A Week in the Bush Vol. 487
on Jan 10, 2024This week saw the long-awaited return of the Styx Pride. The five young females have grown in experience, but their sibling bond is stronger than ever, never straying too far and showing glimpses of their playful nature, chasing one another and climbing trees. The strength of their bond was further demonstrated by the delightful return of the young Styx male, who had reunited with his sisters. Since their arrival a couple of days ago, they have been moving around the reserve, seemingly on the hunt for a meal large enough to fill six hungry bellies.
They were seen again at the end of the week. A fantastic sighting on any occasion, but this was made more remarkable because the entire pride was present, all seven individuals together. During the day, they had moved and tracking them down was the task come afternoon drive.
After hours of searching, they eventually revealed themselves. A purposeful intent could be felt as they moved, the pride split up, and further along the road, all became clear. A herd of impala grazed, lit up by the last rays of the afternoon sun. The experienced pride surrounded the unsuspecting herd, and as the shadows took over the African plains, they pounced. The impala scattered with lions in hot pursuit. One of the sub-adult females had caught a young male impala, and the pride dived in the small but necessary meal for the growing subject of the Styx Pride and an unforgettable sighting.
Morning tea views over the pan in front of Bush Lodge revealed the two Gijima males accompanied by three Talamati females. The pride went on the hunt and brought down a young wildebeest, a small but much-needed meal for the five lions, who later settled in the soft, cool sand for some rest.
After a busy couple of days for the Gijima males, we found them mating with one of the Talamati females again. Exciting times ahead for them to see how many new cubs will roam our area in 2024 and to see how these males will go from strength to strength. Males will stay with the female in heat for about 4-5 days, mating every 15-30 minutes for short periods, increasing the chances for conception.
After a fair amount of time without seeing the Southern Pride, we were pleasantly surprised after finding them in the Southern section of Sabi Sabi. They were still sleeping, slowly starting to yawn and stretch before getting up. They came down to drink water and returned to the same spot to sleep again.
With fresh suckle marks on one of the younger lionesses, it is clear that she has given birth to the newest members of the Southern Pride; only time will tell if they will be successful in raising them and hopefully introduce them to us one day when they feel safe to do so. With the other two cubs roughly 11 months old, they are getting bigger and more confident with their surroundings, moving around with the pride often, watching and learning hunting skills from the older lionesses that they will have to master one day.
Ntsumi and her thriving cubs were spotted playing around a small mud pan during a morning drive. The two cubs played and explored while mother kept a watchful eye for what was around, always on the lookout for the next meal and danger. Childlike wonder consumed the cubs, exploring the area and all that was around. The discovery of a small clump of reed out of the water seemingly baffled them and their mother. Eventually they moved on, with Ntsumi on the lookout for a meal while the cubs jumped and continued to play with one another. While entertaining, it is an important part of their growing up, sharpening their reflexes and stalking skills.
Once again, Ntsumi successfully took down a young impala lamb, securing a meal for herself and her two cubs. We found them as they were resting on a fallen over tree that gives them the perfect safe spot to be off ground level away from hyenas and their danger while having a comfortable place to rest and digest their meal. These cubs are growing daily and getting more comfortable in their bodies. Leopard cubs will generally suckle from their mom for up to 6 months; after that, their teeth have developed enough to get all their needed nutrients from carcasses that the mom will provide.
The Golonyi female was going from tree to tree, scent marking her way every couple of metres and going up numerous trees to get a better vantage point to scout her surroundings before coming down and carrying on with her patrol. The last couple of months we have seen this beautiful female leopard moving further west into our reserve and getting more comfortable with her area. We are hoping that she is starting to look for a suitable area to call home and have cubs one day. We decided to let her be and carry on with her day as she continued deeper into our reserve into thickets after a soft drizzle started.
A quiet start to the morning led us deeper and deeper into our reserve, not knowing what could be around the corner, always keeps things interesting. The vehicle suddenly became filled with excitement as one of our guests uttered the word, 'Leopard'. We found the Kigelia female resting in a Marula tree, scouting her surroundings, looking very aware. She later came down and carried on. With suckle marks still clearly visible, her cubs are definitely still around and hopefully it is just a matter of time before she will introduce them to us. We left her as she was resting in yet another Marula tree, likely on her way to reunite with her cubs.
