With the start of the rain season dawning on us, there is always the concern of when is the “real” rain coming?

With everyone talking about the possibility of a drought this coming rain season, we can clearly see the visible results of the rain being later than usual.

The female impala is still patiently waiting for the first proper rainstorm before they will give birth. They can hold back on giving birth for up to six weeks to make sure the conditions are perfect for their new born babies.

All these concerns will hopefully be forgotten soon as we can clearly hear the distant rumble of thunder in the distance on a quiet afternoon with the sight of spectacular storm clouds forming on the horizon.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed it will happen soon…

“Leopards are solitary animals.” A statement that most guides will use at someone’s first leopard sighting. This fact makes a sighting such as a leopardess and her cub even more incredible.

However, as the cub begins to grow up, the mother will begin to become a lot less tolerant of the youngster in her space. A prime example of this would be Basile and her now sub-adult male cub.

It has been a privilege for us to watch this young male grow. However, it seems as though Basile is showing signs that it may be time for her bouncing baby boy to leave the den and go brave the world.

She has started growling, hissing and making it very clear that he is not welcome in her space. This is bitter sweet as it means he will now become a little more nomadic and move further out of his parents’ territory, but it does also mean that this will be Basile’s only successful litter to date. Breaking “the curse” that has been hanging over her head as a mother.

On an afternoon drive, Johan called giving us an update of an Elephant birth not far from the lodge. Upon arrival the herd had surrounded the mother and calf. This is done to protect the mother and newborn from any predators.

We sat and eagerly awaited the first steps of the newborn. It generally takes around 30 minutes before a newborn can stand.

Soon after the elephant calf stood up on its shaky legs and rested up against mom. At this stage the other females in the herd were trying to bury the afterbirth so that no predators could pick up on it.

You could sense the excitement from the herd towards the new addition. There were grumbles and trumpets from different herd members to welcome the new elephant.

Eagerly the other young elephants of the herd were itching to go and greet their new family member but the females of the herd were being very protective and kept the youngsters away until it was able to walk.

Once this tiny elephant was able to walk, the herd made their way towards a local waterhole only a few hundred feet away where they enjoyed a celebratory drink.

The Mhangene have been going through a bit of a turbulent time recently. Having lost two of the older lionesses and 3 cubs to run-ins with nomadic males, it left the 3 remaining lionesses with 7 ever-growing mouths to feed.

So far it seems they have found a good rhythm and have had some success while here in the West. The remaining youngsters have had a couple of Buffalo and are looking strong and healthy.

With bigger prides being quite scarce in the West at the moment, any sighting with the Mhangene is a special one and with the ever watchful presence of the Plains Camp Males checking in on their cubs, hopes are still pretty high for the success of the remaining 7.

Chameleons are animals known to most, but what do we actually know about them and what makes them so special? They are highly specialised old-world lizards and are estimated to have been around for 65 million years with over 200 species worldwide and come in a variety of shapes and sizes! Here in the Sabi Sand game reserve, our most common species of chameleon is the Flap Necked chameleon. These little reptiles mainly feed on any small insects, flies and beetles.

They spend most of their lives in shrubs and trees and are rarely seen by the untrained eye. They can fool the best of us by simply disappearing into the greenery of the bush.

Even though most people think they can change colour based on the object they’re resting on, this is not completely true.
They’re colours are usually based on a variety of different factors, such as their mood, lighting, temperature and humidity of the environment that they find themselves in. They change their colour in less than a minute when they come across another chameleon or a potential threat.

They perform large-amplitude eye movements that are frequently referred to as independent, or deconjugate. When prey is detected, the chameleon’s eyes converge to view it binocularly and ‘lock’ in their sockets so that visual tracking is by head movements. Once they’ve locked into their target, they use their extremely long tong (almost twice their body length) to catch the prey. Their tongue has a saliva that is almost 400 times stickier than a human to ensure that the prey is not going anywhere once caught!

Of course, being a reptile is not an easy life. It’s a constant fight for survival as they are a huge source of food for many animals.

We quite regularly see them on our night drives as this is when they hunt, so when I saw this chameleon out during the day. I couldn’t help but stop for a picture, they truly are fascinating little creatures.

We are ecstatic to announce that after 10 litters Basile has finally raised a cub to independence. This incredible young male leopard has been named Vutomi, which means life in the local Tsonga language.

After Khokovela’s disappearance, her young female cub was left at a young age to survive by herself. She has been keeping a low profile trying to stay away from the much bigger female leopards in the area but luckily it seems she has found a good spot to start her independence. We have named her Rivala, meaning the forgotten one, in the local language, Tsonga.

We hope to share amazing sightings with our future guests with these two incredible young leopards.

If you’re interested in experiencing an awe-inspiring South African safari, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our reservations desk at book@leopardhills.com.

Alternatively, click here and make use of the quick and seamless online booking process and start planning your ideal vacation today.

We look forward to welcoming you to Leopard Hills Private Game Reserve.