Mapogo and Ximungwe Pride
The Mapogo brothers have been continuing their preference for buffalo this last week and managed to kill two at the same time! The three brothers were accompanied by the lioness from the Ximungwe pride that lost her small cubs a few weeks ago and Sataan was showing a lot of interest in her, suggesting that she was coming back into season. The female did not take too kindly to his advances and on one occasion lunged at him aggressively. There was also a fair amount of aggression between the brothers towards the end of the carcass. After 4 days of gorging on the two carcasses the brothers moved steadily all the way to their eastern territory to make sure that no intruders had taken advantage of their absence during the feed. Stability in the Ximungwe pride seems to have settled and the three mothers have been together the whole of the last week with their respective cubs. They always looked full suggesting that the hunting is going very well now that the three mothers are able to hunt together again. The fourth lioness joined the pride for a short while but was then whisked away by Sataan as she is no doubt coming back into season. The four cubs with the pride are all looking well but there has still been no sign of the two older cubs after the tragic passing of their mother.
OTHER SIGHTINGS
Kashane Male Leopard
Kashane made a few appearances and was obviously very aware of the potential easy meals on offer in the form of new born impala lambs as he stealthily moved through his territory, nose often to the ground. He did spot a herd of impala’s with numerous lamb’s on one occasion but the ever vigilant mothers detected his scent and fled with their youngsters bounding away as fast as their growing legs could carry them.
Shinzele Male Leopard and Tlangisa Female Leopard
Tlangisa was back in Shinzele’s area again and looking to gain his attention as she has attempted a few times already. Shinzele was having none of it again and aggressively repelled her every time she approached closer than a few feet. It was fantastic however to see this intricate interaction between two adult leopards and we eventually left the two still involved in their games.
Tlangisa Female Leopard
Tlangisa was seen on her own a number of times as well and was as far north as the Sand River near Kerri Crossing on one occasion which is the furthest north we have ever seen her. This suggests that she is still exploring for a possible territory although it does seem that she is getting more comfortable around the central and western parts of the concession. As per usual she gave us ample photographic opportunities as she posed in trees and lazily regarded the vehicles with uninterested stares.
Dewane Male Leopard
Dewane male was seen a few times but the most interesting sighting was of him feeding on a tiny elephant calf. We are not sure what happened to the calf but it seems that it may have been still-born and that Dewane was attracted to it by the smell once it started decaying. He remained in the area for two days and seemed unfazed by the stench and rancid meat. The flies did irritate him though and he would move away occasionally to sit in the long grass and seek some reprieve.
Hlabankunzi Female Leopard
Hlabankunzi was seen often this week and is looking more and more pregnant! Only time will tell though as most of the leopards are looking a little fatter than usual with all the easy meals available in the form of new born impalas. We were with her one morning and actually witnessed this phenomenon as she spotted an impala ewe from her perch in a tree. It became apparent that the female impala was in fact giving birth and Hlabankunzi wasted no time in descending the tree and stalking the unfortunate antelope. All waited with bated breath as we anticipated the emotional events that were about to unfold. Hlabankunzi got to within a few meters from the mother impala before pouncing and bringing her down right beside the vehicle. This was not the end however as the newborn calf was now gaining its feet and the movement caught Hlabankunzi’s eye. Quite remarkably the leopard did not kill the calf and instead lay down next to the struggling youngster. The calf’s first sight in its life was therefore Hlabankunzi and it wobbled towards her and seemed to regard the leopard as its mother even though its real mother lay dead just one meter away. Hlabankunzi did not know what to do at first and regarded the calf with amusement but then instinct kicked in and she began pawing at it. The leopards claws must have alarmed the calf as it started trying to get away but this just triggered Hlabankunzi to pursue it and a game of cat and mouse developed with Hlabankunzi refusing to put the calf out of its misery. After two hours the calf was eventually killed and Hlabankunzi settled down to her feast.
Wild Dog
Two male wild dogs unexpectedly appeared at Mackenzie windmill one morning and we were treated to some exciting viewing as the two dogs moved rapidly westwards and chased some impala which managed to evade these clinical hunters. The morning heat eventually forced the dogs to take cover in the Day One river and we did not see them again until the next day when, while watching a rhino mother and young calf, a herd of impala exploded into view and stormed past followed by the two dogs. Again they were unsuccessful and were followed until they entered some very thick bush where not even the landrovers could follow.
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