The morning was crisp with the mist hanging over the bushveld while the sun gently rose. The air was still and the guests were filled with a sense of excitement and anticipation – what was this morning going to bring? Little did they know that they were going to bear witness to a saga that has been unfolding in the Sabi Sands for some time. We responded to a sighting which was reported in the north eastern part of the reserve, a male lion had been sported but there was no confirmation of his identity due to the brief visual. As the guests and myself had been treated to a fantastic leopard sighting the night before, we made the decision to see if we could move into the area to relocate on the male. After searching for approximately 20 minutes, we were greeted by this regal figure walking down the road – it was the Kruger male. It was unusual to see him this far north east as he has been in hiding in the southern part of the reserve close to Earth Lodge. During his time in the south, he joined up with Floppy Ear and the 3 other females and was even seen mating with the same female that Solo had been mating with only a few days before. Was the displaced king returning to his territory to reclaim it for himself?

There was a nervousness about him, and this was confirmed when he darted into the thickets to the side of the road. This was unusual as he always displays a confidence which almost borders on arrogance – something was clearly wrong. We lost visual and spent some time driving around the block to try and relocate him but sadly to no avail-he was moving quick and it would be difficult to find him again. After consulting with my experienced tracker Meshack, we decided to do a loop in a last ditch effort. At virtually the exact same spot that we lost the Kruger male, we found Floppy Ear walking down the road. Despite her age, she is still an impressive female who has always had an affinity with the Kruger male. She was sniffing various bushes to establish his whereabouts and trying to get to him. Read the full article →

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