There is always a sense of huge privilege watching a Mother Leopard & her offspring interact, as she lets you witness those special moments.
Spending time with Xhikavi and her (now nearing adulthood) Male Cub, who has been named Mondzo ( Mondzo is the Shangaan name for a Leadwood Tree ), you realise the time is nearing for him to move away from his Mother and start fending for himself. The two Leopards are still spending time together and the meals that Xhikavi are providing her cub are now diminishing quickly, as he is becoming an adult leopard.
Over the last two days Torchwood has been busy feeding on a Warthog kill. We would check up on him regularly, in the hopes to find him where he has hoisted the kill into a tree.
Yesterday afternoon we did the same, but when we got there he was still busy feeding on the ground. After a while just watching him and enjoying the amazing sight of watching a wild animal feed close by, a Hyena appeared on the scene.
The Hyena quickly picked up the scent of the kill and made its way straight towards Torchwood. Torchwood was to slow to react and tried his best to fend off the Hyena. Unfortunately for him the Hyena overpowered him and he lost his hard earned meal.
Majingilane Male Lion Coalition finishing of the remains of a Buffalo Kill.
All four Males were seen feeding together, paired with some intense growling and interaction. They were finishing of the last remains of the buffalo they had killed two days before and moved off shortly after as they were heard roaring in the distance.
Xikavi & her growing Male Cub were found on a Duiker kill, which she hoisted to safety from the waiting Hyenas.
They were seen lying some distance from the tree where the kill was hoisted. Xikavi kept an ever-watchful eye on her Cub, he then moved closer to his mother for some affection. He then claimed the kill as he played with the remains while the Hyena anxiously looked on for anything that might fall to the ground.
As guides we are very fortunate to call the African bushveld home. We spend many hours every single day as witnesses to mother nature’s astonishing beauty. As much as our days have some form of routine we always expect the unexpected, and no two days are ever the same. On the 26th of May, this point was proven yet again. We had just left a sighting of two lionesses and their three cubs, we were on our way home when a surprising call came through the radio. A word I had yet to learn and had to refer to our tracker Sipho and ask what this animal was. “Ndloti?” he asked in disbelieve. After a few seconds Sipho turned around with a great big smile and said “That’s a Serval!”.
Riddled with excitement, we dropped a gear and started making our way into the area where this small cat was called in. Keeping in mind that usually Serval sightings are so quick that the opportunity for a photo slips through your fingers before you have even reached for your camera.
Well we were absolutely flabbergasted when we arrived to see that this Serval was laying down 10m from the side of the road watching us with utter content. We managed to spend about 40 minutes with her as she moved through the brush and eventually disappeared into a thicket.
The next evening we managed to find her again, not too far from where we found her the previous evening. We were observing her moving through an open area where the grass was nice and short. Her ears flickered, and her behaviour changed instantaneously. She dropped her body, raised her shoulder blades, and began a very brisk stalk. Within a couple of seconds we managed to witness her kill and consume a field mouse.
We will certainly be on the lookout for her again in the hopes that she becomes more commonly seen, and awes our rangers and guests alike with her enchanting beauty.
Thlangisa and her two remaining cubs are doing very well and she is certainly looking after them in every way, especially when it comes to meals. She had the remains of two kills in the same tree, as they spent a couple of days feeding on them. The Cubs were hidden close by as she was resting in a tree some distance from where her kills were left.
She hoisted the remains of a Kudu kill into another Marula tree and then went to collect the cubs, bringing them back to where she had the meal. The Cubs had a good look at the kill safely hoisted, but preferred the company of their Mother below.
At 11 weeks old, the Cubs are now growing quickly and doing what they do best, playing with each other and their Mother.
The previous two cubs which Thlangisa successfully raised to adulthood, named Basile & Khokhovela, are also doing very well and have occupied territories alongside their Mother’s territory.
They have been providing spectacular viewing and we will update you on Thlangisa and her two cubs as they continue on their path to adulthood.
With the start of 2016 there has been quite a bit happening with the Leopards at Leopard Hills.
New Female Leopard
There is a new face within our traversing area, she is a young female leopard of a couple of years old, as soon as we have some more information on her we will be sure to update you.
Boulders Female
Boulders female has also been seen with two young Cubs of about 4 weeks old, hopefully they will grow up to be wonderful leopards with many special sightings.
Boulders Female by Hugo Breed
Thlangisa Female
Thlangisa female has given birth to another litter consisting of 3 tiny cubs, they are now about 8-10weeks old and doing very well. We look forward to following them and update you on how they are doing.
As guides we often get the question if we don’t get bored with going on game drive pretty much every day of our lives. The answer is no, we don’t. Even though we see the a lot of the same animals on a regular basis, we see them doing something different, get to witness different behaviour and interactions between different species. We also see them grow up and develop their own personalities.
But yesterday was one of those mornings I will not easily forget. It started out slow, we spent some time at a Hyena den and watched the adults interact with each other. We patiently waited at the entrance to the den, to be rewarded with a very young Hyena pup showing itself to us.
After this we headed for a relaxing coffee and muffin break with some Hippos.
We then set of again on the lookout for more animals before returning to the lodge. Suddenly one of the guests spots a puff of dust behind us. We started to reverse to investigate and we realized it was a Leopard(Torchwood) that had just caught a Warthog. We rushed over and positioned ourselves to watch nature at its rawest unfold in front of us. While Torchwood was still strangling this Warthog a Hyena came out of nowhere and approached him from behind. Torchwood didn’t flinch and just kept his grip on the Warthog’s throat.
The Hyena saw its opportunity and started to bite into the Warthog. This continued for a while, with the Warthog still trying to escape and the Hyena feeding on its hind quarters. Eventually Torchwood managed to suffocate the Warthog and then proceeded to slap the Hyena and try and chase it away. A tug of war ensued between the two.
Eventually the Hyena ripped a leg off of the Warthog and moved off to the side, while Torchwood, who was now exhausted, started to feed as well. He then started looking for a tree to hoist the kill and dragged the carcass all the way through a drainage line and up a Tamboti tree.
None of us could really believe that we were so fortunate to witness this.
So the answer remains no, we do not get bored. There will always be something exciting happening. Especially at Leopard Hills.
Yesterday afternoon as guests were on their way up for Tea, before heading out on the Afternoon Safari – Hlaba Nkunzi walked by the library on her way to the main pool, scent marking every prominent bush and tree. After spending time drinking from the pool, she made her way to the pathway of Suite 8 and continued on her territorial patrol.
This morning we were joined by Dayone Male and Xikhavi Female as they moved through the lodge and on to the deck of Suite 5.
Always a privilege to view these animals as they comfortably move through the lodge.
Over the last couple of days Hlaba Nkunzi has been seen spending time close to the Lodge. It also seems that she might have fresh suckle marks. We are all very excited and hoping that she might have a den site close to the camp.
Hopefully she decided to have this new litter in her old familiar stomping grounds…
Keep an eye on the Facebook page and Blog for further updates.
