We have experienced some hot days this past week, with animals frequenting the numerous waterholes throughout the reserve, as well as in front of the lodges.

Often overlooked, the Impala is undoubtedly one of the most efficient and successful species at Sabi Sabi. We sat in a large herd as the sun rose and marvelled at their simple yet complex beauty.

A Southern White-faced Owl had mice on his dinner menu...

A young zebra foal getting to know his home range, each day a new adventure.

A Smith’s Bush Squirrel tucking into a snack from the safety of the top of a small termite mound.

Some babysitting duties at the hyena den.

After a busy day mating with a female leopard, N’weti male leopard showed us just how impressive he is when he climbed up a Marula tree and started eating his warthog kill.

The Msuthlu female leopard only just managed to hoist her kill up a tree before some hyenas could catch her. She stayed there until the coast was clear, she then hurried to a more stable tree where she could be 100% safe from the hyenas.

We found Ntsumi at a waterhole before she moved over to a fallen over tree where she rested for a bit and scanned the area before moving off to hunt.

Xovonekela was rather opportunistic this week as he swooped in and stole the remains of a female leopard’s bushbuck kill. Once he finished it, he made his way to a high look out point where he glanced around, posing beautifully.

The White Dam male was perched atop of a termite mound for a while, he then moved off marking his territory and tried to hunt a duiker but was not successful. A couple of days later, we noticed some drag marks and tracks of a leopard going straight through Little Bush Camp! We followed and just across the riverbed, we found White Dam lying on the ground, we looked around and noticed a bushbuck kill up a Marula tree. After what looked like a little rest, he decided to head back up to start eating on his meal again. We are unsure if he made the kill or stole it from Kigelia, the resident female leopard around the Little Bush Camp area.

Xovonekela and White Dam were seen one morning in proximity to one another, and although there was no fighting, the two dominant males lay close by growling at each other and occasionally getting up to scent mark– an incredibly interesting interaction – we can only assume the older male leopard stole the remains of a kill from the younger male.

We were out early one morning and it all started off very quiet until we came across a big herd of buffalo. Little did we know that there were five lions trailing behind. There was one female and four males. The female was out in the open and the males were all lying, very well hidden in the thick bush.

The following day we followed up on these lions who seemed to have not done much during the day but as we approached, they started yawning, which is a sure indication that they were about to get up and start their journey around the reserve in search of prey.

Six lazy Styx Pride lions spent most of the day sleeping. They had some yawns and a little grooming before getting active as the night set in.

Until next time...