Wild Dog Den

The pack is gone.

It was life as usual at the den up until a few days ago....then one morning we found the tracks of two lionesses which had approached the den in the evening and moved on again. We feared the worst as we could only see the adults in the area and they were visibly unsettled. Thankfully in the afternoon the pups were out and there were still eight, but the encounter with the lions must have been too close for comfort as the alpha female decided to move the den. The whole pack started moving with the pups in tow, and eventually settled at another large termite mound about 2 km away from the previous den. The new den was on Savanna property which was great as it was closer to the lodge, but they only stayed for three days before moving the den again, this time further east and beyond the border of our concession. It is unclear as to why they moved again so quickly, but it may have been the lack of prey as the pack has decimated the small antelope population in the surrounding area over the last 3 months. So while it is great to know that all the pups are all still alive, it is very sad that they have now left our concession and that after getting to view them every day for the last 3 months we will probably not see them again for a long time.

 

 

 

 

 

Mapogo and Ximungwe Pride

All the Mapogo and the Ximungwe pride were seen again in the last two weeks. On one occasion all five adult lionesses were seen together which has not happened for many months. The older and middle aged cubs are still doing well, but we have yet to see the youngest cubs that must be almost 2 months old now already. The big news however came from the east where it was rumoured that the three Mapogo brothers had the long awaited clash with the younger coalition of four males known as the Majingilane, and this was barely four days after the Majingilane had killed one of the young Southern pride males. What exactly happened is unclear as nobody witnessed it but when the Mapogo returned west they were visibly beaten. All three brothers had gashes and limps but at least all three are still alive. If the brothers are looking worse for wear it would be interesting to see what their opponents are looking like! So while it seems like the lion dynamics in the Sabi Sands are hotting up, it seems as though that the aging Mapogo are not going to give up without a fight and for the moment they are still the kings of the western sector.

 

 

 

 

 

Southern Pride

Probably the sighting of the last two weeks was the Southern Pride taking down a buffalo right outside the lodge. As we departed on morning drive we came across the large herd of buffalo in Savanna big clearing, which is not unusual, but they seemed restless and movement in the grass revealed why. Barely fifty meters from the herd were four young males and one young female from the southern pride. They had just taken down a buffalo bull and were starting to feed while the herd looked on. The pride was somewhat uneasy though and kept a high vigil, the slightest disturbances sending them running from the carcass. We later found out the reason for their nervousness was that they had just had an encounter with the Majingilane coalition in the east which proved fatal for one of the young males. So with their confidence low and knowing that they were in Mapogo territory they just could not settle down and actually left the carcass during the day and went back east. This left the carcass open for vultures that accumulated in their hundreds and then eventually the hyenas which battled the birds for the remains. By the end there were 10 hyenas that made short work of the bones.

 

 

 

 

 

Kashane Male Leopard and Hlabankunzi Female Leopard

Kashane made his regular boundary patrols as usual and even managed to pick off an adult male impala. While he was confined to the area of the kill Hlabankunzi managed to seek hi out as she continues to try and find a mate. But as before, Kashane was not interested and kept her at bay with vicious snarls. Hopefully Hlabankunzi can convince Kashane to mate as it would be great for her to have more cubs again.

 

 

Shinzele Male Leopard

Shinzele has been concentrating his patrols along the river for the last two weeks. It seems the pressure from Mashiyambanje north of the river has him on his toes as he will not want to lose the prime territory along the Sand River.

 

Mashiyambanje Male Leopard

Male leopard tracks south of the Sand River suggested that Shinzele had been active in the area but upon following up it was Mashiyambanje at the end of the tracks. He crossed back north of the river but the fact that he had been active in Shinzele’s territory suggests he is challenging the older male directly for the space along the river.

Hlangisa Female Leopard

Hlangisa spent the last two weeks down south without too much wandering which is encouraging. We realy do hope that she will be able to establish herself down south as we have seen her grow up here and she is a fantastic character. As usual she climbed trees and posed for hours on end, allowing us to get yet more fantastic leopard photographs.

 

 

Metsi Female Leopard and Cubs

After leaving the cubs way down south for a number of weeks she took them way up north! Metsi and the relaxed cub were found at an impala kill north of Ulusaba Rock Lodge. The second more nervous cub was probably there but he was not actually seen due to his preference to rather stay out of the lime light. The cubs have then been seen fairly regularly up in the central parts of the concession as they no doubt await patiently for their mother to return.

