David M Wilson Photography: May Week 4 Highlights

We headed out of camp to follow up on the Ottawa Pride. An old buffalo had died on Portion Five earlier in the week. Shangwa (female Leopard) and her cub were feeding on the carcass on the previous day. The Ottawa Pride had taken over the carcass. The Ottawa males are becoming large lions.

After a couple of days on the carcass the pride moved further west. Later in the week we discovered the pride lying up off Dumfries.

One of the Mapogo brothers has been mating with a female from the Ximungwe Pride. After a period of four days together, the two joined up with the rest of the Ximungwe Pride.

We found the carcass of a waterbuck that had been killed by three females from the Ximungwe pride, the largest of the Mapogo brothers and the two younger cubs were also present. As the meat diminished the male lion only allowed the younger cubs to feed.

We have been seeing the Ximungwe female with the short tail throughout the week with her young cubs. We had a great sighting of the lioness with her cubs at Shona Lee Dam.

The other two Mapogo brothers were together on Shinga Road. They were quite vocal roaring on a regular basis. The lionesses from Shona Lee Dam responded by roaring as they heard the calls of the males. Lions roar to advertise and defend a territory as well as locating members of the pride.

The leopard viewing has been equally good. Hlabankunzi was lying on Norka Road. After following the female leopard through thick bush, she lay down and started cleaning herself.

We had a fantastic sighting of the Kishan male. He was heading south along Hlakisa. The male turned onto the Dam Six and drank briefly at the dam. We were concerned about the wild dog pups as the leopard moved west along the road. Fortunately the leopard changed direction and headed south across Mackenzie Cutline.

Metsi and her two male cubs were on a reed buck carcass just off Jackal Alley. She moved off once the carcass was finished. The two cubs were left in the clearing while the female was off hunting. We had tracks of a male cheetah heading to the same location. The following morning the cheetah tracks headed east away from Jackal Alley, probably as a result of the leopards in the area.

Elephant herds have once again been plentiful. At Wallingford Dam a herd came down to drink. After viewing the breeding herd for some time they moved off.

Bull elephant sightings have also been good throughout the week.

On Mackenzie Airstrip we were treated to a special sighting, the female rhino, with the broken horn and her new born calf. The calf was only a few days old.

A large bull was accompanying the two. After running around for some time the young calf lay down for some much needed rest.

The wild dog den has been popular with the guests. The eight puppies are growing quickly. As the appetites of the puppies increase, the adults have to provide more food on a daily basis. This results in them hunting twice daily.

The dogs chased a Serval into a Marula tree close to the den site. This small predator was reluctant to descend the tree. It is quite rare to find a serval in a tree.

Raptor sightings have been good. A Black-chested Snake Eagle at Cheetah Flats, Tawny Eagle at Schotia Dam and an African Fish Eagle at Squenga Dam.

On the way back to camp we found a serval kitten in the road, the kitten was extremely relaxed and as we approached it climbed onto a termite mound and posed.

The general game is very good at present, as the vegetation dies back with the onset of winter we are seeing a lot more. Warthogs, Blue Wildebeest and Burchells Zebra are seen daily.