Wild Dog Den

It has now been three weeks since the pups first emerged and they have been seen every day since then. They have doubled in size and every day they are getting bolder as they spend more time exploring the immediate surrounds of the den. The mother is still very protective though and does not let them stray too far. With the pups growing quickly the demand for food has increased and the rest of the pack is having to hunt twice a day. On one occasion we managed to view a spectacular attempt on a herd of impala as one dog ran straight into the middle of the herd to create confusion and the rest of the pack circled them to cut off the escape routes. We could not keep up with the chase but it became evident that they were successful when some members returned with blood on their faces. There was one nerve racking moment a few days ago when Sataan and a Ximungwe lioness walked straight into the den. The dogs reacted by distracting the lions and sending the pups deep into the den. Fortunately Sataan was probably more interested in courting the lioness and they moved on without too much drama. During the heat of the day the pack usually rests at the den but this morning something disturbed them and upon closer inspection we found a rather bewildered Serval perched in a tree. The unfortunate cat had ventured too close to the den and the male dogs quickly made it known that it was not welcome. Two hours later it was still there which suggests it has a long, hot day ahead of it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mapogo and Ximungwe Pride

The big news is that the Ximungwe pride has two new bubs! They were first seen a couple weeks ago when the mother was moving them across a dry river bed but since then we have not seen them much. They look to now be about 6 weeks old. Otherwise the other four cubs are still doing well. Sataan has continued his courting efforts and is still paired off with a Ximungwe lioness after three weeks! Skoro has also been mating so it is not only the impalas doing their thing at the moment. Makhulu has been on his own most of the time except for one morning when he met up with three Ximungwe lionesses on the hunt. They killed a young impala which  Makhulu claimed and sent the lionesses on their way to try catch something for themselves...which they did! They caught another impala and managed to eat it without being interrupted as Makhulu was busy with the first kill. He ate the whole thing in one sitting and moved off west, no doubt in search of the lionesses again.

 

Ottawa Pride

It appears the Ottawa pride has been dealt a double blow with the oldest female and one of the cubs being killed recently. The oldest female had been missing for a while and then her carcass was found in the far northwest corner confirming that she had died a good few weeks ago. Reports from the east are that the cub was killed by an unknown male lion during a skirmish beyond our boundary. The rest of the pride is however looking in good shape and we had them on our concession for most of the last week. They came across a buffalo carcass in the Sand River from which they fed for two days before leaving the scraps to the hyenas and vultures.

 

 

 

 

Shinzele Male Leopard and Hlabankunzi

Hlabankunzi spent most of the last week following Shinzele around, trying to get him to mate. As before though he took no notice and continued with his territorial duties. On occasion Hlabankunzi would get a little too insistent to which Shinzele would respond quite aggressively, letting her know in no uncertain terms that he was still not keen. Hlabankunzi eventually got the message and left Shinzele to go in search of another prospective mate.

Kashane Male Leopard and Hlabankunzi

Kashane has made some brief visits as he patrols the eastern and southern extremities of his rather large territory. With so much ground to cover he does not tend to stay long and does not seem to have much time for anything else, even a keen young female looking to mate, in this instance Hlabankunzi. After being rejected by Shinzele, Hlabankunzi went in search of Kashane but, as with Shinzele, Kashane completely ignored her advances and eventually she gave up with him as well, returning north as Kashane continued south.

Ndlevane Male Leopard

A male leopard was located with an impala kill, but as soon as the vehicles got close the leopard reacted aggressively making it quite clear that it was Ndlevane. It was decided to leave him in peace and he was not disturbed again.

Shangwa Female Leopard and Cub

Shangwa ventured onto our concession for the first time in many months and as an added bonus she brought her cub with her. It is the first time the cub has been seen in the west and it looks to be a 7 month old male. It was a dead buffalo in the Sand River close to our eastern boundary which had attracted her. The two fed from the carcass intermittently and lounged in the shade during the day. The cub is a little wary but relaxed down and was very affectionate with his mother too which Shangwa responded by grooming him. The next morning they were gone though as the Ottawa pride had moved in and taken over the carcass during the night. Hopefully it will not be months before we see the mother and cub again.

