There is possibly no better way to start this week’s highlights than with one incredible sighting we had of Kigelia and her seldom-seen cub!

After a mammoth tracking exercise and what seemed like we were walking in circles, the reward was well worth it – Kigelia and her cub were located!! Kigelia had stored remains of a carcass up in a tree and put her cub in an adjacent tree before sneaking past some lurking hyena, making her way up to the kill. Unfortunately, while trying to position the remains, she dropped it and the hyenas swooped in and claimed it for themselves. She then called for her cub for a regroup before they went off together. Shortly after they moved off, White Dam male came for a good sniff around the same tree mom and cub were up.

As we approached a waterhole, we noticed a very suspicious looking hyena that seemed focused on something. Upon further investigation, we found a very fat leopard who must have been on a kill before the hyenas stole what was left of it. White Dam proceeded to move off into some long grass to sleep off his meal.

A few days later, the White Dam male leopard left his kill unattended in the branches of a tree when a female leopard came in to steal a piece and unfortunately dropped it into the hungry mouths of a few hyena that had been patiently waiting at the base of the tree. You could almost see the disappointment in his body language when he returned to find his kill was gone from the branches above him, but he did not even bother to climb up the tree to make sure, he just turned and ambled off into the thickets.

What a journey it has been and an absolute privilege to see this incredible male leopard on a regular basis for the past few days. Baboons alarm calling lead us straight to him – he was up a tree with some baboons harassing him and once he climbed down, a baboon went straight for him, continuing to taunt and even try attack him, he ducked for some cover in some thick bush and in the chaos of this all, Maxabeni took full advantage of a fully grown kudu cow who stood still with all the commotion. Maxabeni took the leap and took her down – we watched as he suffocated her and dug straight into the prize kill. The following morning, we headed straight back to hopefully find a full leopard - but we guessed right - the hyenas had stolen the kill – not a scrap left to spare and a missing leopard. We tracked high and low and eventually found him as he slowly made his way to a water source where he had a drink and lay down for a good rest.

The following day, after briefly seeing an unfamiliar male leopard, Dayone, come onto the reserve, he walked straight into the dominant male, Maxabeni. After a short but intense stare down, Dayone male ran off, not to be seen again.

We followed up on the frantic calls from a flock of Grey go-away birds and found the Msuthlu female leopard walking along the riverbed amongst the dry grass as the rays of the rising sun reflected off her beautiful golden coat.

Alerted by the unusual alarm calls of the Swainson's Spurfowl, we decided to investigate. As we rounded the other side of the quarry bank, we noticed a recently killed Steenbok hanging in a tree, freshly plucked, but no leopard. We continued along the drainage line to find the Ntsumi female walking through the long grass towards the rocks - up she got and lay for a moment or two, allowing just enough time for us to photograph her in the most beautiful light. After a minute or so she descended and headed straight back to the darkness of the drainage line for a rest.

The four N’waswishaka male lions have been extremely vocal this past week, making their presence known to all.

We headed to the lions and found them on the move... trailing a herd of buffalo and moving closer and closer with every step. They attempted to hunt but with no luck. They then rested as they let the herd settle down and move off a little but kept in proximity to the buffalo.

We followed some lion tracks through the reserve and found some lions resting – 5 lions from the Styx Pride. Just as night fell, they started yawning and got up to continue on their way.

On a cold and overcast morning, we found a male cheetah resting on a termite mound when a few impala in a thicket nearby caught his attention. Making use of the cool weather and the wind to his advantage, he set off stalking the unsuspecting impala.

A dazzle of zebra make their way to the watering hole.

The Common Duiker, also known as the Grey or Bush Duiker, is a small antelope seen on safari at Sabi Sabi. The Duiker gets its name from the Afrikaans word “duiker” which means to dive – and this is something this animal does very well as it ducks away into bushes when danger threatens.

With the setting sun in the background, this female Ostrich was being followed intently by two males. The female is easy to identify with her dull brown-grey plumage, whereas the males have black plumage and a white tail tuft.

As we approached a small herd of elephants feeding on the edge of a dry riverbed, this young elephant crept from behind its mother and wanted to make it loud and clear that it is in charge.

Our Monochrome Monday selection from the week...

N’weti - an intense glare at a hyena a few meters away.

After some playful interaction with her pride, this young Styx Pride lioness came to investigate us, lying down right next to the vehicle and watching every movement with inquisitive eyes.

An incredible sighting of a Martial Eagle perched on a tree, feeding on a Swainson’s Spurfowl.

A Verreaux’s eagle-owl perches on a tree, remaining alert to any potential prey.

Until next time...