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.
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