Hlangisa Female Leopard

Hlangisa was choosing to be elusive this last week and even appeared to be toying with us at one stage as we tried tracking her for hours on more than one occasion. Her tracks would lead us in circles until eventually one morning she was found on the move. She seems to be covering a lot of ground which suggests that she has taken up the challenge laid down by Metsi and Hlabankunzi for a territory in the south. She still has a bit to grow but what she lacks in size at the moment she more than makes up for in attitude! In typical Hlangisa fashion she did climb a tree and pose for many minutes on one occasion before continuing on her way again.

 

 

 

Metsi Female Leopard and Cubs

Metsi and the cubs were fairly elusive for the past few weeks but then she was spotted close to Savanna which is quite far south for her. She was not seen again for a few days after that but alarming jackals at night suggested that she was still in the area. This was confirmed yesterday when the cubs were found in the area as they waited for their mothers imminent return. Return she did and immediately the reaction of the cubs suggested that she had made a kill and was going to lead them back to it. They moved westwards towards Jackal Alley and every now and then Metsi would stop to give the cubs a chance to look for the kill rather than her just showing them where it was, a key part in their development to utilising their sense of smell. It was like watching an Easter egg hunt as the cubs clambered over rocks and bounded through long grass until eventually one of them found the carcass of a young reedbuck. In true leopard behaviour only one fed at a time and lots of aggression was shown between the cubs as they tried to compete for feeding rights. When we followed up this morning they were nowhere to be seen and hyena tracks in the area suggested that they had lost the kill to this eternal nemesis.

Xikavi Female Leopard

Other breaking news is that Xikavi appears to have cubs!! We all doubted her ability to conceive after the numerous unsuccessful courtships she had with Shinzele, but this was dispelled when she was spotted carrying a new born cub a few weeks ago. She has not been seen since as we have tried to minimise disturbance in the area where we think she has the cubs, but hopefully there will be some confirmation soon as to just how many she actually has.

Wild Dog Den - The pups have emerged!!!!

We have been eagerly visiting the den every day this past week in anticipation of getting the first glimpse of the pups and finally yesterday they emerged in what can only be described as an unbelievable experience. We were following the rest of the pack as they went off hunting but as is often the case we lost them as they chased after what looked like a steenbok. After a few minutes we relocated a few of the pack who had been separated during the chase and we waited with them for the other members to return. As the missing members returned the pack got very excited and we noticed that some of them had blood on their faces. They all started heading back for the den and we followed in hot pursuit in anticipation of the successful members feeding the mother. As we got to the den the pack arrived and the mother immediately put on a raucous of begging to induce the pack to regurgitate meat for her. This they did and amongst all the excitement we noticed movement at the entrance to the den. The moment had arrived and we all scrambled to focus our cameras on the entrance. What followed is impossible to describe with mere words so here are the first images of what we counted to be at least 8 pups that look to be about 4 weeks old.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mapogo and Ximungwe Pride

All three brothers and the whole Ximungwe pride were seen this week, although not all together. The brothers started off their week by covering a lot of ground and giving some impressive roaring displays in the mornings. With the mornings getting fairly chilly now we could even see the mist on their breathe. They did however split up when Sataan found a Ximungwe lioness in oestrous and proceeded to spend the rest of the week courting her. By the end of the week the other two brothers had also split with Makhulu choosing to go it alone and Skoro choosing to stay with two Ximungwe lionesses and the smaller cubs.
 

  

     

 

 

 

The smaller cubs are becoming quite adventurous and spend most of their time tackling each other or pestering their mother, who doesn’t always appreciate it. Their antics have been providing us with hours of entertainment and we hope there will be some more cubs on the way to take over from them as they are growing quickly.

 

 

 

 

The older cubs are still being kept away from the pride by their mother. At the age of 9 months it would be expected that the cubs would be a permanent part of the pride by now. Even so we are still seeing them regularly, and as with their younger siblings they are still providing some good entertainment. One night we found the mother and one cub lazing in the road but could not find the second cub. It was a heart stopping moment as we presumed the worst, only to be reassured by a soft call coming from up in a tree close by! We watched as the youngster uncomfortably balanced himself around the branches and then laughed as he half climbed half fell out of the tree. 

