With that another cycle comes to a close and what a cycle it has been. We have experienced a change in season and a variety of temperatures and what we all have been waiting for over the last couple months, some rain. Not a lot of it, small amounts, not more than 12 – 15mm received however this just allows for some relief, for the vegetation, herbivores and all that live within this climatic zone.

There have been multiple Elephant sightings during my six-week cycle, many breeding herds and solitary and bachelor groupings of large bulls in the South around Earth Lodge. Many are still very reliant on the waterholes distributed through the property as they await the heavy rains coming up towards the end of November into December.

With this small amount of rain, the flourish of fresh green shoots of grass have brought in Cape Buffalo, and lots of them. We experienced a herd of approximately 700 individuals that moved throughout the Southern property of Lisbon.

With so many Cape Buffalo around, the Lions weren’t too far. We got to see one of the Avoca males on a small Buffalo calf kill that he managed to snatch from a large breeding herd one night and spent the entire day feeding on it and guarding it from Spotted Hyena.

The newly established survivors of the Southern Pride however haven’t been too lucky in securing themselves a Cape Buffalo meal in a while, however, they have been doing extremely well and have been seen on multiple kills such as Kudu and Nyala over the past six weeks.

Now on to the most prominent species that Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve has to offer, our lovely and beautiful Leopards. Firstly, starting off with the most exciting news, the Kigelia female has apparently given birth to her very first litter of cubs in the Southern property not too far from Earth Lodge. We have not seen the cubs and are unaware of how many there are, but we have located the den-site and will give her space until she is ready to reveal her beautiful offspring to the world. Hopefully next cycle we can get spend some amazing experiences with her.

Maxabeni is still going strong, seeming to still be dominant in the territory up in the Northern section. He has been quite busy with regards to scent marking and patrolling and has been seen very regularly.

The Msuthlu female has been active again. She has been up and down between Bush Lodge and Selati Camp along the Msuthlu River and we are unsure, but she may also be pregnant too. After her last mating session in which she was found mating with the White Dam male (approximately 8 weeks ago) she has not come back into estrus and usually female leopards should return into estrus every 46 days or so if they were unable to conceive. Interesting times lay ahead. Possibly more cubs.

The Ntsumi female has been surprising me day by day. Such a young leopardess but what a specimen. Has been securing many kills and hoisting such large prey to large trees giving us spectacular sightings. She has also gone into estrus and has been seen mating with the N’weti male. This is her first time, so she didn’t carry out the fully mating session but in time I’m sure she will produce some fantastic offspring like her late mother the Little bush female did.

A newbie from the central North, N’weti, has made his presence known. He keeps pushing his presence further and further into Maxabeni’s territory and I’m sure one day will be able to secure this territory as his own. For now, Maxabeni is keeping him at bay, but time will tell.

The White Dam male seems to have been pushed more west and is now seen around Little Bush Camp and even a brief visual in Lisbon. Interesting times as this male is still trying to develop or secure a territory, however, he is still young but will be a name to watch out for in a year or two years’ time.

A male Leopard in the Southern property, Xovonekela, has probably given me one of the most memorable sightings of a lifetime. I witnessed this Leopard waiting outside a termite mound with three Warthogs in the inside. Suddenly they all came bursting out and this male was onto a young male in a flash. Fifteen to twenty minutes later he had successful killed this Warthog and dragged it into a drainage line and up a Knobthorn tree (see video below – beware not for sensitive viewers).

Another new face is welcomed to the reserve - a young female known as Tengile was found stalking a variety of prey including Common Duiker, Impala as well as a Scrub Hare within the heart of the Ntsumi female’s territory. This female is the newly independent cub of the Ndzilo female.

Another sighting that was memorable was finding three Cheetah that had just caught a male impala. They were found dragging it from the middle of the open area underneath a small shrub and began to feed right away.

These cycles aren’t all about the high-profile species and that’s just some small highlights that one will remember for a lifetime, but the smaller things count just as much. Please enjoy my general selection below of other sightings that are if not more iconic species of an African safari that my guests this cycle experienced while on safari with me at Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve.

That’s a wrap for this cycle, follow me for more interesting sightings that I will discover next cycle, even better why don’t you come and join me on safari and secure your lifetime experience...