I have been away on leave for the first two weeks of the month.
We have had some good elephant viewing over the past two weeks, with lots of herds coming down to drink at the permanent waterholes, as the water in the bush diminishes.
Shinzele has been mating with Hlabankunzi close to the Sand River. The pair has been together for approximately five days.
The Balabas male leopard has recently moved into the south western region, and his name has been changed to a more appropriate one. He is now known as the Day One male.
We were treated to a phenomenal sighting. The Day One male was stalking a large adult kudu cow. With an explosive amount of speed the male shot through the tall thatching grass and surprised the kudu. It is not often that one witnesses a leopard killing such large prey.
Shinzele has been seen north of the Sand River.
On one occasion he was feeding on an impala carcass which Shangwa’s offspring had killed. The young female begged for the carcass which Shinzele would not part with.
The Kishane male is seen on a weekly basis, he travels vast distances. He is without a doubt the largest male in the region.
Hlabankunzi has been seen towards the eastern side of the reserve. On an occasion see was stalking impala on the fire break on Newington road. She was unsuccessful.
Tlangisa has been settling down on the western boundary, half way up our concession. She has been spending a lot of time in the firebreak. She attempted to steal Metsi’s male cubs carcass from a marula tree. She climbed up the tree to the carcass only to be rebuffed by the young male. She descended the tree and watched the male from a distance as he reclaimed the carcass.
Herds of zebra are seen frequently.
The large herd of buffalo has been in the western sector for the last week. Numerous old bulls have been seen around the camp. The days are starting to warm up and the old bulls enjoy wallowing in the pans around the camp.
The Mapogo males are covering a lot of ground at the moment. The brothers are also going further east probably to defend their territory from the new coalition in the east.
The males killed a bull buffalo at Nkombe Pan. The three males were joined by a Ximungwe lioness and her two eleven month old male cubs. A couple of days later the whole Ximungwe pride and offspring were visible at the carcass.
The pride is doing well and the cubs are growing quickly.
We had a fantastic sighting of three lionesses and their cubs crossing the Sand River. It was a harrowing affair for the small cubs who eventually made the crossing. The lionesses coaxed the cubs across with constant vocal communication.
The rhino viewing has been good. Three individuals were wallowing in the mud at Tasselberry Dam.
Wild dog sightings are always special. The pack has been moving alot throughout the reserve and the five remaining puppies are doing well. A spotted hyaena trailed the pack so they could have a free meal. The animal kept its distance as the dogs are quite hostile if it ventures to close.
Hyaena sightings are on the increase. Recently we have found that early mornings, seem to be the best time to see these successful carnivores.
General game sightings have been good.
We had a fantastic sighting of a Little Bee-eater swooping form a low branch.
A water monitor lizard was lying on a rock at the Mabrak Crossing and a community spider web with the early morning light in a torchwood tree.
