Hello December! With summer in full swing, things are heating up in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve. The green foliage is dense from the intermittent summer rains, waterholes are replenished and the sun is showing off its warm golden embrace. The Vuyela pride of lions with their brethren of cubs are providing us with reliable sightings; leopards are leaping about; and the reserve is buzzing with activity from the general game. These sightings are nature’s gift to us, the timing of which is perfect given that it’s the festive season. To kick off December, we’re giving you a few photographic gifts from the Klaserie, courtesy of revered photographer, Em Gatland.
She is well-acquainted with our Klaserie camps, Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp; and regularly delivers some of the most creative and unique angles of wildlife and landscapes. Before we explore the intricacies of her photography, let’s furnish you with a quick synopsis of what’s happening RIGHT NOW in the Klaserie.
The Vuyela Lion Pride of the Klaserie
The Vuyela Pride of lions is now a firmly established pride on the Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp concession. A few years go, the Vuyela coalition of males began exerting their dominance over certain sector of the Klaserie. They wandered over in search of turf…and females. Soon after, a few lionesses joined the coalition and a mega-pride was established. The males sired cubs and the numbers escalated to 14 lions strong. About 4 months ago, 4 new cubs were introduced into the wild. Suffice to say, the Vuyela lion pride now has a stronghold over the Klaserie.
The cubs have been spotted on several occasions, which indicates that they’re happy and thriving in the wild, under the protection of their pride. Our guests couldn’t help but express a few ‘aww’ moments at the latest sightings of the cubs. The bumbling balls of fluff were rolling around and clambering over their mother to feed (cubs will feed on milk for up to 7 months).
Subsequent to that, 14 lions were spotted relaxing in the shade to avoid the penetrating rays of the sun. With such a huge pride of lions, it’s normal to see smaller split off groups forming – usually the young males “hang out” together. The team have regularly spotted coalitions of males, with one sighting really standing out. One of the camp managers managed to film a Vuyela king advertising his territory loudly on an open road. This short clip was so raw, loud and powerful, that it actually went viral.
Our camps continue to see this dominant pride at least few times a week.
The Leopards of the Klaserie
When the lion sightings escalate and mega-prides assert their dominance, it’s not uncommon to see leopards hiding out on the periphery. Leopards will retreat from confrontation, especially if their opponent is much larger.
However, this hasn’t happened on the Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp traverse. We’ve actually noticed a simultaneous increase in leopard sightings, which clearly means there’s room for two species of cats on our traverse. Even though territories overlap, we
An older, heavyset male leopard was spotted at a local waterhole looking relaxed in his environment. This proved to be an epic sighting because the cat was at ground level and out in the open. This made for amazing photographic opportunities.
The African Wild Dogs of the Klaserie
With lions and leopards abound, we thought life couldn’t get better in the Klaserie. And then the nomadic African wild dogs arrived on the scene! Over the past two weeks, the sister camps have seen the dogs on several occasions. The entire pack was seen relaxing under the shrubbery close to a dam, cooling off from the midday heat. Wild dogs are usually seen on the move or engaging in ceremonious greetings. Seeing them in a relaxed state allowed guests to spend time observing their fine form, colouring and features. The other sightings occurred while the dogs were on the move. This could be the same pack that frequented this area last year.
Now that you know about our most recent sightings, it’s time to deliver our festive season gift to you: a portfolio of Em Gatland’s safari images from her time at Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp. We encourage you to get inspired by her style, try out some new photographic angles and book that safari. And from us—we hope you enjoy our photographic gifts from the Klaserie.
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