Sightings for the last few days:

27 April PM
Elephants
Impala
Nyala
Buffalo
Giraffe.

28 April AM
Kashane male and Hlab'nkunzi female leopards, Mating
3 Selati male lions
Elephants
Kudu
Zebra
Impala
Waterbuck.

28 April PM
Selati male lions
Buffalo
Hippo
Impala
Nyala
Warthog

29 April AM
3 Selati male lions
Buffalo herd
Duiker
Kudu
Impala

29 April PM
Shangwa 3:3 young male leopard
Selati male lions
Elephants
Impala
Waterbuck
Nyala
Warthog
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Sightings from the last few days:

23 April PM
Kashane male and Xikavi female leopards feeding on an impala kill
Elephants
Impala
Nyala
Vervet monkeys
Warthog

24 April AM
Selati male lions
Buffalo herd
Elephants
Kudu
Warthog
Hippo
Impala
Zebra

24 April PM
Hlab'nkunzi female leopard
One Selati male lion
Elephants
Waterbuck
Kudu
Impala

25 April AM
Metsi female leopard
Elephant herd
Buffalo
Kudu
Impala
Bushbuck
Giraffe
Zebra
Hippos

26 April AM
4 Selati Male lions
3 Hyena
Buffalo
Waterbuck
Impala
Giraffe herd

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Sightings from last night and this morning:

21 April PM
Kashane male and Xikavi female leopards trying to mate
Zebras
Waterbuck
Impala
Warthogs
Kudu
Bushbuck.

22 April AM
Buffalo
Hippo
Herd of elephants
Impala
Wildebeest
Crocodile
Waterbuck

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Sightings from last night and this morning:

20 April PM
Xikavi female leopard on her impala kill
Buffalo bull
Elephant bull
Kudu
Waterbuck
Impala
Crocodile
Hippo

21 April AM
Tlangisa female leopard up a tree
Hyena
Elephant herd
Buffalo bulls
Hippo
Giraffe
Bushbuck
Impala
Nyala
Waterbuck
Warthog

Sightings from last night and this morning:

19 April PM
One Ximhungwe lioness, roaring
Elephant herd
Elephant bull pushing down a tree
Buffalo bull
Kudu
Zebra
Giraffe
Impala
Waterbuck

20 April AM
Xikavi female leopard with an impala kill
Lone Ximhungwe lioness
Kudu
Giraffe
Impala
Wildebeest
Waterbuck
Baboon
Hippo
Dwarf mongoose
Side-striped jackal

Sightings from last night and this morning:

18 April PM
Xikavi female leopard, roaring
Elephant herd
Impala
Scrub-hare
Chameleon
Kudu
Nyala

19 April AM
2 Othawa lionesses sleeping
1 Ximhungwe lioness on a termite mound
African wild dog pack crossing east
Hippo
Crocodile
Duiker
Bushbuck
Nyala
Kudu
Impala
Wildebeest
Zebra
Giraffe

Sightings from last night and this morning:

17 April PM
Shangwa 3:3 young male leopard - hunting bushbuck and missing, hunting impala and missing, hunting zebra and being chased up a small tree
One Selati male lion moving through thick bush
Giraffe
Hippo
Impala
Kudu
Scrub hare

18 April AM
Kashane male leopard hunting warthog after losing an impala kill to hyena
10 hyena with the stolen impala
African wild dog pack with an impala kill
Kudu
Wildebeest
Zebra
Impala

Sightings from last night and this morning:

16 April PM
Ximhungwe pride of lions 3+4, sleeping
Elephant bull
Hippo
Crocodile
Impala
Kudu
Waterbuck

17 April AM
Ximhungwe pride of lions on the move, then settling in some shade
Elephant herd with tiny babies
Elephant bulls
Kudu
Warthog
Duiker
Impala
Waterbuck
African hawk eagle hunting guinea fowl

Sightings from last night and this morning:

15 April PM
African Wild Dog pack hunting and eating an impala
Buffalo bull
Elephant herd
Elephant bull
Hippo
Crocodile
Nyala
Impala

