Week in Pics: Wildlife Mashup

The week in pictures is a collection of our favourite wildlife images taken during the week. The problem is selecting the images, especially when you’ve had a bumper week. This week we’ve had phenomenal big cat sightings at our Kruger camps.

A lone cheetah was spotted relaxing in its natural habitat in the heart of the Klaserie. This proved to be an obvious delight for guests from Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp. Leopards are nocturnal creatures who spend most of the daylight hours hidden in the thicket close to drainage lines. They spend the day conserving energy which is needed for taking down prey when night falls. Our guests from nThambo and Africa on Foot spent a considerable amount of time with this sleek cat.

Umkumbe Safari Lodge had a legendary week. The Sabi Sand Wildtuin is renown for its high concentration of leopard and Umkumbe proved it true. White Dam, a female leopard, was spotted with her cubs. These cubs have not been since April and there was an underlying fear in our hearts that they had been killed. It was a momentous occasion when ranger Bradley discovered them alive and well. Coupled with this, guests witnessed a huge turf war between White Dam and the Nottens female leopard. This is probably because White Dam is protective over her cubs.

Ezulwini Billy’s and River Lodge had yet another fantastic sighting of the Olifants West pride of lions, one of the dominant lion prides of the area. Elephants are part of the furniture at Billy’s Lodge and spend most of their days walking under the famous wooden skywalk that overlooks the river and waterhole. It goes without saying that Ezulwini enjoyed an abundance of “jumbo” sightings.

nDzuti Safari Camp have had their fair share of lion sightings recently and the big male is now spotted on a regular basis with two females from the River pride.

This week, the birdlife has been prolific and the presence of plains game is at an all time high. As the summer fades and winter descends upon us, the vegetation becomes sparse, making for better visibilty. Groups of wildlife are descending upon available water sources, which means it’s easy to predict where to find herds.

Enjoy the week in pics!

Lion Calling

Olifants West Lion

Elephant Viewpoint

Zebra

Young Giraffe

Elephant trunk

Twin Giraffe

Buffalo calf

nDzuti Lion

Lion - nDzuti

Female cheetah

Giraffe Herd

Young Male Leopard

Leopard in Daylight

Side-striped jackal

White-crested helmet-shrike

Ross pride Lioness

Zebra herd

Playful zebras

Giraffe vs Zebra

Trilogy Male

Female cheetah

Male leopard

Ellie Calf Drinking

Kudu Bull

Ross Pride Female

Wildebeest Fight

Sub-adult Lion

Little Bush

Wildebeest Fighting

Male Lions

White Dam