It has been another hot and action-packed week on the reserve! Many baby impala’s popping out all over the place with some guests and guides fortunate enough to witness the incredible event.

As nature is, it’s not always that these little ones make it to adulthood and predators take full advantage of the newborns as was the case this week with the Msuthlu female.

We came across the N’weti male leopard shortly after sunset, after a blistering hot day he seemed to be resting whilst panting vigorously, taking strain in the heat. He eventually decided it was time to get up and we watched as he strolled a short distance down the road before making his way up a large termite mound to rest once again, this time lazily watching a nearby herd of Blue Wildebeest who were adamantly alarm calling.

The White Dam male was also seen this week – resting up in a big Jackalberry Tree to digest his meal and probably safer higher up with the recent lion activity in the area.

Leaving earlier in the morning has its perks. As first light hit, we picked up on some fresh tracks of a male leopard. We decided to scratch around in the area and see if we could relocate. We finally found him after a kudu alarm call gave away his position. Xovonekela moved onto a termite mound to scope some impala in the distance. Another great start to safari mornings.

The Southern Pride’s week started off unexpectedly when a herd of Cape Buffalo walked right into them while they were resting. The oldest female chased the buffalo a couple of times, but the other less experienced pride members were not confident enough.

The following day they lions were seen stalking some kudus for quite some time but unfortunately for the lions, the kudu spotted them and the hunt was over.

Towards the end of the week, the pride was seen outside Suites 4 and 5 of Earth Lodge! Hopefully their patience this week will soon pay off and be able to secure themselves a decent meal.

We had heard that a large pack of Wild Dogs had been located not too far from Selati Camp. Upon our approach we were greeted by a number of mature dogs as well as 7 pups, who sniffed around our vehicle as well as some pups resting in the road until some hyenas entered the scene where a stand-off ensued.

A couple of days later, we had two different packs of African Wild Dog on our reserve. Both packs consisting of pups. We witnessed them hunt numerous times as they both secured multiple meals, mostly consisting of impala. In one sighting near Earth Lodge, the pack was discovered feeding on the remains of a female impala who was seemingly pregnant as the pups were seen carrying around the remains of the lamb. A couple of vultures, including the seldomly seen White-headed Vulture, were seen hanging around later in the morning.

We finish this week’s blog with some wonderful bird and general sightings...

Until next time...