Makhulu and Sataan have been mating with a Ximungwe lioness and an Ottawa lioness respectively during the last week. They have however now met up with the third brother and were seen last night taking a bit of heat from a herd of elephant which chased them around for about half an hour. Once the elephants moved off the brothers made their way south and east where they were reported to be tailing the large herd of buffalo just east of our border this morning. They are however now much closer to the area where a Ximungwe lioness has a kudu kill and her cubs. Once the vultures get airborne during the day it is almost certain that the brothers must see them and now know that there is a potentially easy meal nearby. It will be interesting to see what has happened overnight once the big cats have gotten active.
Ximungwe lioness and cubs
One of the major sightings of the week has been this single lioness with her cubs. She managed to kill an adult male kudu all on her own near Nkombe Dam and then brought the cubs to the kill. They have been on the kill for the last three days now and the vultures have arrived in their hundreds. For this reason the mother has tried to bury the entrails and move the carcass under thicker bush but the presence of the vultures and the ever increasing stench is just delaying the inevitable arrival of the Mapogo who were seen coming south towards the area last night. The cubs are looking well though and steal a bit of milk every now and then when mom is resting even though they are feeding mostly on meat now. Lets just hope that Makhulu Mapogo can protect the cubs from Sataan should the coalition arrive at the kill tonight.
Hlangisa female leopard
The other major sighting this week has been Hlangisa who managed to kill a young waterbuck a couple of days ago. She fed off the carcass for a day on the ground but then was forced up a tree by a hyena. This worked in our favour as it improved the view dramatically and allowed for some great photography. She has since finished the carcass and was seen this morning moving through her newly acquired territory, scent marking and looking quite at home.
Mambiri female leopard
This is Hlangisa's mother. Unfortunately there is some bad news regarding this leopard as she was found a couple of days ago near one of the lodges with a very bad injury to her front paw. It appears she tried to attack a warthog but came off second best. She has been seen twice since and can only walk on three legs. This is almost certainly a death sentence as she will be unable to hunt or climb trees to get to safety should lions find her. We are all expecting the worst but you can never count these animals out as they are incredibly resilient. We are holding thumbs for her as she is certainly one of the favourites amongst the guides and guests who have had the pleasure of spending time with her.
Hlabankunzi female leopard and cubs
There is more bad news unfortunately. Hlabankunzi had two cubs but three days ago one of them was killed by a new young male leopard moving into the area called Shinzele. The father of these cubs is Tegwaan but it seems he is trapped north of the flooding river and so has been unable to patrol his territory south of the river which has enabled Shinzele to move through it freely. He came across the mother and her cubs at night and caught and killed the one. Hlabankunzi managed to get the remaining one to safety and they were seen the next day moving way down south to get as far away from Shinzele as possible.
Kashane male leopard
This monster of a leopard was seen two days ago trying to sleep off the last of a big meal. He had climbed a tree to try make the best of the light breeze during the midday heat but he was clearly still uncomfortable as he restlessly changed position and panted heavily. His tracks were seen this morning in the southern extremity of his territory but who knows where he has gotten to as he certainly lives up to his name 'Kashane' which means 'the one who walks far'.
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