Leopard Kills Wildebeest Calf

Off we went on safari on a beautiful summers afternoon...it was just perfect! We had bumped into a rhino with a very young calf and spent some time with them and enjoyed watching the calf suckling from the mother. We then headed off and went in search of some other things. On the the way a call came in over the radio explaining that one of the other vehicles had found a female leopard hunting in amongst some impala and wildebeest. I had the fastest finger and called myself into the sighting. Then I dropped a gear and hit a Ferrari safari towards the leopard. We were only about three or four minutes out but we unfortunately just missed the kill. When we got there the wildebeest calf was still kicking and struggling but within a couple of minutes the life had been squeezed out of the poor thing.

The leopard was now exhausted from the effort she had put in and added to her exhaustion was a blistering day that was approximately 35 degrees Celsius. She hovered over her prize for a short while catching her breath and then started to drag her dinner towards some cover. This was in order to get it out of sight of any greedy eyes that could be watching. Vultures are often circling at this time of the day and if the spot the carcass they could possibly attract unwanted attention such as other nearby predators. Unfortunately for her the nearest decent cover was about 500 metres away. It took her nearly 30 minutes to drag the carcass to where she thought it would be safe. She then proceeded to fall asleep next to the carcass.

Through the evening she found time to fetch her 11 month old cub and bring him to the kill to feed and then left in the early hours of the morning. We could tell all of this from the tracks in and around the area as well as the fact that we followed the lions the next morning straight to where she had stashed the kill. We watched them investigate for a short while obviously smelling the blood and then move off.

Sunsets

Being summer out in the bush we are blessed with some incredible sunsets. From high, thin cirrus clouds to thich dark cumulus clouds. All these change the impression you get and the colours are truly amazing! The most spectacular of these colours come after the sun has dropped beyond the horizon and its light then gets reflected in all different colours. Here are some of the sunsets over the last 2 weeks. 

The lion cubs arrive....

Nothing better than starting the day out with a cup of coffee and a sunrise. The rest of the morning followed suite as we headed out on drive to enjoy 5 hyena feeding off a rhino carcass (full story to come). Just watching their interaction and listening to their communication absolutely fascinates me.

We also enjoyed plenty of general game this morning with giraffe, impala, waterbuck, warthog and kudu. The impala lambs feeding from their mothers, warthog chasing a waterbuck and also 2 different rhino mothers with very young calves. The babies were no more than three months old and look like little pigs with bumps on their noses.

The highlight of the morning came when we found the next warthog....except he was not in as good condition as the first one. He had a lioness lying next to him, was missing half his rump and the 2 lion cubs were using him as a jungle gym. This is the first time that I have seen the cubs and couldn't contain my excitement!!! They were only seen for the first time 2 weeks ago and I haven't had an opportunity to see them until today. Here a couple of photos of the new boys at Sabi Sabi.  

Leopard Hills

On my first day of leave my good friend, Dave, invited me to come spend some time up at his lodge, Leopard Hills, in the Western Sabi Sands. It is a beautiful lodge and for an avid bush lover as myself it is always nice to see a new area, new bush and of course new animals. Dave made it a point to show me why it was called leopard hills and on the evening drive we spent an hour or so with 2 leopard cubs, one hunting bushbuck and the other lounging on a rock.

The following morning we found them again except this time with their mother. She had managed to kill a baby bushbuck and had gone to fetch the little ones so that they could eat. It was amazing to watch the interaction between the cubs as one showed dominance over the other. The more dominant cub taking the kill for herself and growling, snarling and hissing every time the other cub looked her way. The other cub was far more interested in a bit of social grooming with her mother.