Welcome all of you to this week’s round up of highlights from the previous 7 days at Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve. It’s been a busy week with lots on the go and some spectacular sightings have been enjoyed by all who have visited us recently. Winter has been creeping in rather gradually until now and we are suddenly experiencing the beautifully crisp mornings, unbelievable sunrises and incredible starry nights that are synonymous with this time of year in the southern hemisphere.

As some of you may have gathered with previous posts that we’ve made, conditions are fairly dry at the moment, but it is a very natural cycle and typical of the Winter period in South Africa and in the bush we commonly refer to this as the “dry season”. Animals are quite used to this change and adapt accordingly by migrating towards areas where food and water resources are more plentiful. We have noted in recent weeks that there has been a huge influx of elephants moving through the reserve and further away from the major rivers of the area in search of these vital resources, so its been great for us having them around, especially watching the interactions between the younger members of the herds.

General game viewing has been great lately with even giraffes being quite plentiful recently as well, with many larger groupings being spotted at various corners of the property. Giraffes do not adhere to any specific social structure and are thus very unpredictable in their movements, but they are targeting Tambotie trees as well as a lot of small-leaved tree species at the moment and of those we have plenty. Hippos are being seen daily on their wanderings too and from the Sabie River and/or the many waterholes that are spread across our reserve. Some of the smaller animals have been featuring more prominently during drives as well as more frequent sightings of the rarer nocturnal species such as honey badgers and porcupines. Some guests even witnessed a large baboon destroying a common duiker this week!

The lions have been very busy, especially the two Charleston males. It seems that their preoccupation with the females and mating them has come to an abrupt end and the focus at the moment is maintenance of the area. They have been covering vast distances almost daily in attempts to make their presence known to all other males in the nearby vicinity. Most incursions to our reserve have been made by the three young Talamati males coming in from the eastern boundary, but the two Charlestons have made their message to them quite clear. That is not to say that they won’t be back, but if they do there will be an aggressive reaction.

The Southern Pride’s week started off a bit rocky, with the females struggling at first to find themselves a meal, but have since made two kills that we know of and are now looking completely contented and relaxed.

The leopards of the area have been very active this week with very frequent sightings being had all around with the exception of the Lisbon female, who we haven’t seen in a little while now. Hlarulini was spotted early one morning warming up in the morning sun before heading off on a territorial patrol.

Little Bush has been seen all over the reserve, often hunting and other occasions on patrols, but all seems to be well with her. We haven’t seen her cub this week, but we have no reason to suspect that she isn’t safe and sound at one of the many denning areas used by the female.

Kigelia has been seen quite a bit this week as well and even managed to bring down a large impala ram, which she hoisted up a large Sausage tree and kept her full for several days.

And lastly, White Dam’s young son has been found on numerous occasions in the east of our reserve, with little sign of his mom being nearby. She must be off hunting further afield than usual, but he has been seen doing some hunting of his own. He’s even been successfully fending off hyenas that have been following him around from time to time. He really is growing into his own at the moment and it is clear to see the confidence within him rising to the surface. He has never been the most relaxed youngster, but he is getting much more comfortable with the vehicles as he gets older.

The week’s worth of game viewing has been pretty amazing and I’m sure as the dry season progresses, we will be seeing the predator activity increase exponentially. Stay tuned to the daily posts on any one of our social media platforms and next week we’ll bring you another comprehensive update on next week’s events. Until next time...