Lions, leopards and big game are in the limelight yet again. There seems to be a plethora of lion cubs spread across our Kruger camps, which is good news. Lion cubs have such a low survival rate in the wild, so it’s nice to see these tawny bundles heading towards maturity. We’ve also seen a hurricane of activity from our bird species. Their kaleidoscope of wing colours always contrasts the dull greens and fawn colours of the surrounding vegetation. There isn’t much we haven’t seen this week.
Here is your update ! Enjoy your week of birds and beasts.
nDzuti Safari Camp
During our weekly Live Bush Feed session the team from nDzuti saw two lionesses with their cubs. One of the lionesses is referred to as the “pale female” and the other one is a tawny. Both lionesses appeared to have a solid bond and were settling down together. The pale lionesses has a litter of three healthy cubs. Unfortunately, the tawny lioness hasn’t revealed the number of cubs in her stash.
Ezulwini Game Lodges
As per usual, the Olifants West pride of lions have been making quite a spectacle of themselves. This handsome mega-pride of mottled tawny lions certainly don’t shy away from the limelight. Like clockwork, after each game drive the office based team receives reports of Olifants West Pride sightings. If it’s not the Olifants West Pride, then it’s the Mohlabetsi pride/York Pride or the lesser spotted River Pride. There’s also been plenty of hyena activity in the area, which is quite normal when there’s a huge lion pride around. They’re waiting in the wings, desperately salivating for a lion carcass to steal.
The Kruger is still incredibly hot at the moment and buffalo need to drink twice a day. Huge breeding herds of elephant and buffalo have been spotted cooling off in available water sources.
nThambo Tree Camp and Africa on Foot
Healthy lion cubs are roaming free in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve. Both camps are being rewarded with lion cub sightings on a weekly basis. The cubs have reached the confident and curious stage; where they bumble around smacking and gnawing on swooshing tails. They’ve even managed to devour their first kill with the adults. It always looks like a frenzy of activity during a feast and this is because males are incredibly aggressive when feeding. Cubs have a low survival rate in the wild, so it’s imperative we report on all of our lion cub sightings. The world of the king of beasts can be brutal!
All three of the Trilogy boys have been seen hanging out together. Their presence is quite distinct – they tend to command respect where ever they go. Just this morning they were seen taking down a buffalo calf! There’s always some kind of drama surrounding this trio of trouble.
Rhulani the leopardess and her cub have been making their presence known on the nThambo and Africa on Foot turf. This week, the camps enjoyed yet another leopard sighting. We speculate it was Rhulani again but cannot confirm identification. The leopard disappeared into the thicket because a pride of lions approached the vicinity with obvious intimidation tactics.
The African painted dog is an endangered species and sightings are considered rare. A while ago, a pack gave birth to pups but resumed their nomadic lifestyle when the pups were old enough. The pack were spotted recently and seemed to enjoying their old turf!
And in other news…Camps have seen hippo, buffalo, elephants, a myriad of waders and a fluttering of birds.
Enjoy your weekend – the Sun Destinations team.
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