 

 

 

 

 

Kashane Male Leopard

There was only one sighting of Kashane this last week and it was not a great one. We found his tracks leading us all the way from the southern parts of his territory on Savanna up to the middle parts which must be over 2km. It therefore took a while to track him and by the time he was found he had already entered a drainage line to get away from the increasing heat of the day. It was a poor visual and he was left to relax in the shade of some thick vegetation.

Shinzele Male Leopard

Shinzele was fairly elusive this past week with only two sightings of him either lazing about or moving through his territory. He seems to have avoided Hlabankunzi’s advances for now but his territory encompasses another 4 females so he has his work cut out for him.

Bushlodge Male Leopard

This young male leopard appears to be on his way back east after having spent the better part of a month trying to get through the western fence. With quite a few well established male leopards in the area already it was always going to be difficult for him the squeeze in here and he is going to have to run the gauntlet back east and possibly live life under the radar until he is big enough to become a challenger. He did however give us some great viewing as he moved through rivers and also climbed a tree at dusk. It could however be the last time we see him.

Xikavi Female Leopard

Xikavi was seen three times and as with the previous week she managed to catch yet another male impala. We got to her as she was still strangling it and then watched as she dragged the impala for about 50m towards some thicker vegetation in order to conceal it from the vultures. The big meal lasted her most of the week until one of the Ximungwe lionesses picked up the scent of the decaying carcass and stole it from her.
 

 

Hlabankunzi Female Leopard

Hlabankunzi was seen three times and provided some good daytime hunting and patrolling activity. The one sighting however had her rather agitated and the presence of a second set of female leopard tracks in the area confirmed that she was on the war path to find the transgressor. The trespasser was found a few hundred meters away in the form of Hlangisa who had perched herself in a tree, blissfully unaware of the fury that was looking for her. Hlabankunzi eventually found Hlangisa and actually climbed the tree to chase the younger female away. Hlangisa made a hasty retreat and ran southwards after which Hlabankunzi followed her for a while to make sure she had left the territory.

Hlangisa and Metsi Female Leopards

 After Hlangisa’s encounter with Hlabankunzi earlier in the week she had yet another spat, this time with her older sister, Metsi. This time it was Hlangisa who was found intently following the scent of another leopard and then started jogging about, roaring and salivating. It was obvious that there must be another female in the area but she just could not find her, or perhaps she was being avoided. With her moving so quickly we did lose her in some thick bush, but another vehicle following up found her again, or what they thought was her! It was in fact Metsi who must have been in the area all along but decided not to confront the younger female. Metsi was relaxed and sauntered off southwards where she was followed for over an hour, scent marking and listening occasionally for the presence of prey.

I am away from the lodge for the next two weeks so the next diary update will be week 4 at the end of this month. You can however stay up to date with sightings at Savanna at http://www.savannalodge.com/news

Wild Dog Den

There has been a lot of drama at the wild dog den over the past week. It was confirmed that the beta (second) female had denned in a separate termite mound close by. The pack had therefore been splitting there time between the two dens. During the course of the week however the pack suffered a major blow when one of the females was killed by a Ximungwe lioness. The lioness came upon the den areas one afternoon and one of the mothers (we think the beta female) must have tried to distract the lioness but unfortunately paid the ultimate price. The scene was not witnessed but could be heard by vehicles nearby. The lioness emerged with a lot of blood on her and a wild dog carcass was found in the area a few days later. A second blow was dealt to the den when a few days later we found three dead pups near the entrance to the mound. It is thought that the alpha female must have either killed the pups (as they are not hers) or simply removed the dead pups that starved after their mother was killed. The pack was then seen moving the pups around the first den and they could have moved them to the second den as the pack seems to be spending all their time in this area. Although it is sad that some individuals from this endangered species have died, research has shown that only 10% of pups born to the beta female survive (usually killed by the alpha female) and up to 35% of adult members from a pack will die in a year, especially in an area like the Sabi Sands where there are high concentrations of both lion and leopard. On a positive note though we have continued to hear the pups in the den and the males from the pack are continuing to feed the remaining female so there must be some pups left. We hope to get some photos of them soon!

