The last while has produced some of the hottest weather so far this summer. Temperatures have been touching 38 degrees Celsius on some days and the animals have definitely been responding to it. Buffalo have spent most of their days cooling in mud wallows, while others have been taking shelter in whatever shade they could find.

 

 

 

 

 Lion

The different groups have scattered and while we haven’t seen a lot of a specific pride or coalition, we have seen most of the groups at least once or twice.

 

Sizanani and Koppies

 

The first sighting we had of these Lions was of a single female on a Buffalo kill on Buffalo plains. She was quickly joined by one of the other Koppies females and the two of them spent a few days feeding on the Buffalo. The third and youngest female hasn’t been seen in a while now, but we have seen tracks for one female around the Madache/ Tamboti area. After a careful calculation, we believe she may be preparing to have cubs. She was seen mating with the gimpy leg Sizanani male, as told about in the blog on the 23^rd of September, and it is possible that she is now distancing herself from the other females in order to find a suitable den site. She’ll more than likely spend the first two months away from her pride mates, all the while imprinting herself onto her cubs.

 

 

If this is the case, the area she has selected is a very good choice. It’s rich in prey species and cover for the cubs are guaranteed as this is in a drainage line. Also the Matimba males generally don’t venture this far west and the Ngala males don’t venture this far south. The local hyena population also prefers the open gabbro area’s to the west of Tamboti. The only major concern is that it’s a favourite area for a lot of the Leopard in near vicinity. Now all we can do is wait for her to bring them out once she is ready to show and tell!

 

 

The other two females were seen again in the company of the two Sizanani males just off a small track between Tamboti and Sable west. This was the only sighting we had of the males since the last sightings report.

 

Sizanani Males

 

Koppies Females

 

 

Matimba males

We had one very interesting sighting of these majestic males. Mpho found three of the males not far from Metsikitsoro plains, close to Main Dam. They were moving quite rapidly and he had his work cut out for him as they took the lead. They got to the plains and were sniffing around. Something had really peaked their interest, but the heat of the day forced them to cut their search off, at least until it cooled in the afternoon.

 

 

Mpho noticed fresh tracks of two females heading west into the Koppies females territory. Two of the females had been here very recently and this is clearly what these males were after. The Matimba males have done well in securing a big territory but have not yet secured the females that come with it. It seems they may have some charm issues!

 

That afternoon we returned to where they were left that morning and as it was still very hot they were still blissfully sleeping in the shade. After about 20 minutes they started stirring. First order was to get a drink and they made their way to the small pan on the plains. Like old pro’s, they were on the scent trail again. We followed them and as they found where the ladies had lain down they started Flehmen grimacing, testing every bit of information they could get out of it. One after another, they sniffed and walked. The Koppies females have had run-ins with these males before. This time they were clever enough to outsmart them and luckily got away in time.

 

 

 

 

 

The New Pride

We had one sighting of these lions but it’s still a battle to gain their trust. Mpho found them on Hippo rocks, fairly close to Skybeds dam.

 

 

Skybeds males

 

Eric found two of these males once again at Skybeds dam in the north of the Manyeleti. They seem to come back to this particular dam fairly often and we’re hoping that the other seven males join them in the north of the Manyeleti. It should be a good area for them as the competition is very low in the north. If the new pride eventually settles here, it would be a largely unaccompanied pride.

 

 

 

Leopard

Beacon male

 

 

We were lucky enough to once again have a good sighting of this massive male. I saw male Leopard tracks heading east towards Main dam. The tracks went down into a big drainage line and I thought that was that. Being unable to follow into a drainage line, the only option that was left was to cut my losses and continue my search another day.

 

 We stopped for drinks at Main dam, hoping to hear a clue. We decided to head towards Ntzaka loop, as its one of the favourite haunts of the Matimba’s. On our way we passed the dam wall, and we got it! Our clue!

 

 

Monkeys were alarm calling from the Dam wall. We went to have a look and there he was. Lying on the Dam wall like Lord of the manor. We approached cautiously at first, not too sure which individual it was, but as we approached he became more relaxed.

 

 

After a few minutes he moved down the Dam wall, to the east. We couldn’t follow him directly and had to move around and hope for the best. He patiently waited for us to reroute and we followed him for a short while. He found some dry Buffalo dung and at first he started rolling in the dung. It’s believed that big cats do this to mask their scent. He then started eating it. This is not unusual behaviour as it aids in the replacement of nutrients they don’t get out of their carnivorous diet. We watched him do this for a while, until he closed the show and moved into the drainage line.

 

 

 

 

Other views from the bush

 

 

 

 

 

 

Darren Roberts-York

 

Photo & Video Editing: Darren Roberts-York