It has been an awesome week for guides and guests alike. I personally just came back from leave and I was looking forward to getting out there and watch nature at play.

The usual suspects were out and about the past week, where massive herds of elephants were seen throughout the reserve. The youngsters always provide guests with endless entertainment.

The herds of buffalo are still moving through the reserve, and its always interesting to see the different sizes and shapes of each individual’s horns.

The past week has brought us some exciting news here at Sabi Sabi, so let’s dive straight into it. One of the Southern Pride lionesses has finally been seen mating with a Fourways male. She was found mating with the male with the striking eyes. The mating lasted a good few days and while they moved through the reserve, the other Fourways male followed not too far behind. After disappearing for two days, they were once again found, but this time the other male was found with the female, and the male with the striking eyes was found quite a distance away from his partner and the female.

The previous week saw Maxabeni mating with Warthog Wallow for a couple of days. The past week both went their separate ways, where Warthog Wallow was found back in her territory and Maxabeni doing his usual rounds through his massive territory. Both leopards were found on kills as well, providing guests with some awesome sightings.

At the moment there are only two female leopards roaming our Southern section, the Lisbon and Kelenge female. It was great seeing the Kelenge female the past week after quite an absence.

Lisbon has been seen almost on a daily basis, constantly on the hunt, needing to feed two mouths. We are hoping to see her cub again and maybe even photograph it for the first time.

Xovonekela was also doing his rounds, and was spotted in the Southern section close to the Sabie River.

The Toulon Pack of wild dogs have also been providing constant entertainment, especially when they were seen killing a kudu in a dam followed by some great interaction between them and a clan of hyenas. The hyenas eventually won the battle and the wild dogs lost their hard earned meal.

A sighting that has been very active for a few days was a buffalo carcass, which saw many different species of animals feeding on it. Firstly the old cow was killed by one of the Southern Pride females. A few guides witnessed the entire kill at night, but no photos were taken. The next morning hyenas were on the scene, followed by vultures and even Southern Ground Hornbills. At night time the carcass played host to the hyenas once again, and to everyone’s surprise, Maxabeni was also found chewing on some scraps towards the end of this massive bovine.

The animals are definitely the main reason why guests come to places like Sabi Sabi but there’s not much else besides the animals that beats a beautiful bush sunset!