 

 

Mapogo and Ximungwe Pride

Both the Mapogo and the Ximungwe pride have been disjointed this week. The majority of the lion sightings in the week were centred around the female with the oldest cubs that made yet another adult male kudu kill. The size of the kill meant that it would take them a while to consume it which unfortunately meant that it was just a matter of time before other predators were attracted to the area. Makhulu arrived when the carcass was well into its 4^th day of decomposition and yet he claimed it, never one to turn down a free meal. This meant the lioness and cubs had got their share and they moved off to a nearby dam to drink and rest on some rocks.

 

 

 

 

Kashane Male Leopard

Kashane was again found patrolling his southern territory when he suddenly became very interested in a termite mound. He approached carefully and lay down about two meters from an opening of what we suspected was a warthog burrow. We stayed with him as he patiently waited, but our patience eventually ran out and he was left in the late morning. Upon returning in the afternoon it was evident that his patience had paid off as he had a fresh warthog kill at the mound. It was a young warthog which wasn’t going to last him long and the next morning his tracks indicated he had continued his patrols up to the northern part of his territory.

Shinzele Male Leopard and Hlabankunzi Female Leopard

Shinzele had a very busy week. He started off with seeking out the trespassing Bushlodge Male and although they ended up only about 200m apart at one stage they were not actually seen to physically interact. It is certain though that the scent marking and audio displays from Shinzele were enough to intimidate the younger male and Shinzele eventually left the area, satisfied that he had again won a mental battle. Later in the week we found Shinzele again, but he was not alone. Hlabankunzi was with him and making an attempt to court him. Again he was not interested and made his way east with the female in tow. The next day we found Hlabankunzi with a young kudu kill but Shinzele was nowhere to be seen. Distracted by the kill Hlabankunzi had lost sight of Shinzele and she made an effort to attract him again by roaring her intentions. Shinzele was obviously still not interested though as he was found further east but moving away from her rather than towards her. Hlabankunzi eventually gave up and returned to her kill while Shinzele perched himself in a tree and eyed some male impalas as they chased eachother about.

 

 

 

 

 

Bushlodge Male Leopard

This young male has been having a bit of a hard time this week as each time we saw him he was pacing frustratingly up and down the western fenceline. This suggests that he has already had an encounter with Shinzele and he is looking to get out of the area. Unfortunately there is nowhere for him to go to the west so he will have to run the gauntlet back east or perhaps make a challenge for the territory north of the river.

Hlangisa Female Leopard

We saw a lot of Hlangisa this week. She seems to be looking to stay in the south now after her foray to the north. Typical of Hlangisa we found her in trees surveying the landscapes on numerous occasions and she seems to have adopted a new pose! On two different days and in two different trees she chose to sit as if on a chair and casually stared into the distance, giving us some great photographic opportunities.

  

Metsi Female Leopard and Cubs

With Metsi pushing further east we are seeing a lot more of her and her cubs. One of the sightings of the week was of her and one of the cubs at a duiker kill when three hyenas charged in and forced them up a tree while they stole the kill. Unfortunately I was not able to get any pictures as it all happened quite quickly but the squabbling of the hyenas and the crunching of bones was a most impressive experience. We do not see hyenas often in this area so it was a treat indeed, although not for the leopards that unfortunately lost their meal. The next day all three of the leopards were seen and again Metsi seemed to be leading the cubs to another kill, so the loss of the duiker the night before was more an irritation rather than a catastrophe.

 

 

 

Xikavi Female Leopard

Xikavi made a few appearances and provided some great daytime hunting. She seems to have her eye on the rutting male impalas as they are less vigilant while chasing females and challenging other males. One of our vehicles was actually present when she managed to catch an impala and it was incredible to see how the rest of the herd gathered around the stricken animal as Xikavi suffocated it. (This image is courtesy of Paddy Hagelthorn, www.paddy-hagelthorn.com)

Cheetah

Makamisa made a welcome return in the middle of the week but then disappeared for two days before popping up again. He was very fat suggesting he must have had a kill in the area and must have been lying low as he finished it off. He was very sleepy and we left him resting on top of a termite mound in one of his favourite clearings.