16 April AM
Dewane male leopard
3 Selati male lions roaring. They were responding to a Ximhungwe lioness who was also heard roaring.
Giraffe
Kudu
Impala
Hyena
Baboon
Waterbuck
Kudu

Sightings from last night and this morning:

13 April PM
Elephant herd
Zebra
Giraffe
Buffalo
Hippo
Crocodile
Impala
Waterbuck
Nyala
Bushbuck
Vervet monkey

14 April AM
Kashane male leopard
Shangwa female leopard and son with an impala kill
2 hyena at the Shangwa sighting
4 Selati male lions
Waterbuck
Hippo
Impala
Nyala
Baboon
Vervet monkey
Warthog
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Sightings from last night and this morning:

12 April PM
Elephants
Buffalo herd
Buffalo bull
Reedbuck
Black Mamba
Impala
Waterbuck

13 April AM
Metsi female leopard with impala kill
Tlangisa female leopard
Buffalo bulls
Elephants
Giraffe
Zebra
Impala
Waterbuck
Steenbok
Nyala


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Sightings from last night and this morning:

11 April PM
Hlab'nkunzi female leopard stalking impala
Elephants
Kudu
Zebra
Impala

12 April AM
Ximhungwe pride of lions digesting a kudu
Elephants with tiny baby
Buffalo bull
Giraffe
Impala
Kudu
Wildebeest
Warthog
Waterbuck
Baboon
Vervet monkeys
Nyala

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Rangers News

We are now in April and the rainy season seems to have finished with a spectacular thunderstorm at the end of March. Totalled up the rainfall for the season was about average, despite the floods in January. The dams are still holding water well and should see us and the animals through to the next rainy season at the end of the year. The impala rutting season has begun and the sounds of the rams snorting and grunting are already a part of the constant background music of the bush here.

The last month has been dominated with the story of the fall of the Mapogo male lion coalition and the rise of the Selati coalition. That subject has been extensively covered in all formats already so there is not much need for all the details again here! The lion’s stories will instead continue from after the fight between the two coalitions.

The Ximhungwe pride have been avoiding the new coalition as much as possible but there have been two instances of contact between the two groups of lion as the new males try to establish themselves in the territory. The first, a daylight encounter ended badly for the smallest male in the Selati coalition as he unwisely left his brothers to pursue the lionesses. The four lionesses stood together to protect their cubs and presented the male with a ferocious beating that left him a lot more bloodied and scarred than the battle against the Mapogo did! The second encounter was not witnessed but the same male was seen walking away from the pride with a deep scratch in his nose, a floppy ear and a slight limp. For the most part the pride has done well to avoid the males, moving away when they hear them roaring and generally keeping a low profile. They have been eating well, their biggest meal being a wildebeest bull brought down close to the lodge. It may even be possible for them to avoid the Selati males for long enough to raise the current litter, after all the females of the pride were all cubs born before the Mapogo takeover and survived that themselves.

Ximhungwe pride with wildebeest kill (Photo: Rob)

The Othawa pride have been seen infrequently and their four cubs, being a lot smaller than the Ximhungwe cubs are much more at risk from the Selati males, a quick takeover of this pride may be beneficial to all the lions in the area but we shall have to wait and see how everything pans out.

Othawa Pride Cubs

 

 

The last moments of the takedown (Photo: Wessel)

The Selati males themselves have been moving all over their new territory, scent marking and roaring regularly, apart from the two minor clashes with the Ximhungwe pride they seem to be content for now. Two buffalo kills have also played a part in keeping these four males fairly settled. The first was a small cow but the second was a nice big bull that they kindly brought down in an open space in broad daylight!

The feast begins (Photo: Wessel)

Later that day (Photo: Rob) 

The two remaining Mapogo did make a brief appearance in the western sector, tracks showed that they may have even joined up with the Ximhungwe pride for a short time, the two old boys seem resigned to the fact their territory is gone and have been reported wandering far and wide over the Sabi Sand reserve, trying to avoid the other coalitions of males that are spread around. We may yet see them again but as nomadic males they will now be just passing through.

