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A Week in the Bush Vol. 267

on Jul 24, 2019

The excitement in the bush this past week has been sky high!!! Whether it’s your first time on safari seeing newborn animals or whether you have been working in the bush as a member of staff for the past however-many-years, you still feel childlike excitement when seeing cubs!!

This week was one of those weeks for everyone privileged enough to see two of the newest leopard cubs at Sabi Sabi...

The first female to share her bundle of joy with us was Kigelia. Mom and baby are located close to Little Bush Camp and have been bonding around some rocky outcrops in the area. Kigelia managed to also secure a good meal as she hoisted a duiker kill up a tree which she fed on for a bit before descending, cleaning herself and disappearing into the thickets.

The second female leopard with a cub is Scotia. What precious moments as we watched mom and cub during our morning safari.

After we found fresh tracks of a female leopard earlier this week, we eventually located Msuthlu patrolling for something to hunt. She was eventually successful with a baby duiker which she promptly killed and ate. The week ended with a sighting of her on the hunt again, this time she was not successful during our time with her.

N’weti – the dominant male of the North Eastern part of our reserve patrolling his ever-increasing territory after a decent meal.

22Steff McWilliam Nweti 18072019 Final

Xovonekela – we came across this big male leopard on his territorial patrol. Territories are marked by urine, foot scuffing and vocal calls - all of which we witnessed.

23Tyron Van Der Walt Xovo 22072019 1 Final

Early in the week we had some sightings of the Styx Pride of lions as they rested on an open area.

The Southern Pride were resting close to a waterhole after having gorged themselves on a recent kill.

The two Southern Avoca males were located on the Eastern side of our reserve, resting after chasing a curious hyena away from them.

Amber eyes. This beautiful male Cheetah has been spending quite some time at Sabi Sabi recently. We got to spend some good time with him over the weekend as he looked for a place to rest after what seemed to be one very large meal.

A Lilac-breasted Roller secures itself a mid-afternoon meal!

47Ronald Mutero LBR Frog Final

A beautiful Spotted Eagle-owl keeps a watchful eye on us as we pass by on safari.

48Ronald Mutero Spotted Eagle Owl Final

Some of the most fascinating behaviour of any antelope, the male Steenbok uses his front leg to tap the female’s hindquarters as part of their courting behaviour. We watched these two for well over half an hour, absolutely entranced with their life-long pair bond.

49Steff McWilliam Steenbok 20072019 Final

Blacksmith Lapwing - these beautifully striking birds often feed close to the shore looking for aquatic invertebrates, insect eggs or even tadpoles. Adults may protect babies by distracting a potential predator with an elaborate display in which they fake a broken wing in order to lure the predator away from their offspring.

50Steff McWilliam Blacksmith Lapwing 20 02 2019 Edit Final

These zebra lined up perfectly for our guests in the mid-afternoon sun as they took a break from grazing.

51Steff McWilliam Zebras 13 03 19 Bw Final

We spent some time with a stunning breeding herd of elephants, admiring them as they went about their morning.

A female Saddle-billed Stork shows off her striking plumage.

54Louise Murray Saddle Billed Stork 26052019 Final

The hyena den site has been a hive of activity as the youngsters played around, groomed themselves, and napped whilst the adults were out.

A little visitor at the Lourenco Marques Honeymoon Suite at Selati Camp one morning!

A Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill watched closely as we were enjoying our morning coffee stop.

58Shaun Jenkinson SYB Hornbill Final

Until next time...

59Louise Murray Pink Sunset Final
  • Blog by Wendy Claase
  • Images by Ally Ross, Daniel Hitchings, James Simpson, Louise Murray, Maryke Nel, Ronald Mutero, Shaun Jenkinson, Steff McWilliam and Tyron van der Walt
  • Videos by Daniel Hitchings and Maryke Nel
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