 

Wild Dog Den

It has been life as usual at the den this past week. The mother has however started leaving the pups on their own at the den to go with the pack on the hunt. This obviously leaves them somewhat more vulnerable but is also a sign that they are maturing quickly. It has been 10 weeks now since the dogs started denning and on average they only stay about 18 weeks so we are making the most of viewing them before they move on. Although the pups started eating meat at 4 weeks old they are not completely weaned off yet and on occasion the mother does allow them to feed which usually ends up in a frenzy of competition for limited suckling space! Otherwise the hours of playing around the den have certainly kept us entertained and we look forward to much more.

 

 

 

 

Mapogo and Ximungwe Pride

All members of the coalition and the Ximungwe pride were seen this last week. The major sighting though was when Makhulu and Sataan brought down a young hippo just after sunrise near Skwenga Dam. With so much meat they stayed in the area of the kill for most of the week, but were joined by the female with the oldest cubs and the female with the youngest cubs towards the end. The other three females and the middle cubs spent most of the week together in the southern and eastern parts of the concession and did not take part in the hippo feast.

 

 

 

 

 

Kashane Male Leopard

Kashane has been quite active in the southern parts of his territory around Savanna Lodge this past week and it looks to be due to the presence of a new unidentified female leopard hanging around this area. He sent the female up a tree on one occasion before sauntering off and leaving her in a visible state of shock. She then came down and followed him at a distance and called, no doubt with the intention of notifying the male of her availability. Kashane had other things on his mind however and left her in his wake.

Shinzele Male Leopard

Shinzele had an interesting week, starting off with a confrontation with Mashiyambanje. The river is definitely the boundary between these two males as Shinzele stayed on the southern bank and Mashiyambanje on the northern bank. There was not much aggression but it seemed both leopards were daring each other to cross the line and start a fight. This did not happen though and they seemed content to respect each other’s space and eventually moved in opposite directions. Shinzele’s other exciting moment was when he found himself rudely forced up a tree by members of the Ximungwe pride and Skoro Mapogo. He did have a kill and had managed to get it up a tree in time so all he had to do was sit it out. This he did and the lions eventually moved off in search of a meal of their own.

Mashiyambanje Male Leopard and Tai Dam Female Leopard

With most of the viewing taking place south of the river this week, it was a nice bonus for vehicles going north of the river to find Mashiyambanje at Top Dam. An even bigger bonus was that the Tai Dam female was with him! They were not seen to mate but it is a sure sign though that she has sent her 20 month old male cub into independence.

Hlabankunzi Female Leopard

Hlabankunzi was on the receiving end of some thievery this last week when a Ximungwe lioness stole her freshly killed impala. Alarm calling impala attracted a vehicle to the area but also attracted the lioness that promptly moved in, chasing the smaller cat off the kill, and claimed it. Hlabankunzi could do nothing but climb a tree and watch as the lioness feasted on the carcass. At one point she came down the tree and moved in a bit closer to see if there were any scraps she could salvage but the lioness sent her on her way with a snarl.

 

 

Hlangisa Female Leopard

Just when it seemed Hlangisa was getting settled she went roaming again. She was seen firstly around Dam 5 which is where we thought she would probably set up territory, but then later in the week she popped up north of Ulusaba which is on opposite ends of the concession. Hopefully she will settle soon and not go east beyond our border.

Metsi Female Leopard and Cubs

We saw the cubs regularly this past week but got a little concerned when Metsi had not returned after 8 days to fetch them. The cubs occupied themselves by climbing trees and chasing each other, but were getting visibly thin without having a substantial meal. They are 14 months old now which is a little young to be sent into independence but young leopards have been sent as young as 9 months old. To our relief Metsi did return at the end of the week and lead them to an impala carcass. The hungry young leopards finished the carcass in one night and tracks the next day suggested that Metsi had again left them around Ximungwe before setting off in search of another meal.

Unidentified Female Leopard

Some rather perturbed jackals could be heard calling for several nights near the lodge and eventually one morning we found the source of their concerns. It was a slightly shy female leopard new to these parts and she had killed a male reedbuck. She remained in the area for the next 3 days and got a little more used to the vehicles. On the third morning a hyena got scent of the carcass and managed to pull some of the dangling legs of the carcass out of the tree in which the leopard had stashed it. The leopard did not take kindly to this and approached the hyena to try and retrieve the scraps. The hyena responded by chasing the leopard who duly backed off as the much smaller contender. After the confrontation we assumed the female leopard would disappear never to be seen again but to our surprise we found her a tree right outside the camp as we set out on morning drive the next day. She was visibly upset and we soon discovered the reason – Kashane. Kashane must have detected the presence of a new leopard in town and let her know in no uncertain terms that he is the dominant male in these parts. After Kashane had moved on the female leopard actually followed him and called to him as well suggesting that perhaps she is looking for a mate which could be the reason she is out of her own territory.