The Week In Pictures #633 – Londolozi Blog

First time spotting the Nottens (4:4) Male in the deep southern parts of Londolozi. A beautiful young, relaxed male. We were lucky to be able to keep up with him as he weaved through a lush, thick area before popping out at a nearby water hole to settle down.

While on the move, I tried my best to take any opportunity we had to try get a few close up images of his face and spot pattern.

One of the Ntsevu Cubs, still restless and full of energy, leaves the sleeping pride to seek out a nearby trunk to sharpen his claws.

Intrigued! While sitting with the Nkuhuma Male on a buffalo kill out in open grasslands, I spotted an interesting looking nest on a nearby branch of a dead sicklebush. Being able to identity tiny reddish eight-legged creatures, I knew it was some sort of spiders nest. Turns out, it is a hatched Golden Orb’s Spider’s nest – one of the most popular types of spiders we see during the summer months here at Londolozi (no need to worry, they are harmless to humans).

With a recent bout of consecutive rainy days, we came across the Ntsevu pride laying out in the open, and got to enjoy the playfulness and social interactions amongst the cubs. Pure entertainment that made us completely forget it was even raining.

Given the recent hot, humid summer evenings, and a lot of recent rain, I was struck with admiration for a recent evening’s sunset and a glimpse of blue sky amidst all the pink and purple hues. A white-backed vulture perched on a dead knobthorn created a great silhouette in the foreground.

Water holes are full (some virtually overflowing) and the hive of activity around these areas is endless! The usual docile hippos are outwardly excited about the high water levels too and they have provided a lot of entertainment of recent.

In the hope that she might lead us back to her cubs (which was unsuccessful), we nonetheless got to have a great sighting of the Ximungwe Female drinking.

As Robbie described in a recent blog regarding Xinkhova’s potential territory, we have been fortunate to have had a number of sightings with this leopard very close to camp! On this particular afternoon, we found her resting in a marula. Not one bit phased with our presence, she posed perfectly as my guests enjoyed their first ever leopard sighting!

African Green Pigeons providing a pop of colour on the road up ahead as they too enjoy the abundance of water around the reserve at the moment.

There is simply nothing better than a golden sunset in the open grasslands while we watch hundreds of buffalo approach and engulf our vehicle as they gather at a water hole for a final day’s cool down and drink. I enjoyed this image as the back light catches the flies surrounding this cow as she stares in our direction. Although it looks like water droplets, they are in fact the many many flies incessantly following her around.

We recently came across the formidable Senegal Bush Male on an early evening patrol of the central part of his territory. What made this sighting particularly unique was the incessant chorus of barking that came from the by-standing herd of impala that could not take their eyes off of him.

Nothing beats time with elephants, but what particularly drew me to this image was the contrast of colour. After a day of rain, washing this elephant bull’s tusks pearly clean, the weather offered a moment of tranquility for our afternoon drive, even though we knew the ominous clouds in the background were looming. The dark and light contrast surrounded by the deep greens of the vegetation was striking.

It may not be a leopard in a tree with a kill, but it is not every day we come across a Martial Eagle in action! A juvenile martial eagle, crop already full, finishes feeding on a water monitor kill. It takes between 5-7 years for a this eagle to reach adult plumage.

A relaxed Maxims Male. Spotted weaving his way through a dense block of vegetation, he provided a moment of relief for the photographers in the vehicle as he stopped to briefly groom his paws atop a termite mound. Something suddenly caught his attention beyond our vehicle in the distance, and I could not have been more excited to capture my first sharp portrait image of this impressive male leopard.

A southern red-billed hornbill overlooks our afternoon drinks stop, while simultaneously soaking up the warmth of the golden evening light.

Two playful elephant bulls cause a traffic jam on one of the main roads out of camp early one morning. But hey, who’s complaining… I’ll sit in this kind of traffic any day hehe.

One of the Ndzenga Males jumps to attention as he hears one of the Ntsevu lioness’s calls in the distance.

A prominent (and noticeable) feature flying around Londolozi in the summer months is the ‘comb’ on the bill of a male Knob-Billed Duck. As part of the breeding plumage, a male’s bill grows to show off his strength and stamina as he tries to attract potential mates.