It’s been another week of thundershowers and grey skies, but we have been treated to some incredible lion and leopard sightings!
While the Styx Pride continued to be seen in the central parts of Londolozi, we had a rather unique morning where we came across one of the young lionesses up in a Marula tree. Stay tuned for the full story on this in the upcoming weeks. The Ntsevu lionesses continue to provide us with incredible sightings in open clearings, such as the interactions with their inquisitive and playful cubs.
More excitingly, however, this week we have managed to have some incredible male leopard sightings. This includes the Senegal Bush Male on a termite mound in incredible afternoon light, as well as both the Ntomi Male and Three Rivers Young Male who were both spotted lying up in trees. As seen in the images below, it was amazing to find the Three Rivers Young Male with a kill we presume he had made and hoisted himself!
In addition to the predators, the general game around our water holes continues flourishing after all this rain.
Let us know your favourites in the comment section below.
Enjoy this Week in Pictures…
A Lion in a tree! My guests and I were pleasantly surprised to find one of the Styx Pride members in a Marula tree.
The lioness then slowly made her way down the tree. Take a look at those claws!
The lioness eventually descended the tree, finding it quite challenging in the process… This was a memorable sighting!
The Sand River is still flowing tremendously after the record rains we had in the first two weeks of February. Given the current level of the river, we have seen the territorial Senegal Bush Male frequently patrolling south of his territory likely as he is unable to cross North of the river. Apart from a slight injury on his upper lip, he is in great condition.
Initially seen as a young male in 2016, this leopard only properly established territory on Londolozi in mid-2019
The energetic Ntomi male was found this week near a waterhole that burst its banks after a massive downpour. As the weather cleared, we watched him stalk into the shallows and retrieve a terrapin. He played with it for a short period but lost interest and disappeared into a drainage line.
My Guests and I were very fortunate to watch the Ntomi male playfully and restlessly jump between the branches of this Marula tree.
Capturing the unique freckle in the Ntomi Male’s left eye as he rests in a Marula tree.
A Zebra approaches a pan for a drink after cautiously scanning the waters edge.
The Three Rivers Young Male spotted with a hoisted Impala ram. It is very impressive to see this still dependent young male making his own kills.
Somewhat skittish after becoming independent, he is an impressive young male with a rich golden coat.
After watching him feed, the Three Rivers Young Male poses perfectly in the fork of the tree.
The Three-banded Plover is a tiny wader that often goes unnoticed on the waters edge due to its size. However, when viewed through Binoculars or a long lens its beautiful details and distinctive three bands can be admired.
A huge male Giraffe stares out towards the setting sun behind large rain clouds.
A young Ntsevu Cub latches onto one of the four teats that an adult lioness has to satisfy its hunger. Lions will nurse their cubs for 7 – 8 months before weening their milk and switching to a protein diet.
After the feeding was over, the mother got to her feet and walked along the road in front of us and without hesitation, the cubs followed her. When she lay down, all the cubs glanced towards us.
One of the Ntsevu Lioness with a prominent milk pouch glances across a clearing to keep her cubs out of harms way
Four well-behaved cubs!
As each week passes, we are getting treated to better sightings of the Ntsevu cubs. They are getting stronger and more playful as can be seen here with one cub scrambling along the back of its mother.
Three Ntsevu cubs gather around their mother in anticipation for a feeding frenzy. The moment before this picture was taken, saw the mother contacting calling towards a thicket and then four cubs came bundling through the long grass.
The Three Rivers young male posing in
Definitely the Three Rivers young male posing in the fork of the tree, but all the other photographs are stunning too.
Thanks Babs. I also love the Three Rivers Young Male in the fork of the tree.
All the photographs are great. I have 3 favourites this week. They are: “After watching him feed, the Three Rivers Young Male poses perfectly in the fork of the tree.” What a great photograph. “Four well-behaved cubs!” It looks as though you placed the cubs equal-distant apart for the photograph – and then “The Three-banded Plover ….”. The lighting is this photograph is fantastic. Well done to you all.
Thanks for posting your three favourites Ian. I wish I could claim placing the four cubs perfectly but it was down to pure luck to get that shot! The Three-banded plover was actually taken with a 600mm prime lens which really produced an excellent result.
incredible shots this week!!! It would be helpful (to me) if you could indicate the technical info also (focal length iso F stop shutter speed). Thanks they are really beautiful.
Hi Mark,
If you tap on the photos the technical specs are all listed. 😊
Thanks!!!
Hi Mark, let me know if you have any further questions about the camera settings used in the pictures.
My favorite this week was the Ntomi male with his arm through the fork of a tree. I also loved the lighting on the zebra. Can’t wait to learn more about the sighting of the lioness in a tree!
