The wild dog pups have proven to be such a highlight of late, provided you are lucky enough to have them show themselves while you are there. We have been there countless times and sat staring at the mound with absolutely nothing happening.

On this occasion, the adults were around and the pups stayed out of the den for a while and this curious and inquisitive pup found great entertainment in gnawing away at this clump of elephant dung.

Pretty much slotting directly into her late mother’s territory, the Tinxiya Female has provided some exceptional sightings of late as she comes into her own. Hopefully it is just a matter of time before we see her attempting to take this life phase to the next stage and seeking out a male to mate with and conceive her first litter of cubs.

The lion dynamics have constantly been up in the air of late and every lion has had to keep an eye over their shoulder, as who knows who is watching and what might happen next, particularly the young sub-adults around at the moment.

I don’t know what it is about Southern Ground Hornbills, but they are spectacular birds to watch. Maybe because they are constantly on the move looking for their next meal or their unbelievably human-like eyes. Whatever it may be, stopping to appreciate them is always worth it.

The Nkoveni Female had been doing so well with her two cubs, here she rests on a mound grooming them.

While we will take this as an opportunity to appreciate just how magical these sightings are, we will give a full update soon but sadly we can confirm that she has in fact lost one of her cubs.

At a point, she was using this hollowed out base of a Schotia tree as a den, and some of the shots of these cubs are simply sublime.

The sunbirds are not the only ones that love the aloes, Black-headed Orioles are often found not far from the vibrant flowers.

After an altercation with their distant family, the Ntsevu Pride, these sub-adults from the ‘northern faction’ of the Kambula Pride came past Rhino Dam for a quick drink.

Pausing for a moment to assess if there was any major threats nearby…

The youngsters stoped for a quick drink, lead by this female.

A few others then thought it was a great idea to quickly wet the lips and quench the thirst.

Zooming in to get a closer look at exactly how felines drink. Notice how they lap the water up backwards, using their tongue curled backward they pull small amounts of water into the mouth each time.

Just these three stopped for a drink, the mothers decided to walk right past and keep going with their mission.

Sunsets and silhouettes. IT took a moment like this to stop and appreciate the last bit of light for the day and a tiny little newborn giraffe standing right next to its mother, still unsure as to what on earth has happened, one minute it is in a nice warm cozy spot, next minute it is tumbling down into a cold, noisy, bright world.

My first proper sighting with all four N’waswitshaka Males, did not disappoint. They were feeding on a buffalo carcass, and here I want to take a moment to pause and appreciate the reflection in this male’s eye from the spotlight. What we are seeing is the tapetum lucidum, that is a reflective layer at the back of the eye that sits behind the cells of the retina, helping to bounce light back through those cells giving the lion a second take at what it is seeing. So what we are seeing there is the light from the spotlight going through the retina cells, bouncing off the tapetum lucidum and then going back through the retina cells. Essentially illuminating those cells twice.

One of the very first views of the new litter of wild dog pups on Londolozi. I haven’t had a chance to share many of these photos so here a few are.

A few of the pups poke their head out of the den. At this point the pups were probably only about 12-14 days old. Tiny, cute, and very likely only having emerged from the den for the first time soon before this.

Settled into her role as a mother, this female has done a sterling job with these five pups, here she nurses them keeping them going in the early phase before they started eating meat regurgitated by the adults after a successful hunt.

Welcome to Londolozi, incase you didn’t know which airstrip you were landing at?

The Kambula cubs are growing rapidly and we have been fortunate enough to see them a few times in the last week.

It is incredible how deceptive this scene can be, I meant that in the sense of how gentle and calm these young hyenas can appear. Give this one a few years and they become some of the most ferocious and successful predators out here.

On a fun adventure into the north with my two little rascals we stumbled across this amazing scene of the Hlambela Male resting on a mound, how spoilt we are to call this home.

Serene sunsets and stumbling silhouettes, such a beautiful scene of the last bit of light was enhanced that much more with this newborn giraffe calf stumbling around near its mother. I would estimate this calf to be less than 24 hours old, not yet sure on its feet and rather wobbly as it moved around its mother, who was feeding on a tree nearby.

The giver of life for the latest littler of wild dog pups on Londolozi.

Driving past a fairly well sheltered burrow into a termite mound, we caught sight of these warthogs just resting in the shade, we rolled back and sat there for a moment in very close proximity to them. I couldn’t help but snap a couple of quick pics.

AN up close view of these tusks, part tool for digging up roots and tubers for the warthogs to feed on, part defence weapon against a threat such as a leopard. Alone this is probably not enough to completely stop an attack but it sure enough something to cause the leopard to hesitate for half a second, which might be all it takes for the warthog to get away.

In a recent sighting we found the Nkoveni Female and her cub with a carcass hoisted in a nearby tree. This cub had been resting in a small tree, probably avoiding a few hyenas that had been draw in by the smell of the carcass. After some time the cub climbed down to join its mother. Pausing in this gap for half a second. This is probably the very first carcass that this cub has been taken to by the Nkoveni Female, which is equally exciting and daunting.