It’s that time again where we relive the previous week’s worth of incredible sightings, and what a week it’s been. We have been able to share some amazing moments with our guests and as always, it has been a pleasure to do so. We’ll start off this week’s highlights with a spectacular sunrise witnessed at Sabi Sabi’s Earth Lodge after a night of thunderstorms.

We have had several very large aggregations of buffalo moving through all sectors of our reserve this last week and it may be the last time we see them in such large numbers for the season. The various family groups that make up these large aggregations will most likely part ways once the summer rains have settled in and there is no need to really emigrate in search of remote resources. The time of plenty is upon us.

There has been a lot of cat activity all over the reserve from lions to leopard to serval, not to mention the myriad of other predator activities being witnessed on a daily basis. In the beginning of the week we saw the three Southern Pride lionesses that are aligned with the Sand River males, some dubbing them the Sand River Pride now, moving through the property and looking malnourished. We have no idea how their cubs are doing, as we have not yet seen them, but they may not be too great by the looks of the females. The females have to make kills regularly so they can produce milk to feed the youngsters and keep their condition up, but when seeing them one wonders whether they are getting what they need.

We have seen Floppy Ear several times this week as she has been wandering through the reserve in desperate search of a meal, and on one occasion was accompanied by one of the Sand River males who was sporting a serious limp that he could hardly put his weight on. We suspect that she may be scouting for possible new den sites, as there may be too much pressure or activity around her current one. Time will tell.

We also saw three lions we suspect are the Charlestons move onto the property, which if it is indeed them, will be a first. Let me explain why we are unsure. The Charlestons consist of two males and one female, all related. Recently the Charleston female was seen in the company of, if I’m not mistaken, two males from the Fourways Pride. (You can see why this could get confusing.) In any event, we haven’t had eyes on the Charlestons for some time as they been settled southeast of our boundaries and the timing of the Fourways males interaction has had us guessing. The last time I saw the Charleston males they still did not have full manes, but were well on the way to maturity and they were by all accounts decent size lions. Now I’m not 100% sure if these were them, but boy were these boys big! The other confusing aspect of the situation is the fact that the Charleston boys have never before set foot this far into Sabi Sabi territory, knowing to steer clear. This could be a sign of confidence in their size and strength, but I am only speculating here. Whether Charleston males or not, lets hope they stick around for a while and kick up some dust in the area.

The newly named “Kelenge Female”, previously referred to by us as Outcrop Cub, has made herself at home close to Earth Lodge, being seen frequently around the area on her own. We feel that she is establishing a territory for herself and hence, deserved a name of her own, which was chosen to reflect the area in which she is establishing that territory. She is a stunning female, still growing, still learning and still building the confidence needed to be resident female leopard in a place where predator densities are so high.

Also being seen in the southern section this week is the male known in some circles as Mandleve male leopard. He comes from a lot further east of the area in which he has settled now and to date is still not very relaxed with the vehicles and human presence. We do give him his space and hopefully over time and through perseverance he will feel more at home with our presence. He is a powerful young male that I’m sure will be making waves in the near future.

Maxabeni, Little Bush and their cub were all found together feeding on a large kudu that the big resident male had managed to pull down. This was obviously an incredible experience, for both guests and guides alike. The big male has been seen several times with the female and her cub with a kill present and has even been seen calling the cub to feed. This is strange to most, as the textbooks would have one believe that the male leopard plays no role in the raising of their cubs, but we have seen otherwise. All in all they are all doing well and the young cub is maturing quickly.

Warthog Wallow was found late in the week after a somewhat lengthy absence from the reserve. It appears that she has moved her territory further south than it was at over a year ago and this is largely due to the fact that she was at that stage aligned with the Mahlathini male who was resident in the area at that time. She had made a bushbuck kill relatively close to Bush Lodge and had brought her son, the Tortillis male, to the carcass to feed. He is still taking shelter from the female while on his way to independence, but that must soon come to an end and he will be kicked out of her territory and forced to disperse as a young adult. She however, is in great condition and I was most happy to see her again. I hope that when her son has dispersed, that she will seek out Maxabeni and gain a place for herself within his extensive territory.

A pack of Wild Dogs has been spending quite a bit of time on the reserve lately, with several sightings and kills have been witnessed this last week. They have moved all over, from the northern reaches to the southern extremities, but they are still here. I hope that they can find themselves feeling comfortable here with us and perhaps choose to den here next year. To have the dogs during that exciting time would be tremendous, but until then I will just enjoy their frequent visits to us here at Sabi Sabi.

Hoards of elephants have been seen all over the property and I shared an incredible sighting with my guests some days ago in the late afternoon. We were searching for the right herd, one with calves, and just before sunset one afternoon we found them in our western sector. We followed as they moved carefully through the bush, feeding. I knew there was water up ahead and I positioned the vehicle accordingly. Thankfully it worked out and we all were able to capture some great images from the encounter.

The southern section of the reserve is recovering very nicely from the recent fires that swept through the property, producing a lovely flush of sweet grasses and new leaves on the shrubs and trees that were affected. This has attracted a multitude of game species back to the area where they had previously lacked due to tasteless or woody grass plants.

We were lucky to find a beautiful Martial Eagle one afternoon very close to the road and perched in a tree against a dramatic backdrop of a stormy sky. This was probably one of my favourite moments of the week and also the sunset that followed this sighting.

We finish off this week’s update with an animal seldom seen around these parts, a female ostrich. One usually would find this creature in more arid climates and definitely further north of our position in the open grassy savannahs of the Kruger National Park, but this female has visited us several times in recent months. With the sun setting behind her I felt it necessary to capture the moment and I’m glad it worked out.

Another sunset, and the final image for the week. This was taken at one of our sundowner spots on a clear afternoon after the recent rains allowing us to even get a good glimpse at the distant Drakensberg Mountain Range. I hope you have all enjoyed this week’s edition of “A Week in the Bush...” Until next time...