Hi Chelsea, thanks for the comment. Did you manage to read the blog on the lions in the tree? If not see the link below:
https://blog.londolozi.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=157239&action=edit
Impressed with the fact that all the guides are photographers…and good ones too.
Thanks Jim.
Hello Nick!
Beautiful pictures! I like the Ntomi Male when he is resting in a Marula tree. The photos of the Ntsevu cubs is lovely! Very sweet picture when the Young Ntsevu Cub is getting her milk…
Thank you for sharing!
Hello Ann! thanks for your comment and letting me know your favourites. The Ntomi Male is a great leopard to photograph.
Nick, all of your photos are winners but the 4 cubs sitting side by side takes the prize! They are so, so cute!
Hi Debra! Thank you, the cubs are indeed, very cute.
Impressive seeing the Styx lioness up a tree, the Ntomi leopard shows us how its done though leaping through effortlessly.
The three rivers male with his kill in the tree has to be me favourite this week.
Hi Tony. The Three Rivers Young Male is my favourite too and the Ntomi Male loves to climb trees, especially Marula’s.
Superb pics, well done Nick!
Thank You, Suzanne.
Ntomi male is my absolute favorite but the shot of the Three Rivers male in the tree is perfection this week!
Thank You, Anita!
Another week of wonderful photos, Nick. The lion cubs are sooo cute! The two young male leopards, Naomi and Three Rivers are such handsome guys. I love the photos of them. But also the Three Banded Plover, the Zebra drinking from the pool, the giraffe against the cloudy sky, they are all so beautiful.
So, at the moment, you can’t cross over to the northern part of Londolozi? There seems to be a lot of water.
Hi Christa, Thank you for the comment and Im so pleased you enjoyed the TWIP. Yes, we had a lot of rain in February which prevented us from crossing north for about a month! the river has now been crossable for three weeks, which is great.
Great job this week Nick, taking over TWIP. I enjoyed all of your photos but my favorite is the Three Rivers male posing in the fork of the tree. He definitely looks relaxed after eating. The four little lion cubs in formation was also good – is this the lioness who birthed five and now there’s 4?
Loved the photos! My Three Rivers Male is so HUGE and bold! As long as he does’t get too sure of himself, he will be a real presence in a few short years! Loved the lion cubs too! Thanks for sharing!
Magnetic looks in these leopards eyes. The Ntomi male is gorgeous, and the Senegal Bush male together make a genealogical and a genetic link. The Tree River young male is a top model, surely a winning picture. Great photos of the lioness in a tree and the adorable lion cubs. The zebra and giraffe also very much appreciated animals. Great
They are all stunning. I have 2 favorites. Ntomi Male’s left eye as he rests in a Marula tree and the Three Rivers Young Male poses perfectly in the fork of the tree.
Hi Sandra, Im thrilled you enjoyed the two leopard pictures. Thanks for commenting.
My fave this week is the beautiful shot of the zebra. I love the plover too.
Thank You, Carly.
Fabulous photos , I do like it when you show the settings and the camera /lens used
Hi Ian, thanks for the comment. I hope you managed to see the settings used? I mostly use the R6 with a 100-500mm lens. The Three-banded Plover was taken with a 600mm Prime lens.
Nick, great TWIP this week. My favorite picture is the four cubs looking strait ahead. Cute picture.
Thanks, William.
Love the Three rivers young male in the fork of the tree…super contrast of textures with his beautiful coat and the bark of the tree 👌🏻❤️. But all the other photos are just as beautiful.
The cubs steal the show❣️❣️❣️
The cubs have really spoiled us so far, Linda!
Nick, your images are fabulous! It’s great to see so much action in spite of the weather! It was hard to pick a favorite, but here goes! The Rivers Young Male posed perfectly in the fork of the tree!
Thank you so much Michael and Kerri! Good choice, that’s my favourite from the week.
Impossible to choose, but if forced, I’d have to pick the shot of the Ntomi male’s left eye freckle and the Three Rivers Young Male in the fork of the tree. Iconic photos among many other great ones! Thanks Nick!!
Hi Paul, thank you for the comment, much appreciated.
Fantastic fotos of the Ntomi male leopard ,the Senegal bush male and the Three Rivers male leopard. The lion cubs are gorgeous and mom looks good. 4 well behaved lion cubs so precious,
Hi Valmai, I enjoyed photographing the male leopards!
What great shots of the leopards in the trees! And to find a lion in a tree as well – how peculiar.
Hi Kara, thank you for the comment. Yes it was a week full of cats in trees. I hope you read the blog about the tree climbing lions of Londolozi.