The struggle you’re in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow. Don’t Give Up!

This is one quote that the lions of Sabi Sabi should live with as they might be going through a difficult time for the next few months.

Pressure has been coming from the two Charleston males the last week as we had them all the way in the southern part of our property. This is not good for the Fourways males as these guys are full of confidence and even bigger in size than them. The two Charleston boys have already proven themselves by taking on the Kruger male and Solo and it ended with the Kruger male losing his life after the battle.

The reason why I am saying they are going to go through a difficult time is because the Fourways males have mated with all the Southern Pride females and it might even be that one or two of the females might have already started looking for den sites, so if the two Fourways males don’t step up and challenge the Charleston boys, they could take over this area and the pride and kill all the new cubs that could be on their way.

With all that still in mind it has been great seeing the Fourways males spending a lot of time with the Southern Pride females and enjoying each other’s company. The bond between these guys have been formed now and we just hope that it stays that way.

The leopards of Sabi Sabi have been a bit on the quiet side the last week with all the lion activity around. Nottins surprised us by making a reappearance with a bang, pulling down a bushbuck ram right in front of us! She might look old but she definitely still has a young heart!

There is one leopard that really knows how to be elusive, that is the Lisbon female! We might not see her that often but when we do get to see her she always gives us a great sighting of herself and her cub! It’s great to see that the cub is getting more relaxed now and is not shy to show itself – she led one of the rangers straight to a kill the other day.

Warthog Wallow seems to be going through a bad time in her life as she seems to have lost her left eye. We suspect this to be as a result of a fight with Nottins. She was seen recently trying to hunt a duiker but missed completely which could mean that she is struggling with depth of field.

There has been a very rare visitor to Bush Lodge in the last few days – a massive hippo bull has found himself a new home right in front of the lodge in the waterhole. He has probably been kicked out of the river by a bigger stronger bull and is now finding his days in smaller water sources.

As another week draws to a close, we look forward to what the bush has in store for us next week.