Summer is upon us and with it comes a rather complex, anxiety filled weather system. The purple skies littered with swirls of thunderous clouds and bolts of lightning are a clear indication that a new season has emerged. With the landscapes shifting and the foliage changing colour, new species begin to show their faces. Wildlife will change their feeding and mating patterns and the Greater Kruger will be splattered with a variety of colours.
Here are the top photos from the week, a selection of creative wildlife photos taken during the emergence of Summer.
The Klaserie has recently seen incredible bolts of lightning and thunderous, echoing skies. As the Summer season approaches, so are the storms. Such tumultuous skies have not deterred our wildlife. One of the Trilogy male lions was seen mating with one of the Ross Pride breakaway females – the same one who lost her cubs a couple of months ago! This mating ritual of theirs has been witnessed on two separate occasions!
Just the other night, we noticed a kettle of vultures circling above the landscape. Rangers tried to find a possible kill site, but were unsuccessful. At least Kevin managed to photograph these notorious birds of prey. With the change in weather and the shifting landscape, all the interesting critters are making themselves known.
Ezulwini River Lodge and Ezulwini Billy’s Lodge
The bountiful Balule has had the lion’s share of the sightings this week! The Olifants West pride were seen patrolling their normal turf, the males from the York Pride broke away from their female counterparts and the Balule Pride has also been spotted. Two unknown leopards and the graceful blue-eyed boy, Chavaluthu, were also seen during the course of the week. Our most exciting sighting to date is the appearance of a rather cheeky pack of wild dogs who took it upon themselves to chase a leopard up a tree!
Our lone buffalo bulls, bugs of the Balule and plains game are also dominating sightings. We’ve selected a few creative snapshots taken during the week. These are the ones you haven’t seen – we’ve kept them especially for today!
Leopard activity in the Sabi Sand is at an all time high! During the course of the week, Mxabene came out to play. Mxabene displayed a huge amount of patience while waiting for his prey. He was clearly out for blood. These photos depict a perfectly poised leopard showing off his grand stature. Mxabene was actually maintaining his statuesque pose for quite some time – he was waiting for a warthog to come out of its burrow. The Mxabene sighting certainly has been a highlight of the week at Umkumbe Safari Lodge.
While the lightning was putting on a display for guests, a herd of elephants approached the swimming pool and decided it was a perfect time to drink. Moments like these don’t happen often! The Trilogy male mating with the Ross Pride breakaway female was a sighting enjoyed by both Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp. Hopefully we’ll see cubs in the near future! We seem to say that quite often…
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