving, the bush starts to reveal more. On the leopard front, excitingly, the Thamba Male has been seen a couple of times east of the boundary, and this week he had an impala kill in a Jackalberry. Not far from him, the Nkuwa Female also found safety nestled in the Jackalberry tree along the banks of the Sand River after scent marking along the banks of the Sand River.
After the sad loss of the Three Rivers Female, we are fortunate enough to still be seeing the remarkable Tinxiya Female. The Ximungwe Female remains elusive as ever, with a handful of sightings. The Makomsava Female is rumoured to have had cubs, but nothing has been confirmed yet. We have been seeing her and tracks of her more frequently south of our northern boundary.
The elephant viewings this last week have been nothing short of incredible. From playful contests between males, big impressive bulls scattered throughout the reserve and breeding herds taking full advantage of the lasting mud wallows, along with hippos enjoying the fuller waterholes for this time of year.
We have been extremely lucky with our sightings of the Wild Dogs this week – briefly, a pack of five individuals were playing along the banks of the Manyelethi River, trailed by the hyenas and another pack of 13 with suspected pregnant females. Let’s hope they hang around long enough and give birth.
The two Kambula Females with their six cubs have evaded the Gijima Males so far, and continue to thrive on the north eastern part of our reserve. However, we might have heard news that one youngster might have been killed by the Plains Camps Males just two days ago.
There is something particularly special about this time of year. As the bush strips away the abundance of summer, it reveals a different kind of beauty, one defined by texture, light, and the subtle earthy hues of the dry season. The changing conditions have made for a remarkable week of sightings and photographic opportunities. I used a 70-200mm lens this week, which made for a different perspective of animals within their environment.
Let us know your favourites in the comments section below.
Enjoy This Week In Pictures…
The Tinxiya Female framed by a Leadwood tree in the background with her tail curled.
A confident and curious young leopard, that is nearing independence after a remarkable start to life alongside her resilient mother.
This white zebra foal continues to defy the odds and seems to be thriving in the southern reaches of the reserve.
Seems there is a lot of these playful tussles between young elephant bulls at the moment
There is something alluring about the Ximungwe female as she was curled up at the bottom of a termite mound with the last light of the day dappled on her face.
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
The waterholes still quite full after the rains this season. This hippo showed off his incisors before heading out the water to feed one evening.
There have been some impressive elephant bulls these last few weeks.
A very exciting male leopard to start seeing on Londolozi. With sightings of the Thamba Male still few and far between, he has little pressure from east of him so we can’t help but hope he continues to move more eastwards and establish himself more regularly.
He was found with the small remains of an impala kill which he picked up, paused for a moment, as he scanned where he was heading too, and took the remains of the kill out of the Jackalberry tree.
We found this pack early one misty morning as they ran past some giraffes. They then headed north towards the Manyelethi
They briefly ran through the pooled water in the Manyelethi River before playing with one another.
We were fortunate enough to be eye level with these two wild dogs as they were playing ahead of us on the bank. I just love how you can even see the spray of water from them
An unwelcome visitor arrived for a short period before being chased off.
A brief time spent with these two Kambula lionesses who continue to raise their 6 cubs sired by the Ndhzenga coalition and avoid the Gijima Males.
These cubs all seem to be in great condition and continue to thrive under the watchful eye of their mothers.
The Nkuwa Female continues to remain more west of the reserve as she has successfully raised her second litter (a young male). She has been seen mating recently with the Thamba male and we wait to see if she is ready to have another litter. With the Thamba male pushing eastwards, it will be interesting to see if she returns to her original territory.
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.
The morning sunrise was screened by some cloud cover which created soft tones in the sky behind this elephant bull who was feeding in the open grasslands.
The most exciting news has been seeing this pack of thirteen with more than one female seemingly heavily pregnant. I can’t but help they hang around longer…
One of the heavily pregnant females.
A familiar leopard who we haven’t seen for some time has been seen a few times these last few weeks. The Makomsava Female, now 10 years old has been spending a little bit more time just south of our northern boundary.
The only surviving cub of the Nanga female, currently territorial northern Marthly. Currently denning north of boundary
This small breeding herd of elephants made the most of a mud wallow to cool themselves off one morning.
Hello Kirsten,
Thanks for the lovely share.
Is this the Thamba male from the western sector of the SS? He was well established there. Any idea why he is extending his waners so much further east?
Keep well
Fransje