The Weekly TWIPs present a journal celebrating the diversity of life and beauty surrounding us here in the heart of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. As we reflect on the past week with crisp mornings and warm winter days, we’ve been fortunate to witness amazing wildlife activity across the reserve, from predators and prey to large herds of elephants and giraffes, to birds and everything in between.
Viewing of the Kambula Pride continues, and the 13 cubs are doing very well. They were seen in a very playful mood one morning.
We were excited to see the Ntsevu Pride again after a lengthy period with them spending the majority of their time in the east. Their territory is now primarily north of the Sand River in Mala Mala. However, two of the lionesses killed a nyala on Londolozi, which encouraged the movement of their three young cubs back west for a few days. A Ndzhenga Male was also seen in this sighting, marking his territory with a few eardrum-buzzing roars.
On the leopard front, we spotted the Three Rivers Female as she scent-marked her way through the Maxebene River bed. We had an awesome sighting of the Nkoveni Female and her two cubs at a carcass. The Nkoveni Female managed to kill and hoist a young impala ram, and we were blessed with incredible views of the cubs climbing and playing in the tree between bouts of feeding.
Lastly, we also had a memorable sighting of a herd of elephants drinking at a waterhole. They were then joined by a dazzle of zebras, which created a beautiful scene.
Let me know your favourite images in the comments section below.
Enjoy This Week In Pictures…
Two members of the Kambula pride played on the edges of a mud wallow. The youngest litter of the pride are now approaching 10 months.
The cub got distracted for several minutes as the mothers tail whipped back and fourth swatting at the biting flies.
An adorable moment as one of the young cubs from the Kambula Pride is completely absorbed by the movement of its mother’s tail.
One of the members of the Toulon Pack of wild dogs pauses as he watches the rest of the pack trot up the road ahead.
A captivating stare from the largest Owl in the region, A Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl. One evening we stumbled upon this fascinating creature of the night on route back to camp.
An exciting discovery was finding the older Nstevu Lioness with her three young cubs. This was the first sighting of them as they have been staying on the eastern side of the Sand River in the neighbouring reserve.
A large elephant bull walked up the road and gave me a memorable picture opportunity. However, he was in no mood to make way for us so we drove off the road and allowed him to walk down the road.
An unforgettable sighting of the Nkoveni Female’s female cub scrambling down a tree after feeding on a hoisted carcass.
A leopard cub in a very playful mood! We watched as it jumped from one branch to the next.
It has been a privilege watching The Nkoveni Females’ cubs enhance their climbing ability day by day.
A mother Leopard looks on as her two cubs play around the base of a termite mound.
A gorgeous female who is found to the east of camp. Easily recognised by her 2:2 spot pattern she is often to be found in Marula trees.
U
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A portrait of the beautiful Nkoveni Female. At the age of 12 years old, she is proving to be a very successful female leopard.
Another Leopard cub picture! this time the female cub of Nkoveni poses while she is up in an Apple leaf tree.
The largest Heron on earth, A Goliath Heron. We drove down past the causeway and noticed him preening his feathers. Their necks have to be quite flexible in order to reach the feathers on their backs.
A large herd of Waterbuck walked up the bank of the Sand River and across the road in front of us. I really admire the unique marking these antelope have.
A unique view of a Giraffes neck as this male bends down to scratch an itch on his shoulder.
The Three Rivers Female is in fine condition as we are seeing more of her in the southeastern parts of the Reserve. One particular morning, we followed her for almost two kilometres as she scent-marked her territory.
Forced into early independence as her mother was killed by the Southern Avoca Males.
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Spotted this leopard?
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An unusual sighting of a baby crocodile and a Terrapin laying together on a rock in the Sand River.
Nick Tennick
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