What a great start to the week with a sighting of the N’waswishaka male lions on not one, but two impala kills close to Selati Camp!

The following day, close to Little Bush Camp, the Othawa Breakaways had taken down a large buffalo. We watched one of the males trying his best to take a few more bites of the kill, despite being engorged. Later, as the day began to cool, they started to move in search of water.

Lion sightings intensified as the week progressed...

We found two N’waswishaka male lions and one of the Styx lionesses moving around an open area trying to pick the scent of other lions that had passed the area, giving us a good opportunity to view them before they moved on.

Ronald and his guests had an incredible sighting of the N’waswishaka male lions moving in on the kill the Othawa Breakaways had made... The sighting is documented in Ronald’s blog, “Clash of the Kings”.

With eyes too big for their tummies, all 7 Styx cubs climbed aboard the buffalo carcass to ensure full bellies were had after a long suckle session with mom!

After a short absence, we were delighted to have numerous sightings of the Southern Pride female and her two cubs! They were seen on a waterbuck kill, a good meal for mom and cubs! Between feeding and sleeping, the youngsters were moving around with full stomachs, exploring their surroundings.

Whilst enjoying sundowners, we heard the distinctive bark of a kudu. Alerted by this sound, we quickly shot off in the direction of the alarm. Finding nothing in the immediate area, we decided to head down the road a little further... Success! The Tengile female leopard was on the prowl for something, that’s for sure. With her ears pricked and focused, we followed her as she manoeuvred through the thickets in search of a meal.

After hearing the alarm calls of impala, we made our way closer and found the impala relaxed and slowly walking along. Undeterred by the lack of a predator in sight, we decided to do another loop around the area and found the River Rocks female leopard coming out of a drainage line. Patience is key!

Having seen both Tengile and River Rocks leopards in the week, we were surprised by our next sighting of them...

We found the River Rocks female leopard on the prowl to reclaim any remains of her kill that hyenas had scavenged from her. Meanwhile, the Tengile leopardess was found moving in the direction of where she had heard the commotion also looking to find any remains, but instead found the River Rocks female and a chase pursued up a nearby tree, straight towards the four N’waswishaka male lions not too far away!

Early one morning, the White Dam male leopard was resting before moving off, passing between a herd of elephant.

We enjoyed numerous sightings of a female cheetah this week. She was resting before attempting to hunt some impala but was unfortunately not successful. The following day, she was still on the prowl, waiting for the perfect moment to hunt.

General sightings have been plentiful again this week...

The rising sun lit up the droplets of water that were still clinging to the body of this impressive male waterbuck as he walked past us.

This Grey Heron was beautifully positioned in a small waterhole as the sun was setting.

During the winter months, mothers will teach their youngsters where to find food during the dry season, most often in the roots systems of trees they pull up. We watched as this female dislodged a small tree from the ground and the youngster took to the exposed root system.

As the sun started to set, this zebra stood on high alert with its ears pricked forward listening intently.

A Collared Sunbird was taking advantage of this flowering Aloe.

We were lucky to see a Side-striped Jackal on an open area and had a good look at it before it darted off.

A dwarf mongoose takes a brief look at us before scurrying back to the safety of a termite mound.

This Spotted-Eagle Owl sat still for quite some time before flying off silently into the night.

We came across a beautiful herd of elephants, and we watched as a youngster swayed his trunk back and forth as he walked past, with the rest of the herd keeping a watchful eye.

Until next time...