The Week in Pictures #665 – Londolozi Blog

As we begin to approach the end of our dry season it is hard not to reflect on how the golden hues and dusty auburn shades of winter have provided us with some spectacular photographic opportunities. With less water around and the warm winter days, waterholes are always a must on afternoon drives, especially in search of breeding herds of elephants who have come down to drink.

The lion dynamics continue to keep us enthralled as the Kambula Pride cover great distances overnight as they continue to provide for all 18 of them. The Nhdzenga males continue to control the central and eastern parts of the reserve keeping other coalitions at bay, with the Plains Camp males still to the west of them and a brief sighting of the southern Avoca male in the southwestern parts of the reserve.

Undeniably, the Nkoveni female and Three Rivers female, motherhood journeys have provided us with unforgettable sightings as they raise their cubs respectively. The Nottens male, although not frequently seen has still been in the southern central parts of the reserve, and at first glance, he looks just like the Nweti male. The impressive Maxism’s male has begun to expand his territory more westwards as female leopards within his territory continue to raise his offspring.

The fascinating dynamics of the Toulon pack and the ‘adopted’ wild dog pups continue to captivate us as we watch their story unfold. Soon these three pups will be old enough to follow the adults on hunts and no longer confined to the den.

With the change in season, a few migratory birds have begun to make their way down south, and excitingly I got to see my first ever Western Osprey in the Sabi Sands. As the winter days grow longer and the spring warmth sets I look forward to the weeks to come.

Let us know your favourites in the comments section below.

Enjoy This Week In Pictures…

The splitting image of his father – the Nweti male.

One of the pups was moved to another den and waited patiently for the other adults to return.

After feeding the single pup the pack then moved to the next den where the other two remained. Before entering the den the pack checked out the surroundings before calling the pups out. You can see the alertness by their ears as they check their surroundings.

The intense stare of the Maxism’s Male as he quenches his thirst at a waterhole.

Fairly skittish male that is presumed to have come from the Kruger National Park.

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The Kambula subadults practice their hunting skills by stalking and tackling each other.

Caught in an ’embrace’ just before they both plummeted to the ground

The mane of this young male is starting to show more and more as he plays with one of the female subadults.

Splashing about while having a drink, this large female elephant put on quite the spectacle.

An inquisitive young elephant calf appeared to be all brave and confident while standing right next to its mother.

My first sighting of the Southern Avoca male who briefly moved through the reserve before heading back south. He is looking a little thin and his mane has lost a lot of its volume.

A White-fronted Bee-eater comes in to land on a log on the edge of the waterhole.

Forced into early independence as her mother was killed by the Southern Avoca Males.

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The two Ndzhenga Males have been holding strong and continually performing extensive territorial patrols.

A Western Osprey is an uncommon non-breeding Palearctic migrant recognizable by its white crown and dark brown band through its yellow eye.

We headed out in search of the Nkoveni female and cubs one morning and came around the corner to literally find her crossing the road ahead of us.

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.

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The Nkoveni female scans the riverbed below before leading her cubs acorss it.

The Nkoveni Trio cross in front of ranger Jess Shillaw and her guests.