We have all heard the saying, “The only constant is change” and there is no saying that is more accurate in the African Bushveld. Having spent 4,5 years at Sabi Sabi, no work cycle is ever the same, never even similar and I suppose this is why so many of you read these cycle highlights as hopefully you will get to experience something different - the same way some of our guests return to this paradise on a regular basis - it always offers something different.

Change is happening, and we will talk about the animals later but certainly the environment is changing and this has been due to some rather unusual weather patterns. I fall for it every time, no matter how many times I tell myself - never say never as a guide - there are always exceptions which will keep you humble. It’s winter, a time when we see very little to no rain and when asked by some guests on a cloudy morning,” Terry, do you think it will rain today?” My response was emphatic – “It’s winter, it doesn't rain here at this time of the year.”

Mother nature chuckled as it rained the entire day from morning till evening and not even letting up for a second.

This is one of the faces of “The Change” in the lion dynamics within the reserve at the moment. The coalition of three young males known as the Tsalala males who have been spending a lot more time on our property of late. They brought down a large buffalo bull close to Bush Lodge, providing us with great sightings of these impressive youngsters.

As you can see by the below pictures, they are getting extremely comfortable with their new surroundings, relaxing and vocalising and laying claim to the territory left by the Charleston males.

Speaking of the Charleston’s, I was fortunate to see one of these males at the beginning of my cycle. Even though they have ventured back on the odd occasion, I had always missed them so it made it special to see one of the boys again.

With the growing confidence of the Tsalala males, a lot more pressure is now on the Southern Pride females to keep their youngsters safe. This has meant travelling vast distances to remain undetected in their own territory, preying upon anything large or small to get by. This has been especially hard with ravenous youngsters with growing appetites and still not fully capable of contributing to the family meal.

Despite these pressures, the nine Southern Pride youngsters are in exceptionally high spirits and will take regular opportunities to bond with their siblings in play fights providing us with endless entertainment.

Change can also come in the way of evolving - an adaptation to new surroundings, new responsibilities and further pressures. This is epitomised in the form of the resident leopards, in my opinion, the animals most adaptable to change.

We start with the coming of age of the Ntsumi female, formally known as the Little Bush Cub. We will only name a leopard cub once they have parted ways with their mothers and have begun their role as an independent hunter. The world “Ntsumi” comes from the local dialect meaning “Angel”, very befitting of this leopard who has very soft features and loves to rise above the surface into trees and atop termite mounds. I look forward to seeing this little Angel develop into a something special.

Ntsumi’s father, the dominant male of the area, Maxabeni, has been providing our guests with wonderful sightings these last 6 weeks, most especially when he killed a male nyala.

He did, however, have an altercation with a male north of our boundary, returning with a large laceration over his muzzle and a sore front leg. The small price to pay for being the dominant male, having everything that other male leopards want.

This jealousy is also being shared by Maxabeni’s son, the White Dam male. I have always wondered why this two and a half year male has not yet been chased out by his father, with them been seen to be feeding on an impala kill.

However, it seems like he is rather reluctantly being sought out by two females. The first of which a female who we hardly ever see, the Msuthlu female who has ventured up from the Southern section of the reserve.

A young female herself who was been seeking out resident males to mate with. After some evasive behaviour the young White Dam male was found to be mating with the Msuthlu female although their courtship seemed to be rather brief.

He also had a great deal of attention from the Little Bush female who over the course of the last 6 weeks has been seen to be mating with him on three separate occasions lasting over at least four days each.

It should only be a matter of time before Maxabeni and the ambitious White Dam male have an altercation, but it is very clear to see that the young male is becoming a lot more comfortable and confident due to this new-found attention, and it may be something that he rather enjoys and may be rather reluctant to give that up, changing the dynamic of power in the region.

I have seen some wonderful things this cycle but I have kept the best for last, and one that will be a career favourite.

It was the most trafficked animal in the world - a Pangolin! This was my third pangolin sighting but the excitement was still the same. Seeing some guests who had never even heard of a Pangolin let alone seen one knew it was special when they saw their and other Rangers acting like young teenagers at a Justin Bieber concert.

It became very real for me when I starred across at Patrick, a tracker that I had worked with while at Earth Lodge. He was just focused on this armour plated creature in the grass, with a look of amazement and a hidden emotion. I remember asking him, “Pat, are you okay?” and he responded with an emotional quiver in his voice and a glaze over his eyes. “I have been working here for 23 years and this is the first Pangolin I've seen.” There was silence from everyone there - just in total appreciation of what lay before us.

As I mentioned earlier, the only constant is change, you can never say never. From now on, when a guest asks me something like, “Do you think we can see a Pangolin?” My response forever will be, “You never know”!