You know you’re winning when your game drives consists of 4 of the famous Big 5, and the only one that evaded you is our shy friend, the leopard. A nocturnal cat by nature, leopard is most frequently seen in the evenings and in darkness (although Ezulwini been very lucky in seeing these cats during the day), but we were distracted enough by a host of other species not to feel too sad about missing out on the elusive leopard.
The Balule is home to a number of strong, successful lion prides; all said to have stemmed off one megapride known as the Olifants West Pride. As a result, Ezulwini guests bump into these king cats all over the place on game drive. The Balule Pride, the York Pride, and the original Olifants West Pride were seen on various occasions over the last few days, and one day in particular, our safari sightings consisted of 2 lion prides, rhino, buffalo herds, and a bull elephant in musth. That’s a solid 4 out of 5 on our watch!
The York Pride, led by 2 adult male lions (one quite a bit younger than the other), was seen covering ground, and possibly on the hunt for something to feed their bellies. With such a large group (numbering 13), they would need to take down something as big as a giraffe to satisfy each member. The second pride we saw was the Olifants West Pride, which has 10 members, led by a fantastic blonde-maned male called Duma. This pride was impressing everyone with their highly typical lion behaviour: sleeping. “Flat cats”, as we like to say in the bush, meaning that it is unlikely that they will become active any time soon.
While it’s not easy to beat seeing 2 large lion prides on one game drive, Ezulwini got that extra bit of luck, and guests heard a third pride roaring from over the river. A sound that leaves you quaking in your boots and marvelling at the wonders of this wild world we live in.
Herds of buffaloes have been moving through the area, and creating quite the spectacle at one of the dams where they almost fully submerged themselves in the cool relief of the water. The heat is tough for everyone, but the recent rains have filled the dams and it is evident that these big bovines were celebrating!
Later on in the drive, it turned out buffaloes weren’t the only ones loving the water. A bull elephant was spotted splashing around in a shallow mud wallow, cooling himself down with layers of the cool dirt being thrown over his leathery skin. This bull was in musth, which is a hormonal stage for a male elephant, and can make them quite temperamental and destructive. Typically, one can tell an elephant is in musth by clear secretions coming from the temples, and streaks of urine on the back legs. This can last any length of time between a few days, to a few months. Ezulwini guests received a fair warning from this male elephant with a shake of the head and a threatening trumpet, and we soon left him in peace.
Fantastic way to wrap up a day on safari at Ezulwini!
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