Greg Coates Photography

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