A leopard was spotted sleeping in a dense Jackalberry tree from a long distance. On closer inspection, we identified her as the Jacana female who we have not seen in a long time. The young leopard came down and left her scent by urinating on prominent bushes as she moved through a rocky outcrop and into a drainage line where we left her. Her scent marking is a sign that she is making this section of the reserve her own and advertising for a potential mate.
The distant call of a male leopard made us stop in our tracks, trying to figure out where he was calling from. A herd of impalas nearby, all nervously looking in one direction, gave us a better idea of where this male might be. After a few seconds, the male started calling again, and the impalas ran the opposite way, and we knew where to start our search. The Khulwana male appeared out of a bush, calling to mark his territory. We hadn’t seen this male in a while, and we were quite surprised that he was marking territory so far north on Sabi Sabi.
Mawelawela was making his way through his territory before lying down in the grass with impala close by. As the wind was swirling quite a lot, the impalas got his scent and started alarm calling, warning all potential prey animals of his presence. He stayed in one spot, giving the area around him time to calm down again before he started vocalising, warning any potential rival males of his presence. Mawelawela has had a fair amount of competition from a younger male who made his way into his territory the last couple of weeks. Only time will tell if he can stand and defend his territory.
We are lucky to regularly see a Greater Painted Snipe at one of our watering holes, providing excitement to birders who visit Sabi Sabi. With their bobbing movement, you can see them mostly at dams and marshy river flood plains. They favour waterside habitats with cover and a receding water level that will expose mud among the vegetation.
A Knob-billed Duck's preferred habitat is marshes and seasonal pans scattered throughout Sabi Sabi in the wet season. Here, they will feed on vegetation and, to a lesser extent, small fish, invertebrates, and seeds and have even been recorded feeding on alates that emerge during the wet season.
The Little Bee-eater is the smallest Bee-eater found on our reserve and is seen throughout the year. They will hunt from a low perch from which they hawk passing insects and glide back to the perch to feed.
There are countless reasons why tortoises cross the roads; they could be in search of better grazing, water, fleeing predators, and even searching for potential mates, but whatever the reason, tortoises can get going and cover large distances when needed.
It is not always all about the Big 5 on safari. We were fortunate enough to spot this Lesser bushbaby as he was clinging for dear life to the top of a tree with a female leopard in the same tree, trying not to make a move to avoid drawing attention to himself. These little guys are extremely fast and can jump as far as 2,5 metres with one jump; that is 12 times their body length! He later ventured off and returned to a natural cavity in the tree, where he is safe and will rest for the rest of the day.
After another warm day, we decided to see what was happening at one of our prominent waterholes. A big herd of buffalo was enjoying the cool water and quenching their thirst before moving off into the treeline for shade. Buffaloes are water-dependent animals and must drink water daily for their digestive system to handle their rumination process. Buffaloes will often walk into the water to have their entire body covered with water to maintain body temperature, especially on warmer days.
Chameleons eat mostly beetles and grasshoppers. They capture their prey using their telescopic tongue, which can extend the total body length. The tongue is controlled by muscular contractions that propel the collapsible tongue off its bony spike (hyoid apparatus) at the back end of the mouth at a speed of up to 5m/s. The end of the tongue is broad and moist and acts like a suction cup to secure prey.
Zebra stallions are known to be quite aggressive towards one another, kicking and biting one another. They even sometimes bite each other’s tails off! Two stallions having a disagreement caught our attention, and we drove closer to inspect what was happening. As they were kicking and biting, the one decided he had enough and sat down on the ground, hoping the other would stop pestering him. Instead, his opponent saw this as an opportunity to get a good grip on his neck and gave him a nip, just enough for him to jump back up and continue the quarrel.
Until next time…
Blog by Wendy Claase
Images by Daniel Greyvenstein, Devon Jansen, Jason Street and Ruan Mey
Video by Devon Jansen
