Another lovely week at Londolozi with plenty of action across the reserve.
The Shingi Male made a few appearances this week. We also had a brief view of the Makomsava Female before she disappeared up a dry riverbed, beyond where we could follow. The Tinxiya Female made an appearance too after a few wandering hyenas disturbed her from a comfortable bed in the cool green grass.
There were some excellent general game sightings, including a large herd of buffalo coming down to drink and a dazzle of zebra taking advantage of a large waterhole to quench their thirst on a hot day. We were also fortunate to spend time with the Makatini Cheetah Coalition. The two young males attempted to catch a young wildebeest, but a few larger adults put a stop to the hunt.
The lions have certainly kept us busy with several productive mornings and afternoons. I had an unforgettable week personally, watching the Ntsevu Pride make two kills. The Gijima Males have also been in fine form, continuing to hold their territory as the two Kambula lionesses raise their eight cubs.
For some guests keen to spend time photographing birds, we managed to include a few colourful characters in the form of oxpeckers and bee-eaters. We also had a rather memorable hyena sighting as one crossed the Sand River. It was a great way to round off the afternoon, although it did mean getting my shoes wet!
All in all, another special week in the bush. Let me know which of the sightings below you enjoy most!
Enjoy This Week In Pictures…
The Ntsevu Pride stalking an oblivious wildebeest. Fortunately for him, he spotted them before they got too close!
The Shingi Male has provided some incredible moments these past two weeks. It’ll be a sad day if and when he decides to wander off!
The last surviving cub of a litter of three, he is on the cusp of independence.
Probably my favourite shot of the week. You’ll notice the majority of my shots have been taken with a Nikon D850 along with a 300mm 2.8 prime. This at times can be quite limiting shot composition-wise, but then you also get these amazing high-detail shots. Give and take, I suppose!
An Ntsevu lioness walks past Ross and Life’s Land Rover. They were seemingly more interested in the approaching Gijima male behind this female!
A young Ntsevu female poised perfectly for a shot. These two young females have really been leading the charge from a hunting perspective of late. The lineage of this incredible pride is in very capable hands/paws!
Another shot of this massive herd of Buffalo. At times, they can be quite tricky animals to capture given the size of the herd and all the distractions that come with that. I find quite a cool effect is created when you narrow your focus onto one individual, allowing the others around to paint the scene. This works particularly well when you get some eye contact.
A good picture to gauge the difference in beak/bill size between Yellow-billed and Red-billed Oxpeckers. Yellow-billed Oxpeckers can often be found in and around large herds of Buffalo.
A very memorable morning as we watched the Nstevu pride successfully stalk and catch a Warthog boar. The intensity in these eyes had me fixated!
Quite a gory image, but as we all know, this is the harsh reality of the bush. A poignant reminder of how competitive this landscape is on a daily basis!
At nearly three years old, he still has that wonderfully pink nose! Plenty has been said this year about how much more difficult leopards have been to come across. It was great to see the Shingi Male bucking that trend this week!
A dazzle of zebras came down to quench their thirst. They always present such well-suited black-and-white editing opportunities for obvious reasons. Such interesting animals to watch.
This week was filled with sightings of lions. With the Gijima males looking well set to keep an iron grip on their territory, the next generation of the Kambula pride continues to thrive under the watchful eye of these two determined females.
It’s both frustrating and comical how, as guides and trackers, we can spend hours searching far and wide for these elusive cats with little to no reward and then simply stumble upon them the next day. That was exactly the case with the Makomsava Female on this particular morning as she meandered up some beautiful dry river beds.
The only surviving cub of the Nanga female, currently territorial northern Marthly. Currently denning north of boundary
The Blonde Gijima males trails the Ntsevu pride. The pride are now in a place where they have accepted both males. Hopefully we will be seeing some cubs soon!
The Makatini coalition continues to deliver some incredible moments. This afternoon they unsuccessfully tried to bring down a Wildebeest.
The Nwaswitshaka coalition have really settled nicely into their territory. Fortunately for us, that overlaps with the southern reaches of Londolozi. These young males have all the markings to leave behind a powerful legacy. Being a coalition of four also brings with it some rather obvious advantages!
We’re approaching the backend of the breeding season for these unique lizards. This female Southern Tree Agama was doing her best to ward off the attempts a nearby male was making towards her.
Basking in some afternoon light, this elephant bull was in musth. It’s best to give them a wide berth when they are in this phase. With that being said, aggressive behaviour isn’t always a given.
A curious and, I imagine, frustrated. The Tinxiya Female stops after two hyenas forced her to move from her resting place.
A confident and curious young leopard, that is nearing independence after a remarkable start to life alongside her resilient mother.
The handsome Styx male meets our eye line. At 6 years old now, this male is approaching his physical prime. The story is still in the beginning phases for this young male and I have no doubt the next few chapters will be a good read!
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on The Week In Pictures #777