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Kelly Dam and her kill

Night time in the bush can be a daunting thing for some, but sometimes it yields wonderful surprises.

One of our rangers, Cal, headed down to the reserve’s airstrip to fetch some guests. As he passed through a wooded area something caught his eye. It was an impala in a tree, but no leopard in sight.

That evening after sunset, our game drive vehicles headed back to the area and guests were treated to a wonderful sighting as the leopard had returned to finish her kill.

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As we arrived at the scene a female leopard called Kelly Dam sat casually in a tree feeding on her kill.

Kelly Dam - Cal Butler

Sitting in silence and surrounded by darkness we all just marveled at the sights and sounds of the feline tucking into her meal.

Kelly Dam - Cal Butler Kelly Dam - Cal Butler

There was some interesting interaction as 2 hyena came to visit hoping that Kelly Dam will drop her meal or at least parts thereof. She was not phased with their presence and just stared them down.

Kelly Dam - Cal Butler

After she had her fill she moved over to another branch and took a nap for the evening.

Kelly Dam - Cal Butler

Written by: Cal Butler

Mhangene’s saving grace

Life can be tough in the bush, even at the best of times.  For the subadult lions of the Mhangene pride life seems to be hanging by a thread.

The Mhangene pride was once a highly successful pride and their numbers stood strong at sixteen. The pride consisted of 4 adult females, 3 female cubs and 9 male cubs. The adult females were ferocious hunters and were highly skilled at taking down buffalo.

Image by - Johan de la Rey 01Image by - Johan de la Rey 02With a weekly supply of fresh buffalo, the young cubs always had round bellies and have since grown into sub-adult lions.

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There was word of some large male lions making their way towards the western sector of the Sabi Sands. Soon afterwards the adult females made their way towards those males to mate with them and they simply haven’t returned since.

Image by - Johan de la Rey 10

The sub-adults were left to fend for themselves for the last 2 months. They were all inexperienced and had not been taught how to hunt correctly. This lead to their detriment. Two sub-adult females have since perished and the young males find themselves in a very vulnerable position. They had become extremely skinny and their lives are hanging on by a thread.

Image by - Johan de la Rey 11 Image by - Johan de la Rey 12

Last week something miraculous happened. The young males managed to find some energy and somehow killed a buffalo on their own. This event was with out a doubt their saving grace and has provided them with enough food to last a little longer.

Image by - Johan de la Rey 13 Image by - Nigel Ridge 18 Image by - Johan de la Rey 17 Image by - Johan de la Rey 16 Image by - Johan de la Rey 15 Image by - Johan de la Rey 14

Written by: Cal Butler