We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – the Sabi Sand is big cat paradise. We often enjoy consecutive sightings of a particular pride or lone leopard for a brief period before they wander further afield. Lion pride dynamics shift and sub-adults become burgeoning leaders. Leopard cubs explore new territory and dominant males explore a wide range. This is the nature of the beast in the wild – things are never sedentary or stagnant.
So, when the old favourites take a hiatus from the Umkumbe traverse and return months, even years later, it’s always a noteworthy occasion. We’re acutely aware that our elusively nocturnal cats may have wandered back in the dead of night while we’re deep in slumber! But, there have certainly been no signs of the old legends leaving clues to their whereabouts.
Leopards : White Dam and Cub, Kigelia and Tatowa
Last week our eagle-eyed trackers spotted the shy White Dam and her brave male cub. This mother and son duo do frequent similar areas. The cub is old enough to fend for himself, but still occasionally hunts with his mother and tends to dwell on the periphery of her territory. Over the weekend White Dam was seen moving at a rapid pace through the bush – clearly in search of her next meal. She was enjoying the solitude and her cub clearly was off doing his own patrolling.
In addition to last week’s sighting of White Dam and her cub, rangers spotted the youthful and rather remarkable Kigelia – she made quite the comeback. Kigelia is Little Bush’s cub and has set her status within the Umkumbe traverse as being a fearless predators with a taste for the extraordinary. She’s a quirky character and renown for tracking unconventional prey – she once tracked an ostrich. Seeing her engaging in her predicted behaviour was a rather dazzling experience considering we haven’t seen here in a while.
Kigelia kept guests’ heart’s racing when they ogled over the leopardess dining on her recent duiker kill. She’d hoisted the small antelope into a tree for safekeeping and felt confident enough to relax into the dining session, providing ample opportunity for photography. Clearly Toothfairy the hyena and her clan hadn’t got wind of Kigelia’s meaty meal, because we all know how that could have ended.
With all the leopard action over the past week, we were surprised to bump into Tatowa over the weekend. Marius said that she was on the move and in search of a comfortable spot to elevate herself. Leopards are often found on termite mounds or in the tops of trees. The elevation allows for them to survey the surrounding landscape for potential prey sources.
Lions: Sparta Pride of Lions and One of the Matimba Males
In terms of lion sightings, Umkumbe has had a real winner when it comes to sightings. Ancient legends, with a bloodline so strong and ferocious, returned to their old stomping ground. A very excited Marius Zeilinga was the driving force behind spotting the elusive Sparta Pride of lions !
The pride splintered somewhat and we’re left with 3 powerfully built lionesses and 4 sub-adults eager to claim new home grounds. The pride was spotted again last night and appeared perfectly relaxed. They spent most of their time grooming, stretching and prepping for the night’s antics. After enjoying a lengthy and lethargic relaxation session, the pride decided to move off in search of greener pastures.
The Sparta Pride have made an appearance every day since the first sighting of them last week. And if that’s not enough, one of the Matimba males has also re-appeared from the archives of lion activity. This is a first for Umkumbe, making it a definite highlight of the week!
Ranger Marius says, “For the first time at Umkumbe, one of the Matimba coalition of male lions made an appearance. There are two in the coalition and the male we saw is fondly referred to as “Hairy Belly”. His territory is normally up north but over the recent months he has been spotted watching over the Mhangeni breakaway females. This male we saw seemed to have an injury. Matimba means “strength” in Shangaaan, so hopefully he’ll recover shortly and live up to his namesake”
Another great week of lion and leopard sightings at Umkumbe Safari Lodge !
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