Kashane Male (Photo:Wessel) 

The leopard population still seems to be reorganising itself after the flooding. There have still been no confirmed sightings of either the Xinzele or Mashiabanj males and both The Kashane and Dewane males have been pushing north up to the river. The Xindlevhana male has been called in but as he was always a shy male it is not certain if the big shy male that has been seen is actually him. A few years ago a similar situation occurred with the Kinky-tail male leopard – all shy big males were called in as the Kinky-tail male without a positive ID, hopefully we will avoid this being the case again. As both Xinzele and Mashiabanj frequented the banks of the sand river it is a possibility that they have been lost in the floods< but it is also possible that their territories have just shifted to the less frequently driven areas of the reserve, only time will tell.

Dewane Male (Photo: Promise)

2 big male leopards were spotted in the Sand River recently, circling one another. Last year we could have guessed that it was Xinzele and Mashiabanj, but now we have no Idea which two leopards it was as they were too far away to ID and the river crossings close to where they were seen are still not crossable so there was no way to follow up at the time.

Another shift in territory is that of the Shangwa female, she seems to be spending a lot more time to the west of the area that we would usually expect her to be, it seems she has swapped places with her daughter Xikavi, who now seems to be concentrating further east. Shangwa is still often seen with her son, now 2 years old, and we hope that this handsome young male makes his home in the western sector eventually.

Son of Shangwa (Photo: Wessel)

The Hlab’nkunzi female has also been spending more time in the centre of her main territory since she lost her cub, apart from a few excursions following the Dewane male to mate or at least try to get him to mate – it took a while to convince him!), and this has meant that we have been seeing the Ravenscourt female around the lodge fairly frequently. Ravenscourt is known to have cubs to the east of the boundary and it is only a matter of time before she brings them west.

Hlab’nkunzi (Photo: Promise)

The Metsi female has also been mating with the Dewane male and has often been seen a lot further north than usual as she follows his scent. This has brought her into contact with the Tlangisa female on a couple of occasions but so far there have been no serious confrontations. With Metsi spending time further north the Tassleberry female has pushed herself further west and is now seen much more frequently and is a lot more relaxed.

Dewane And Metsi Mating

The Dam 3 female has also been seen regularly and she too is chasing after the Dewane male, for the most part Dewane has seemed uninterested to downright annoyed with the attention from all the females!

Dam 3 Female (Photo: Promise)

All in all the slight shifts in the territories and even the possible loss of some individuals has not affected the frequency or the quality of leopard sightings in the area which just goes to show what a special place it is!

As the bush is starting to become more open we have been seeing more of the smaller creatures - Mongoose (banded, Dwarf, White-tailed and slender), Serval, Genet etc. We had a very special sighting of a young side-striped jackal catching flying termites one evening too.

With all the waterholes being fairly full there has been plenty of opportunity to have drinks with hippos and occasionally other animals coming to quench their thirst too.

Hippo at a drinks spot

Buffalo have been sighted regularly, not just when the lions have been feeding on them! There are plenty of small groups of bulls along the riverine areas as well as the big herd making regular visits to the area, even coming past the front of the lodge a couple of times.

Elephants have been all over the reserve. Some huge bulls have been spotted regularly and, on the other end of the scale, plenty of tiny babies.

One of many little ellies around at the moment

Many of the migratory birds have been seen for the last time this season and those that are still here should have started their trek north by the end of the month. There will still be plenty to see for the bird lovers; resident species far outnumber the migrants!

“idube” (Photo: Rob)

As always, the bush will continue to entertain, regular sightings updates can be found on the blog and on facebook along with videos and pictures.

Sightings for the last few drives:

9 April PM
4 Selati males on the buffalo kill
Elephants
Impala
Warthog
Nyala
Hippo
Duiker

10 April AM
Dewane male leopard
Ximhungwe pride of lions
Hyenas and vultures (hooded and white-backed) at the buffalo kill
Kudu
Nyala
Warthog
Bushbuck
Impala
Duiker
Steenbok

10 April PM
Hlab'nkunzi female leopard drinking at the lodge pool
Shangwa 3:3 male leopard finishing a monkey kill
Elephants
Buffalo bull
Kudu
Impala
Warthog
Duiker
Giraffe
Wildebeest

