This week has been very productive for us here on the reserve, especially in terms of the frequent sightings of the cat variety. One of the biggest surprises was a visit by a beautiful male cheetah again later in the week, clearly taking advantage of the drier conditions and improved visibility. These bushveld cheetahs are very well adapted to the more wooded environments of the Sabi Sand, but still prefer to hunt in open areas and we should see quite a bit more of them as the winter progresses.

The Little Bush female has been incredibly active, being found at various corners of the reserve looking for hunting opportunities for her and her cub. We have had almost exclusive sightings of the pair for the majority of the week, but we are not complaining. Her cub’s confidence is spectacular, even at the relatively young age of 8 months and we have been afforded some very special sightings of the cub relaxing and playing by herself. Little Bush and her cub were found on an impala kill that the female had hoisted high up an Ebony Jackalberry Tree and again on a duiker kill that the leopard had hoisted into an even bigger Ebony Jackalberry Tree. Truly special stuff.

Water is playing a crucial role in the daily activities of the animals of Sabi Sabi and staking out these waterholes is never a bad idea. There is always a lot of animal activity around them and you are sure to tick off a host of different species in one sitting as long as you have the patience for it or your timing is just perfect. We’ve had small herds of zebras enjoying themselves, slaking their thirst in the late morning, large herds of kudus coming out from the brush to have a quick drink before heading off to explore the surrounding browse, quite large herds of wildebeest frequenting the area, giraffes and lots of hippos. We enjoyed one particular sighting of a hippo calf and mom interacting in the early morning after sunrise.

The Southern Pride has been on a serious roll lately, being found feeding on several large kills, including a very large buffalo. We had an amazing experience watching them feeding together and although there was a lot of scrapping at the dinner table, it was still great to see the cubs interacting with the males and the rest of the pride. The pride was seen again after their finishing up on the buffalo carcass in the presence of some vultures and went their separate ways shortly after. Floppy Ear seems as though she is looking for den sites, but nothing can be confirmed yet and the Charleston males have been off patrolling their territory once again to ensure that the area is secured.

The sunsets and sunrises have been great as we have come to expect at this time of the year, especially as we are almost always blessed with good weather conditions throughout the season.

I hope you have enjoyed the recap for this week and we are looking forward to bringing you all some more news from the bush in next week’s installment. Have a great week everyone!