This week has been an exciting one with the lion dynamics taking a very interesting turn. Lion viewing had been somewhat thin, with the Ntsevu pride seemingly having disappeared overnight, followed shortly by the Birmingham males. The Mangheni pride and accompanying Othawa male were staying out of sight in the south-west and the Nkuhuma pride and Avoca males in the North were nowhere to be seen. Not to mention the Tsalala pride almost having faded into legend after not having been seen for weeks.
And then it all changed…
But that is a blog in and of itself and we’ll be revealing the latest lion happenings next week.
Over the rest of Londolozi and amidst the chaos of the lions, life continued on as normal (as it is wont to do), and I was fortunate enough to be out and about with my camera to witness a few of the innumerable happenings, both minor and major, that make up the days out here.
Enjoy this Week in Pictures…
An Ntsevu lioness finds some respite from the heat of the day in a shady spot on the road.
These two young males (Styx and Nkuhuma), although originating from two different prides, have combined forces to form a coalition. The two are inseparable and are constantly reassuring one another through physical contact.
A giraffe ambles across a golden sunset.
A pair of Hooded vultures take a load off in the comfort of a long-dead Leadwood. Hooded vultures are monogamous, and likely form pair bonds that last their whole lives.
This jumping spider settled on the leaf of a common wild fig leaf I am attempting to bonsai in my room. Fortunately it’s a tiny spider, and only looks this scary when magnified with a macro lens.
The variation in eye colour amongst leopards is captivating. The Plaque Rock female stares down at us from the safety of a Marula tree.
This Lilac-breasted roller battled to shovel down the last of a frog that it found hopping across a clearing.
A curious little rhino calf tilts its head up to better inspect us while its mother grazes nearby, completely unperturbed.
A Macrotermes bellicosus (the largest termite we get here) soldier guards the entrance to its termitary.
A White rhino bull, thoroughly muddied, continues on a territorial patrol.
A Red crested korhaan freezes in the grass just next to our vehicle, ready to bolt at any sign of danger.
The Senegal Bush male lets loose with a deep sawing roar in response to another male calling nearby. This male is now well established in central Londolozi, but things are perpetually shifting around him…
The pollen grains catching the light as this bee settled on the inflorescence (essentially the flower) of this Bushveld signal grass caught my eye and I managed to get my Macro lens on for a quick shot.
A Wild dog pack makes short work of an impala. Witnessing a pack of these animals hunt has to be one of the most exhilarating experiences the bush can offer.
wonderful pictures for the week! Like the variety of animals that we don’t normalisée. thank you Victoria
Thanks Victoria, I’m glad you enjoyed!!
Life at Londolozi does indeed go on. Thanks for the wonderful pictures for this week.
Indeed it does William! Absolute pleasure.
Arigog comes to Londolozi , a fantastic photo and the rest aren’t bad either
Hahaha thanks Ian!!
Love the golden light that fall brings.
And all the grass turning yellow makes for some stunning scenes!
Kyle, welcome to the TWIP world! It’s good to see all of you contributing your stories and photos. During my stay this past week, we found leopards daily but the lions were elusive until they weren’t. Othawa, Birmingham, Avoca males appeared and then the Nkuhumas and finally the queen herself, Tsalala with her daughter! As you said, they’re around until they’re not. Love your photo of the jumping spider and the Plaque Rock female.
Hey Denise! Thanks very much for that. I heard about your stay, it sounded amazing!! Hope you are well
Wow! I really love that spider!!!
Thanks Irene, very lucky to have it posing on my little bonsai!
Quite fine photos Kyle. Your closeups of the spider and termite are great. Thanks.
Great TWIP, Kyle. Love all of them, but especially the jumping spider. And the young male Styx/Nkuhuma lion looks like he’s had a really bad lockdown haircut!
Thanks Suzanne! The spider was a real treat to experiment with some macro photography. And those lions are definitely at that awkward not-quite-a-full-mane stage!!
Kyle thank you for 15 beautiful foto’s. Rhinos are just stunning with mom and baby grazing together. The bull rhino that is covered in mud looks so funny. I agree with you that it is exhilarating watching wild dogs hunt. I love the Senegal bush male, such a majestic animal as is the Plague Rock female with her two tone eye colour. Spiders give me the creeps, but they have their place in the wild.
Thanks for taking the time to enjoy them Valmai!! And you are absolutely right, everything has its place out here.
Best spider shot ever! (And that bee better watch out for the spider web nearby!)
Thank you so much Linda!
Kyle, loved all the photos🤗
I’m really glad you did Joan, it was a lot of fun taking them
As usual lovely photos.
Thanks James!
Absolutely wonderful photos!!! Enjoyed and savored each and every one. Thanks so very much.
I’m so glad you did, Linda!
Great pics, love the closeup of the little spider!
Thanks Carly!
The pic of the jumping spider is amazing. I love doing macros of bugs and flowers. It’s like getting a bug’s eye view of a world we don’t normally see. The spider looks like a Wookie, all cute and cuddly till it show its fangs…
Thanks Tracey, you are exactly right on the bugs eye view of the world! I’m very excited to play around with some more macro going forward.
Love your spider pic Kyle! I will definitely look at the jumping spider in a new light after this pic!
I’m glad Shirley! Spiders definitely aren’t all that bad!
From the large to the small, you’ve certainly covered a wide range this week and yes, the jumping spider looks the fiercest of them all!
Hi Kyle. Thanks for the variety of pics and very good close up ones too. That Jumping Spider pic is amazing! Four eyes nogal! Please keep them going. You are very good at close ups particularly! Wendy M
Nice work with the TWIP. Happy to hear that the wild dogs are still around.
The Styx and Nkuhuma males may be from different prides but they share their fathers/coalition of the Birmingham males (along with the young Torchwood male) so they likely are brothers or close cousins anyway! So glad that they have each other!
Is that so, Lisa? Great to know and does make sense that they are happy to band together and propagate their shared genes!
Hi Kyle! Just did whisker spot comparisons to be sure, but the photo of the two young male lions is actually of the two Plains Camp Pride young males, who were seen on Mala Mala a few days ago and were just seen around Elephant Plains today or yesterday. They are slightly younger than the Nkuhuma and Styx Males I believe (not as familiar with them as the other two).
Hi Michael, thanks for the heads up on all of that. I’ll definitely have a look into those Plains Camp Pride young males – not familiar with them at all!
Love Jumping Spiders, super pic
Really super shots Kyle, the eyes of the Plaque rock female certainly are stunning ! Loved all the little beasties 😉..particularly the jumping spider ❤️..love macro
Another fantastic week in pictures Kyle, as always.
The first lioness looks like the Marthly female.
Regards: Tino
Looking at my metadata, I think you might be right there – I am taking it that the Marthly female is also the Tsalala female?
The picture of the Plaque rock female is STUNNING! She’s BEAUTIFUL!!
Thank you so much, she is a gorgeous female for sure.
Wow! An exhilarating collection of photographs, Kyle. Thanks for sharing!
So many wonderful images this week Kyle! I especially loved the variety of subjects and settings that always put on display the amazing diversity at Londolozi!
So many wonderful photos this week Kyle! I loved the variety of subjects and settings, putting on display the amazing diversity at Londolozi!!