11 April AM
Dewane male and Dam 3 female leopards courting
Hlab'nkunzi female leopard stalking impala
Elephants
Buffalo bull
Impala
Hippo
Crocodile
Kudu
Waterbuck

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Sightings from last night and this morning:

8 April PM
Ximhungwe pride of lions sleeping
Elephants
Side-striped jackal catching termites, with bats and nightjars flying around
Kudu
White-tailed mongoose
Banded mongoose
Duiker
Zebra
Impala
Waterbuck

9 April AM
Metsi female leopard
Crocodile
Hippo
Kudu
Impala
Bushbuck
Nyala
Steenbok
Warthog

Sightings from last night and this morning:

7 April PM
Kashane male leopard, stalking kudu
Dewane male and Hlab'nkunzi female leopards, mating
4 Selati male lions with their buffalo kill
Elephants
Hippo
Kudu
Impala
Scrub-hare
Side-striped jackal

8 April AM
Kashane male leopard
4 Selati males with the buffalo kill
Elephants
Hippo
Crocodile
Zebra
Giraffe
Wildebeest
Reedbuck
Impala
Waterbuck

Sightings from last night and this morning:

6 April PM
Tassleberry female leopard stalking a scrub-hare
Dewane male and Hlab'nkunzi female leopards mating
Ximhungwe pride of lions, sleeping
Elephant bull
Hippos in and out of water
Zebra
Impala
Kudu

7 April AM
Kashane male leopard
4 Selati male lions killing and eating a buffalo
Live buffalo
Giraffe
Hippo
Kudu
Nyala
Impala
Waterbuck
Baboons
Vervet monkeys

Sightings from last night and this morning:

5 April PM
Tlangisa female leopard up a tree
Dam 3 female leopard
Elephant herd
Buffalo bulls
Kudu
Giraffe
Impala
Waterbuck

6 April AM
Shangwa 3:3 male leopard
2 unidentified big male leopards circling one another in the river (seen from coffee stop)
4 Selati male lions on patrol
Elephant bull
Buffalo bulls
Hippo
Giraffe
Zebra
Kudu
Impala
Crocodile
Baby crocodile
Nyala
Waterbuck
Baboons
Warthog

Pictures from last night and this morning:

Sightings from last night and this morning:

3 April PM
Dewane male and hlab'nkunzi female leopards, NOT mating
Shangwa female leopard and son with an impala kill
Kashane male leopard patrolling
4 Selati male lions, sleeping
Ximhungwe pride of lions, cubs playing
Elephant herd
Kudu
Bushbuck
Scrub-hare
Hippo
Impala
Duiker

4 April AM
4 Selati male lions on the move at tge start of drive and relaxing at the end of drive
Giraffe
Elephant bull
Kudu
Impala
Waterbuck


***The Selati males and Ximhungwe pride came into contact late last night. The Selati male that was beaten up by the lionesses two weeks ago again seems to have taken a pounding from them, he was limping and had new scratches on his face, one ear was also flopping down. The Ximhungwe pride were all accounted for and seemed fine, but nervous, last seen heading east over the boundary.***
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Sightings from last night and this morning

2 April PM
Shangwa female leopard
Hlab'nkunzi female leopard
Shangwa 3:3 male leopard
Ximhungwe pride of lions
Serval
Impala
Wildebeest
Waterbuck
Elephants
Zebra

3 April AM
Hlab'nkunzi female leopard trying to mate with the Dewane male
Elephant herd
Elephant bull
Buffalo bull
Giraffe
Zebra
Impala
Waterbuck
Ground hornbills

Sightings from last night and this morning:

1 April PM
Shangwa female leopard
Dewane male leopard with a warthog kill
Hyena
Buffalo bulls
Hippo
Impala
Kudu
Waterbuck

2 April AM
4 Selati male lions on patrol
Elephants
Hippo
Crocodile
Impala
Kudu

Sightings from last night and this morning:

31 March PM
Dewane male leopard
Ximhungwe pride of lions feeding on a wildebeest
4 Selati male lions on patrol
Elephant herd
Elephant bulls, swimming
Impala

1 April AM
Tassleberry female leopard
Elephant herd
Elephant bulls
Hyena
Zebra
Giraffe
Kudu
Impala