Welcome again to another installment of “A Week in the Bush...”

The New Year has most certainly kicked off with a bang and the bush has been producing some spectacular sightings already. Not even the substantial amount of rainfall we’ve been experiencing has been able to put a damper on the quality of the game viewing, so sit back, relax and enjoy as we review the week’s highlights.

The Sand River males made a brief appearance on the reserve this last week, following closely behind the Southern Pride females and their cubs. We had seen tracks of the lionesses and the cubs crossing the boundary the previous day although we were unable to track them down at first, due to the fact that the vegetation has become incredibly dense after the rains and also because we just don’t track lionesses with cubs on foot! We would need to exercise patience and let them reveal themselves when ready to do so. We were not disappointed. It appears that the females had come north in search of food, but they were not successful. On one occasion, while following the females, cubs and one of the males in the pouring rain, we watched in awe as they attempted a hunt on a large herd of wildebeest. At one stage a lioness was trailing a wildebeest by a mere five meters, but gave up on the chase shortly afterwards. It sure was an amazing experience.

Both a male and female cheetah visited us this last week, providing all of us with lots of excitement. The male reared his head first and was found very close to Bush Lodge, feeding on an impala lamb he had killed moments before. We hadn’t seen him in the area for quite a while, mostly enjoying encounters with one of the females on the reserve, but it was still great to see him in such good condition. The female was sighted on the same afternoon as the male, but on the other side of the reserve in some dense bush so we only set out to find her the following morning. We managed to locate her quite early on in the drive and spent some time with her in the pouring rain. She was ever alert and looking quite keen on finding breakfast, however we were not lucky enough on this occasion to see her hunt. It was still a very special sighting and a perfect way to start the New Year.

There has been a massive influx of elephants to the reserve and we have been enjoying having so many of these special animals around. This time of year is incredibly interesting with regards to elephant and it’s been a great pleasure to be able to interpret all the behaviors on display at the moment, from elephant bulls in ‘Musth’, to all the newborn calves in the breeding herds.

Along with the hordes of elephants, the summer months also bring forth these fascinating little creatures, the dung beetles. On hot days they can be seen all over the place harvesting and rolling their dung balls along road networks and pathways, effectively processing tons of dung each day. It is said that in some parts of the lowveld, as many as 27 000 dung beetles could be found in a pile of elephant dung in the peak of the summer season. Waste removal at its most efficient...

There have been a lot of bachelor herds of buffalo around lately, especially in the areas surrounding larger pans and mud wallows. The old ‘dagga boys’ as they are called, love to spend the hottest hours of the day wallowing in mud or resting in the cool water of the dams while ruminating. Relatively large herds of zebra have also been noticeable lately with quite a few bachelor herds again being the focus. They are often found quite close to the established harems of other stallions and quite often we are seeing the vicious fights that break out as a result of challenges for the females. It’s amazing stuff!

A host of common and some not so common birds are also being enjoyed on drives and walks with our guests and the bird that is gaining most of the attention is none other than Africa’s largest flightless bird, the ostrich. There is a particular female that has been hanging around in our reserve for a couple of weeks now and she is incredibly inquisitive, often approaching the vehicles very closely in order to inspect the occupants. A truly bizarre creature, but a fascinating one to watch.

Nottins was found one morning after having made herself scarce for a short while, and was exhibiting some extremely nonchalant behavior. She is very relaxed at the best of times, but she seemed to be even more so than usual. We followed her for a short while before she ever so casually walked over the side of the road, picked up a small Speke’s hinged tortoise and walked off a short distance to feed on the unlucky little reptile. Leopards are ever the opportunists and are known to make use of around 92 different species in terms of prey. Nottins seems to fit in very well with this observation as I’ve seen her feeding on all sorts of animals, including a 4-meter African Rock python in 2013!

The Little Bush female has been very active in the last week and we have had the chance to spend a considerable amount of time with her on several separate occasions. She has been doing exceptionally well for herself lately and her young cub is definitely reaping the benefits of her diligence. She was found early on in the week with a small warthog piglet that she managed to catch, and seemed to be on her way to her cub with it when she was chased up a tree by a couple of hyenas lurking around the area. It always amazes me at how quick they can respond to a leopard kill. On the next occasion, we had tracked her down halfway across the reserve with little success until a mixed herd of animals gave away her and her cub’s presence. Secondary disturbances such as this will often betray the presence of predators to us. The youngster is growing rapidly and seems to be very relaxed with us at this stage, presenting us with some fantastic viewing experiences already. It’s going to be great to see this young leopard develop into a confident sub-adult as time goes on.

Warthog Wallow has been moving further north again into the territory of Nottins and that of the resident male, Maxabeni. She has been seen on several occasions, scent marking and patrolling in the area around Bush Lodge, where she has consistently maintained some sort of territory. The problem is that her offspring, Tortilis male, is not the offspring of Maxabeni and that is very dangerous for the both of them. She was aligned with Mahlathini before he was ousted by Maxabeni and has managed to keep her young son safe for almost two years. The pressure, though, is mounting. We have seen Xovonekela pushing up north in retaliation to Maxabeni’s boldness in venturing southward in an attempt to secure more territory and perhaps another female. This means that Warthog Wallow and Tortilis will be feeling pressure from both sides with some form of conflict imminent. Will the youngster survive and what will be the outcome of boundary dispute between the two big males? Only time will tell.

This week has definitely been an interesting one, full of surprises and twists. I am eager to see what developments will come to light in the days to come, but until then stay tuned and keep up with the daily happenings on any one of our social media outlets. Thank you all for taking the time to read along with us. Until next time...