It’s been a phenomenal week on the reserve once again and especially in terms of predators on the property. As seasoned Safari enthusiasts will know, the dry season in South Africa’s Lowveld region is the prime season in which to view predators, and all kinds, not just lions and leopards. There are various reasons for this and we won’t delve into them right away, but for those of you out there that follow us on our many social media platforms will know is that the sightings have been plentiful. We have been blessed with amazing Wild Dog sightings, Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs, Hyenas and many more. This is going to be the focus of this week’s blog. I hope you enjoy...

It seems almost fitting in that during the course of this week we’ve experienced the moon in it’s waning phase, proceeding from full to new, as the activities of the creatures of the night have been plentiful. There are a lot of tales being told out there that suggest nocturnal predators don’t hunt under a full moon because of it creating almost day-like conditions. I can assure you all that this is not the case.

It’s no secret to most that the hyena populations on our reserve are quite prolific. We’ve enjoyed superb viewing of these animals at one of our den sites as well as having regular encounters of them when following lion or leopard. This week though, was a little different. Whilst trying to track down a leopard, we began moving through an area that earlier in the day, had been visited by a massive breeding herd of buffalo. While searching around we discovered two hyenas feeding on a sub-adult buffalo. This animal appears to have died from a cause not known to us, but there was speculation of it having been killed by the male leopard we were following up on although by the time we arrived at the scene, it was difficult to judge.

The leopards this week haven’t been as active as they usually are, in terms of sighting frequency of certain individuals, but there have still been some amazing moments. The week’s leopard sightings started off a great morning spent with Maxabeni. We followed him around for a long time as he went about scent marking and investigating the area, presumably for any sign left by one of his females. It was great to see him again looking in such great condition.

Next up was that of the Little Bush female. She was found quite superbly one evening by one of our ranger/tracker teams after having just killed a bushbuck. Fortunately for all she stashed the carcass up in a Weeping Boer-bean tree, so viewings were regular and very good for several days.

We also managed to find Warthog Wallow this week after an extensive tracking exercise. Her tracks took us through some challenging terrain, but with my skilled tracker on foot and our combined knowledge of animal behavior we were able to find her tucked away in the Msuthlu riverbed. She allowed us some quality time with her, until she eventually headed up into Bush Lodge itself, most likely in search of some bushbuck.

Lastly, the Lisbon female was found this week feeding on yet another buffalo carcass from an animal that we believe died from old age. The old cow was seen the previous day to be struggling to keep up with the herd and must have eventually just given up the ghost. There were hyenas also on the carcass before Lisbon got hold of it, but it wasn’t long before she had capitalized and brought her now four-month old cub to feed as well. Both look very healthy and we hope the young cub will make it to maturity this time around.

The Toulon Pack of African Wild Dogs has been providing us with endless entertainment and quality viewing for the last two weeks as they seem to be settling in quite nicely within our range for the time being. This will most likely change as the pups get older and are able to keep up with the adults a bit more, but for now we are all really loving the quality time and interactions with the animals.

The two sub-adult Sparta males have also been spending a bit of time with us this week, most likely due to pressures up north, but they too have had some hunting success with us having found them with very full bellies on one occasion.

The reserve was also visited by a male cheetah which provided our guests with some spectacular viewing and photographic opportunities once again. It is always a pleasure having cheetah around and we have been incredibly blessed with frequent sightings throughout the year.

The news of the week though has to revolve around the Southern Pride. We have been seeing various females with the either of the two Fourways males on a regular basis for the last several weeks now and it seems that final, the females have accepted the males as resident in the area. We encountered them late in the week all together and behavior exhibited by the females toward the males was very encouraging. There was a lot of physical contact and head rubbing/nuzzling performed by the females, which indicates an acceptance. It was really nice to see and hopefully they will now experience some stability in the area. It must be said though, that the take-over is not complete until there are cubs being born, but for the moment it is all systems go and it shouldn’t be too long before the females start to show signs of pregnancy. Let’s hold thumbs for them.

The predators here at Sabi Sabi have been keeping us busy this week and there should be some more exciting developments to come in the near future. Keep following us on any one of our social media platforms to stay up-to-date on the everyday sightings on the reserve. Until next time...