A Week in the Bush Vol. 515
on Sep 11, 2024Our week began just as the previous week had ended – with lion cubs…
We followed up on the Msuthlu Pride from the morning and found them not far from where we had left them, resting in the shade. The adult lionesses were relaxing, while the older cubs were playing and stalking each other. However, the youngest cubs were nowhere in sight.
As we waited patiently, one of the lionesses began moving toward the drainage line, softly contact calling in search of her cubs. Moments later, the four little ones emerged from a small burrow in a termite mound, where they had been well concealed. It’s unusual for lion cubs to venture into burrows, as there may be dangers down there, but this lioness had evidently inspected the mound and deemed it safe enough to hide her cubs from potential threats.
Later in the week we spotted a pride of lions making their way across an open area. We got closer and followed the Msuthlu Pride as they made their way deeper into our reserve, clearly having had a big meal recently as all of them are in a very good condition. We followed them as they entered the thickets, in search of a safe spot to spend their day resting, before getting active again at night. All four adult lionesses were present, clearly indicating the one lioness who is mom to the youngest cubs will move back to the den site, as she will need to feed them and make sure they are still safe.
We enjoyed numerous sightings of the Southern Pride this week. Soon after leaving Earth Lodge, we found tracks of the pride and began tracking them. Before long, we found them resting in the shade with full bellies. They had clearly eaten recently, as they were still panting heavily, their distended stomachs pressing against their diaphragms. The main lioness seemed particularly alert, her eyes scanning the surroundings as if sensing something was amiss—and she was right.
About an hour later, we discovered two male lions not far from the pride, their noses to the ground, sniffing and following the scent. These males had crossed into our reserve, picked up the trail of the Southern Pride, and were now closing in. Not being the dominant males or the fathers of the cubs, they pose a significant threat to the pride if they find them. Fortunately for the Southern Pride, the main lioness is experienced in survival and knows how to defend her pride. Only time will tell what will become of these intruding males, who have wandered into the territory of the Gijima males, and whether the Southern Pride will manage to evade their presence.
Tracking these two beautiful young male lions was a tricky exercise, but luckily we managed to locate them very close to Earth Lodge. These males have been laying low for the last couple of days and realise they will need to keep on moving if they don't want to be caught. Male lions of this age have a very difficult life, as they are not territorial males yet and still need to get a little older and stronger, but also need to hunt and survive without running into any big male lions that might put an end to their lives. The next couple of months will be very interesting to see what will happen to the lion dynamics around our reserve.
Spotting a leopard is no easy task, but we were fortunate to catch sight of a male leopard moving stealthily through the thickets. As we watched more closely, we realised it was Khulwana, a young male, making his way westward across our reserve, marking his scent as he went.
This behaviour clearly indicates a surge in his confidence, as he’s already marking territory that belongs to another male. Khulwana is growing bigger and stronger each day, and it’s only a matter of time before a confrontation arises to determine the dominant male of this area. At just around five years old, Khulwana is in his prime - young, sexually mature, and ready to claim a territory of his own. Only time will tell what the future holds for him.
Leopard interactions, unlike those of many social animals, are primarily functional. As solitary creatures, leopards usually avoid one another, except during mating or when a mother is caring for her cubs. A meeting between N’weti male and Ntsumi female was a rare and fascinating glimpse into this behaviour.
Ntsumi's intentions clear - she is ready to procreate as her current cubs are near independence. Their brief union serves a vital purpose in the continuation of their species, but once the encounter is over, they will return to their solitary ways, each resuming their independent lives within their respective territories.
A few days later, N’weti was seen alone. He was walking at pace, remarking his territory after some rain had fallen a couple of days ago. After the rains, most of the scent is washed away and leopards need to move around their territories again to remark.
We found fresh tracks of a female leopard, and moments later got audio of a leopard calling. We immediately followed up and found the Golonyi female as she was making her way through the thickets. She was scent marking heavily as she made her way, still looking very focused on any hunting opportunities that might arise. We left her as she continued into the darkness, hoping she would get lucky and secure a meal.
Driving across our private airstrip we found this group of buffalo bulls. Old buffalo bulls often form groups after they have been kicked out by younger bulls of the breeding herds. These bulls are known to be more temperamental and aggressive as they know they don’t have their big groups to rely on anymore for safety. They slowly continued grazing, making their way towards a nearby waterhole to spend the warmer hours of the afternoon.
We sat in awe as this Saddle-billed stork was wandering through a small puddle of water looking for its next meal. With the small size of the still standing pond, we were unsure if there was even life in it, but soon enough this stork pulled out a decent size catfish which will be a sufficient meal for the day. Saddle-billed storks have extremely long beaks that they submerge in the water looking for any food like fish and other amphibians that might be lurking in the muddy water.
Until next time…
Blog by Wendy Claase
Images by JP van Rooyen, Ronald Mutero and Ruan Mey
