Spring may have sprung in the bush, but the winter chill is still very much in the air with a couple of cold, windy days this past week. This did not stop the animals coming out in full force, with some quite memorable sightings. Enjoy...

Maxabeni has been out and about a lot this week. We had an interesting sighting of him as he rolled in some buffalo dung and proceeded to ingest a small amount – not uncommon for a leopard but can sometimes be a little unusual to see. Consuming the dung aids in digestion of a larger meal and rolling in the dung itself is used to help mask the scent of the predator. A few days later we witnessed him secure himself an easy meal in the form of a Scrub Hare.

The White Dam male was seen up a big Marula tree, with a clan of hyenas not too far away from him, chewing on the remains of a carcass. We think the male leopard made the kill and the hyenas stole it away from him. While the hyenas were not looking, he quickly jumped out of the tree and walked away.

The White Dam male and Msuthlu continue to mate and we hope the young female will be successful in falling pregnant.

We have seen a lot of Kigelia on the reserve of late and suspect she may be pregnant and looking for a den site.

Countless general sightings have left guests and guides glued to the bush as they make their way around the reserve during safari times...

The Southern Pride, consisting of 5 members, remain close and have been seen together for the majority of the week. They spend their days conserving energy for their evening hunts but so far have been unsuccessful on attempts on some buffalo who are frequenting the waterholes during these dry months. Surely it will just be a matter of time before they claim their prize!

We have also been seeing 2 males from the Mhangeni Pride. We are unsure of the whereabouts of the other members.

We end this week with a very rare and very lucky sighting!! Frederik and his guests came across this African Wild Cat stalking a scrub hare! What an incredible sighting for all!

Until next time...