Sightings Update: 11 – 18 February 2013

 

This has really been a week where the pieces of the puzzle have come together. Once again the lion sightings have been interesting, but there was also a cheetah sighting and a few leopard sightings to top the cake. We had one good storm and the Nwasitsontso River flowed once again, if only for a few hours.

 

 

Lions

Koppies females

These girls have been keeping a low profile since the Matimba males were with them. It’s possible that the additional pressure coming from these males and the disappearance of the Sizanani males has turned their world upside down. Mpho had a sighting of the Koppies females to the south of Mantwan Mphisi pan where they were moving south west towards Ndlulamiti road. After crossing the small drainage line, they moved into thick bush and he was unable to relocate them.

 

This sighting, however short, tells us that they are content to stay put and not run with their males, the Sizanani males.

 

The Matimba males & Nkuhuma females

 

These males have once again delivered exceptional sightings in the last week and these sightings have confirmed the foothold that they have in the Manyeleti.

 

 

 

The first sighting we had this week was between South gate and Pungwe access. They were on a kudu kill with two of the Nkuhuma females and two of their young male cubs. At first we thought that the moment the kill was finished, the males would try to find the young males and kill them. The females were really relaxed and the thought that these were Matimba cubs never crossed our minds. To our surprise the males were not aggressive towards the youngsters, except when they approached the food too closely. We are therefore happy to announce and introduce the young Matimba males. These cubs are exceptionally lucky because the area they live in is secured by their powerful fathers.

 

 

 

These youngsters are real characters and showed the normal curiosity of young lions. They approached the vehicle, sniffing and trying to get as close to it as they can. It almost seemed like they were egging each other on. After that they started playing and like true brothers, they had to play with the same stick.

 

 

Three more Nkuhuma females were found around S8 and Pod Mahogony accompanied by nine little surprises! These must also be Matimba cubs as it is slap bang in the middle of their territory. Slowly but surely they are settling the lion politics that has unsettled this area for such a long time. Hopefully they’ll dominate this area for a while to come.

 

 

 

The same three Nkuhuma females were found a few days later on Metsikitsoro plains. Their demeanor was intense and they began hunting a mixed herd on the plains. Impala, Wildebeest and Zebra were all over the plains and the females were using the wind to their advantage. We watched as they started to set up a classic lion ambush. Unfortunately for the lions, the wind changed and the game was up. We followed them for a while as they started moving south again, back to their cubs.

 

 

Nkhuma Females

Matimba Males

 

Leopard

Beacon male

 

There were three sightings of this male this week. All sightings were around the Main dam area. We noticed that the Main dam female was in the same area as well and is possibly the reason why he has not moved around too much this week. He is proving to be a difficult leopard to photograph and is always in the thick bush close to the dam. He also prefers moving around fairly late in the evening.

 

Unidentified Leopard

 

We had two sightings of other leopard in the area. The one was close to the lodge and the other was in the drainage line close to S8. Both were not very relaxed with the vehicles, but Eric managed to get a few photos of the male at S8. We will use this to try and figure out where this male comes from and where he will move to in the future. This is all part of the project we run to try and understand the leopard population in the Manyeleti. If anyone recognizes this male, please send us a message with the information.

 

Cheetah

 

We were lucky enough to find the female cheetah just outside the lodge again. Patrick found her at Xigamba pan stalking some Impala. He had only seen her for a few seconds when she sprung her trap. Pat and his guests were treated to a full chase, but unfortunately for her, she missed. This is not unusual at all, as cheetah normally only have a 20% success rate.

 

She took it all in her stride and again treated us to a good sighting by posing and giving us excellent photo opportunities. She moved north towards Buffalo plains, stopping to get a drink from puddle of water in the road. She was very wary and kept looking around for any danger. She clearly smelt the Matimba males that were in the area.

 

Other views from the bush

 

It’s been a great week in the bush and we hope you enjoyed the blog!

 

Darren and the safari team
Photo & Video editing by Darren Roberts-York



 

Sightings Update: 7 - 11 February 2013

The bush has been a cracker over the last little while and has produced plenty of fantastic sightings in a short space of time. Much less rain has fallen and things are starting to dry up but the dams are at least still full. As we approach the end of the rainy season, it looks good for the animals going into the dry time. So far, since September, we have received 763mm of rain. There is plenty of food and water for the prey species which means that the predators will be spoilt for choice in the coming dry season.

 

Lion

Koppies females

 

It’s been a bit difficult finding these girls lately as it seem they have moved in a westerly direction into gabbro plains. Unfortunately this is clay soil and with all the water around, it’s as good as trying to drive on an oil slick.
 

We did have one sighting in the last four days but all does not seem well unfortunatley. When we eventually managed to find the youngest female, she was in pretty bad shape. We have been waiting patiently for her to show us her cubs, but when she was found she was no longer lactating and her condition looked a bit worse for wear. She seemed skinny and had obviously gone through a tough time.
 

A few things go through my mind as to what possibly happened. It may have simply been another predator that found her cubs and killed them. Another reason might be that she has been on her own now for a good two months, as lionesses distance themselves from the rest of the pride to have their cubs. This time away allows for the lioness to imprint her scent and sound on the cubs. However, this is also the most difficult time as they have to kill for themselves, by themselves. For a social hunter this is not easy! The second theory is therefore that she wasn’t able to kill often enough to sustain her lactation and in the process weakening herself. It’s not uncommon for young mothers to abandon their cubs.

Either way, we are not sure what happened, but it does seem that she has lost her cubs.

 

 

Matimba males & Nkuhuma females

 

We've had three sightings of these males in the last four days and as always are providing us with fantastic viewings. One concerning sighting was of one Matimba male close to Vulture pan. This is usually an area that the Sizanani males move to when the Matimba males venture into their territory. Hopefully these incursions deeper and deeper into Sizanani territory don't become habitual.

 

We also found the blonde male with the three Nkuhuma females just off Pungwe access and the two darker males were found close to south gate.

 

It seems that a pattern of their movements have emerged. The three blonde males have the southern Manyeleti firmly in their grasp and have completely tamed the Nkuhuma females. The two darker males dominate the central Manyeleti and also interacts with the these females but also the Koppies girls. Induna, the oldest male, moves further east into the Kruger area but at this stage he is only awarding us with infrequent sightings.

Nkhuhuma female movements

 

Matimba male movements

Leopard

Beacon male

This male is really starting to establish his territory in the central Manyeleti and we are getting more sightings of him more frequently. One of the hotspots for this male is the area around Lomfane pan, where he was seen this week. It was at Lomfane pan where he snuck up to a lion prides buffalo kill and fed from the kill a couple of months ago.

 

Another hotspot is the area around the lodge and once again he was seen here in the last four days. He was seen again on Panicum road and moved north towards Tamboti road.

 

The other identified hotspot is Main dam and I’m sure we will find him in this area soon enough.

 

 

 

Main dam female

At one stage we thought she had lost one of her cubs, but how wrong we were. Two leopard cubs were seen at Manor House pan and that night she was seen close to reception. Both were brief sightings but at least we know her cubs are still alive and well.

The last we know of their movements are that their tracks were seen heading towards Helens road. We will monitor the Main dam area for the next few days to see if she moves into her traditional area.
 

Other views from the bush

 Fritz managed to get this incredible footage of an African Wild Cat. Usually they are quite shy but this youngster decided to reveal itself.

 

 

 

 

Deep in thought - I wonder what this button does?

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the blog!

 

Darren and the safari team
Photo and Video editing by Darren Roberts-York