The Week in Pictures #573 – Londolozi Blog

Clash of the titans! Two buffalo bulls throw their weight around in the open areas of western Londolozi. The sheer force with which they collide with one another is incredible. These two were bringing up the rear of a herd of what we estimated to be well over a thousand buffalo.

The exquisite Purple Crested Turaco catches the sunlight on its crest. Photographing these beautiful birds is not an easy task as they tend to hide themselves in the tops of the denser trees. This one had just finished drinking from a small puddle which allowed us a fantastic view as it jumped up onto a low, open branch.

A mother elephant and her newborn calf. Ageing elephants can sometimes be a challenge but there was no doubt that this calf was just a couple of days old, at the most. Still a bit unsteady on its feet, the calf often propped itself up against the mother as they slowly moved over the open crest.

The Ximungwe Female yawns from the cover of the long grass. She had an interesting interaction with the Ntomi Male this week where she in fact led him back to a kill despite the two seemingly having been separated for the last two months or so now. They proceeded to catch another two warthog piglets and an impala lamb in the same area.

An early afternoon thunderstorm this last week left behind the most incredible light as it passed. We happened to find ourselves with the Birmingham Male under this golden sky accompanied by a glowing rainbow. I wonder what the future holds for this stalwart male lion?

Compared to years gone by, the Flat Rock Male has been seen a lot less recently. It seems that he has shifted his entire territory north of the Sand River and continues to expand in that direction, beyond Londolozi’s borders. The pressures of the Senegal Bush Male from the south will no doubt be a factor in this move.

From this image, it is quite evident where the ‘saddle’ part of the Saddle Billed Stork comes from. I have always enjoyed seeing these birds and as we start to dip deeper into the rainy season, they seem to be appearing more and more often.

We spent a phenomenal morning with the Xinzele Female and her young female cub recently. It was only the third time I have seen this cub and it was great to see how relaxed she has become around us and the vehicles in the last month or so.

The facial markings of the Bearded Scrub Robin are quite beautiful and I’ve tried, over the last couple of weeks to get this exact photo; a square-on portrait. We have a pair that are nesting on our veranda in the staff village and I have now spent quite a few hours watching and photographing them as they move to and from the nest.

An impressive buffalo bull, one that has featured in previous TWIP’s in fact, made an appearance again this past week. He is quite unmistakable purely for his size and holds quite an intimidating gaze when he wants to.

A large elephant bull marches his way down to the Sand River. Although it had clouded over by this time, it had been an incredibly hot day and he had likely travelled quite a distance to get to the river for a drink and wallow.

The Three Rivers female poses perfectly for a drink, leaving a crisp reflection in the water below. She was accompanied by the young male that she is raising at the moment and, while we didn’t know it at this point, they were leading us back to a tree where they had two impala lambs stashed away.