A Week in the Bush Vol. 600
on Jul 08, 2026As the sun sets and temperatures begin to drop, the bush grows quieter. Birds stop calling as they settle in for the night, creating a peaceful atmosphere. It is at this time that lions usually begin to roar, taking advantage of the still evening air when their calls can travel long distances, often carrying more than 5km.
These vocalisations are an important way for dominant males to re-establish and advertise their territories, warning rival males that the area is already occupied. Their powerful roars help avoid unnecessary confrontations while reinforcing their presence across their territory.
We found three of the Southern Pride females enjoying an early morning rest with one of the N’waswishaka males south of Earth Lodge. As the morning began to warm, they started contact calling, and before long the fourth female arrived to rejoin the pride. During the morning's antics, she surprised us by jumping onto a fallen tree, where she sat watching a nearby giraffe with just as much curiosity as the giraffe seemed to have for the unusual sight of a lion in a tree.
We set off on our afternoon safari hoping to find a leopard. Spotting a pair of ears high on a rocky outcrop, we quickly circled around, convinced we had found exactly what we were looking for. To our great surprise, it was a lioness!
On safari, you never know what awaits around the next corner, and this was one of those moments that perfectly captured the unpredictability of the bush. We watched as a Southern Pride lioness basked in the warmth of the afternoon sun, resting peacefully but remaining quietly alert. Despite her low profile, she was soon detected by a squirrel, which immediately began sounding the alarm. Completely unfazed, the lioness carried on snoozing, and it was only when she casually shifted a paw that the squirrel finally lost its nerve and scurried away.
We picked up the tracks of the Golonyi female leopard in the southern part of the reserve during the afternoon but initially had no luck finding her. She had moved into dense thickets where her tracks became difficult to follow, so we decided to circle back and approach the area from another direction.
Our persistence paid off when we found Golonyi resting among the large boulders with her cubs, an area that appears to be her current den site.
We found Golonyi perched high on a granite outcrop, appearing and disappearing from view as she moved among the rocks. Although she was some distance away, it was still a wonderful sighting. On safari, we're often fortunate enough to enjoy incredibly close encounters with wildlife, but moments like these are a reminder that nature unfolds on its own terms. Sometimes, watching an animal from afar, simply witnessing it behaving naturally in its environment, can feel even more special.
Finding two sets of leopard tracks, one larger than the other, can sometimes suggest a mother with her cub. However, a closer look at these tracks revealed something just as exciting - they belonged to a fully grown male and a female, a strong indication that we were following a mating pair.
Our excitement grew as we tracked them into a densely vegetated riverbed. The thicket was so dense that we could hear the deep growls of the leopards long before we could see them. We waited patiently, and our perseverance was rewarded when the pair finally emerged, giving us an incredible view of them mating.
It was our first time witnessing the Nsuku male mating with the young Mgiba female. If she successfully conceives, it could mean new leopard cubs in the area in the months to come.
As we made our way back to the lodge at the end of our evening safari, our tracker suddenly spotted something unexpected in the grass - a serval! It was an especially exciting sighting, as we hadn't seen one in quite some time. Even better, our guests could hardly believe their luck. They had spent much of the trip reminiscing about the serval they had seen on their very first safari two years ago, never expecting history to repeat itself.
We approached a herd of elephants with cautious excitement, unaware that one of its youngest members was truly extraordinary. Hidden behind her mother, an albino elephant calf quietly emerged, walking carefully through the long grass. As she interacted with another calf of a similar age and size, her unique features became strikingly clear. Her fine white baby hairs, pink lips, and pale blue eyes made her unlike any elephant we had ever seen.
After spending time simply watching and admiring her, we noticed something even more remarkable. She moved far more cautiously than the other calf, keeping her ears spread wide and her trunk raised almost constantly, relying on sound and scent to understand the world around her. Gradually, we realised she might have been visually impaired.
Vision problems are not uncommon in animals with albinism but witnessing it firsthand was something entirely new to us. Watching her gently reach out to find other members of the herd and carefully explore every blade of grass with her trunk was both awe-inspiring and deeply moving.
What stood out most, however, was the herd itself. They surrounded her with extraordinary care, gently guiding her movements, waiting for her, and playing with a tenderness that allowed her to explore each of them with her tiny trunk. Despite any challenges she may face, she is part of a herd that will protect, support, and care for her every step of the way.
As the early morning mist drifts through the bush, a small group of nyala ewes feed within the lodge grounds. It's a peaceful start to the day, with the soft light and cool air creating the perfect setting to simply pause and enjoy the calm before the bush awakens.
Whenever we come across a dazzle of zebra, everyone eagerly scans the herd in the hope of spotting this remarkable youngster. Recently, we've noticed that she is no longer with the smaller group she was first seen with. Instead, she has been spending her time in a much larger dazzle of more than 20 zebras.
Joining a larger herd offers her greater protection, allowing her unique markings to blend into the sea of black and white stripes and making it more difficult for predators to single her out.
A Lilac-breasted Roller perched atop a small dead tree, scanning its surroundings for its next meal. From its elevated vantage point, it patiently searched for the slightest movement before swooping down to snatch an unsuspecting insect.
Until next time…
Blog by Wendy Claase
Images by Josh Duffus, Ronald Mutero and Viviane Ladner
Videos by Conrad Cooke and Ronald Mutero
