If you don’t know about the colors of Africa, take a look…..
The Vomba Young Female pauses in her search for monitor lizards on the banks of the Sand River. As this young leopard continues her endeavors to improve her hunting, she seems to have found many of these reptiles along the river. Shortly after this photo was taken, she managed to nab one; however, her father, the Camp Pan Male, was close by and quickly stole it from her.
An impala carcass lingers in a tree. Usually, if a leopard abandons its kill, the vultures and tawny eagles are quick to descend and polish it off.
Two young elephant bulls tussle, full of themselves on a cold winter’s morning. Eventually, one of the females in the herd got so annoyed by the shenanigans that she chased both away, despite being much smaller than either of them.
This week we have had visits from several unknown leopards. This young male posed obligingly for us while hunting for monitor lizards.
The view from Winnis’ Clearing on a winter’s evening. A few days ago on the evening of the Winter Solstice, the sun set completely to the right of the escarpment’s ridge. As we wait for the Winter to conclude, we will watch as it sets further left each evening.
At only a few months old, the Wild Dog pups we have been viewing seem to have endless energy. There are seven youngsters in total, and the adults have been diligent about moving the den site often. This can make tracking them difficult, but will be vital for their survival, and our sightings of them are that much more special.
Confident and cocky, a young male leopard walks past a sunbathing raft of hippos.
An impala leaps aside Taylor’s Dam, while the rest of a herd and a Woolly-necked Stork look on.
The Marthly Male, clearly recognizable by his ‘mane’ as well as his torn right ear, patrols his territory south of the Sand River. In this sighting, he was being followed by the Vomba female, but seemed indifferent to her affections. Having watched the Camp Pan male and Dudley 5:5 Male fight over territory and mating privileges with her, perhaps he is cottoning on to her strategy…
After feeding on a giraffe carcass, the biggest of the three Mapogo males, who used to be the dominant coalition at Londolozi, came for a drink in the late afternoon light. Despite looking older than before, these three males are still in a strong condition.
A herd of buffalo rests during the heat of the day. With Winter firmly upon us, the grass is steadily drying out making it harder for the buffalo to supplement their nutritional needs on a daily basis.
An unknown female leopard and the Emsagwen Male growl at each other. The two were seen mating, which in leopard normally involves much hostility, but this female was particularly aggressive in her persistent efforts.
A family of Egyptian Geese have an evening feed at Shingalana Dam.
The alpha male of the Wild Dog pack shows off his prize: a duiker head. He seemed less interested in feeding on it than taunting the rest of the pack. It has been suggested that Wild Dogs use the head of their prey as a ‘trophy’ to play with once a kill has been made.
The unknown young male knew investigates unfamiliar grounds. We are hoping to see more of this stunningly beautiful leopard.
