Spring brings with it the start of the rainy season and with that brings the birthing season for many species. This has left the wide-open plains of Sabi Sabi full of new life.

Observing rhinos provided us with an opportunity to watch oxpeckers mating. Courtship, feeding and copulation take place on the back of an undulated host. Oxpeckers are monogamous cooperative breeders with up to about seven helpers. They are not territorial but will defend a nest in a tree cavity.

One of the most iconic animals to find in the African bush and one of the most loved animals is the zebra. With the beautiful black and white colouration, it manages to break the outline of its body shape and disguise itself in between branches and stay out of view of predators.

With this young zebra standing very close to his mother and also helping to keep a watchful eye out in search of approaching dangers, they fed in one of our open areas.

A young bull elephant approached a breeding herd of elephants and was greeted by the Matriarch. First a rub of heads and then the tips of each other's trunks were placed in each other's mouths, a sign of subordination.

This behaviour will also serve to calm the conflict. This bull had been “play-fighting” with one of the younger bulls just prior to the greeting, the Matriarch used this as a means of calming the situation and disciplining the young bull.

Trees filled with vultures and more flying in from all directions caught our attention. This led us to a large pack of wild dogs that had managed to feed well over the morning, and all had full bellies. The scavengers were out in full force picking up the scraps provided by these extremely proficient hunters. The pups in the pack felt it was playtime with a lonely hyena which provided for a morning filled with entertainment.

A couple of days later we were once again privileged to spend quality time with a pack of wild dogs. On this occasion the pups had been in the care of a few adults while the rest of the pack went hunting. We decided to follow the adults on the hunt, which proved to be very difficult as they moved quickly in search of a meal. They weaved through thickets and past a waterhole where they joined a crash of rhino. In the end the pack was successful in taking down an impala lamb. The adults returned to the pups with some leftovers causing the pups to explode with excitement. The excited chatter from the pups filled the air and provided us all with memories that will last a lifetime.

The following day, the wild dogs were still out in full force. We started our morning with an early bush walk. On arrival at our pickup point, we were greeted by wild dogs running not too far from us. We immediately followed up and found the pack had just managed to bring down an adult impala. They were however not alone. A lone Spotted hyena sounded out the alarm for reinforcements who arrived in great numbers within minutes. The sounds of the dogs and hyenas filled the air. The hyena ran in taking the last remains of the impala but was eventually mobbed by the pack and driven off. The wild dogs then moved off with full tummies to a waterhole to rest for the day.

Messages left in the sand by a female leopard in the form of footprints caused much excitement in the vehicle. These tracks were fresh, it was late in the morning and the tracks were over other vehicle tracks. This female walked down a sandy road leaving us a trail to puzzle together. The tracks eventually disappeared so we circled back to our last known track which moved off the road to the east. A short walk on foot revealed Golonyi resting up in the shady branches of a Marula tree.

Everyone is keeping a close eye on the female leopard Kigelia, since we last saw her mating with the Mawelawela male in October. We were treated to this beautiful sighting of her where she attempted to hunt an impala. Unfortunately, the impala noticed her before she could make her move and she carried on, searching for other prey, or who knows, a place to den.

Expecting female leopards will walk around in her territory searching for the best-secluded space to have her cubs. Normally this will be a rocky outcrop or a drainage line with a lot of cover.

We were lucky enough to experience a once-in-a-lifetime leopard sighting. We came across the N’weti male and the Tengile female, they were mating. That in its own is such a special sighting... The guttural noises evoked interest from the Ntsumi female who came charging in to investigate. Ntsumi shot off towards the Tengile female exploding with claws at the forefront of the action!! Suddenly N’weti ran towards the females and chased them up a tree! Three leopards, two trees, one drive!! What an amazing experience!

A murmuration of Starlings, which seemed to be chirping and mobbing a thicket, alerted Lazarus to a young male leopard striding confidently into the open. It was Ntsumi’s cub, and he was once again out on the hunt for anything that would play along. He practised stalking a Hornbill which flew off before the cub could get into striking distance. Every failed attempt is a lesson learnt and every attempt is a joy to watch. We look forward to watching this young cub grow into a successful hunter soon.

We found the Styx Pride in the same spot where we left them sleeping the day before. This time, they were not sleeping, but feeding on a warthog kill and were finishing the remains. We can only assume that the unlucky warthog walked straight into the pride of lions sleeping in the hot afternoon, and the lions took full advantage of the easy target.

Lions can hunt any time of the day if there are clear opportunities. Warthogs often feed in the early mornings and then make their way to the shade when the heat of the day sets in. In this instance, we think the warthog did just that, not knowing the lions had the same idea, and the lions jumped at the opportunity.

The Styx Pride has been present on our reserve for some time now, spending a lot of time around waterholes. Zebra and impalas were trying all day to drink but the youngsters in the pride were on guard and chasing every time an animal got closer.

Lions usually sleep for most of the daylight hours to conserve some energy for night-time hunting. In most cases, resting near or at waterholes gives them opportunities to hunt if animals approach the area without noticing them.

Six male lions laying out in an open area caused excitement among all rangers and guests. This many new male lions on the reserve are exciting but could spell trouble for the existing lions. The Styx Pride appear to be the first to have had a run-in with the new boys on the block. The Styx Pride had been split and members were found all over. Unfortunately, the remains of one of the Styx cubs were found. The Styx Pride then moved northeast and regrouped at the waterhole in front of Selati Camp. The pride now consists of two adults and seven sub-adults. Interesting times in the ever-changing lion dynamics lie ahead.

On a very quiet and cloudy morning, we set out to see what the bush had to offer. We decided to head towards the waterhole in front of Selati Camp and that is where we found a lone young lioness belonging to the Styx Pride.

We stayed with her and wondered if the rest of the pride could be close by but possibly keeping a low profile after the pride’s run-in with the Nkuhlu males.

Until next time