No two days are ever the same out in the bush – that’s a guarantee – and this week was proof of that! We hope you enjoy this week’s highlights in the latest edition of “A Week in the Bush”...

We have enjoyed some wonderful sightings of large herds of buffalo on the reserve.

Sightings that always promise to put a smile on your face – baboons! Their humanlike antics can keep us all entertained for hours, as did this infant Chacma Baboon and its mother as they started their day off feeding within a large Jackalberry tree along the Msuthlu River.

Franscois and his guests had a great of a Southern White-faced Owl that was busy eating a mouse.

As we sat in an open area watching the sunrise a beautiful male kudu graced us with his presence.

Last week we celebrated World Giraffe Day on 21 June; a day in which we celebrate the tallest animals on the longest day (or night) of the year!

A Red-billed Oxpecker poses beautifully in the wind while perched on a White Rhinoceros's back.

Something else you don’t get to witness every day – a Saddle-billed Stork catching fish and frogs in the waterhole in front of Bush Lodge.

This Juvenile Bateleur sat perched upon a dead tree waiting for the sun to warm the earth and give rise to the thermals it prefers to float upwards on.

The Kashane male was out of luck when he attempted to stalk a herd of impala, only to his cover blown but a Spotted hyena. Kashane’s look says it all!

Terry’s prediction last week regarding Little Bush female was spot on as she was seen mating with the White Dam male before being disturbed by two hyenas.

After a long tracking exercise, White Dam was found moving within a dense drainage line before making her way out into the open and attempting to stalk Helmeted Guineafowl and a herd of impala, however she was unsuccessful.

A clear highlight came on Sunday morning when a male cheetah was scanning an open area from a top a termite mound, and then a fallen Marula tree. He had spotted a herd of impala nearby. Over a while he attempted a hunt and was successful in bringing down a sub-adult male impala. After dragging the kill to the closest shade, our dominant male leopard in the area, Kashane, made an appearance due to the noise from the rest of the impala herd and chased the cheetah off his kill and dragged it a further 400m to the closest thicket along the Umlechwaan drainage line. What an incredible sighting and a change of luck for Kashane!!

Earlier this week the three Tsalala males gave us an early morning wake-up call not too far from Selati Camp before we finally caught up with them north of Bush Lodge after which they made a bee-line for our eastern boundary.

A sighting we never saw coming was one of the lions and a Charleston male reuniting with the Southern Pride. His presence was not welcomed by the females as they had made a much-needed kill which he went on to steal from them.

The Charleston male was seen trying to mend the bonds with the Southern Pride as he continuously attempted to get closer to them, however, the females kept their distance as they seemed insecure and felt pressured as the kept their cubs a comfortable distance.

The week ended with the Southern Pride regrouping with the exception of one female and three cubs who were last seen making their way back towards the main group who all look like they had had a meal.

Until next time...