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Mohlabetsi Pride Tucks into Buffalo Kill

One of the many active lion prides in the prestigious Kruger territory, the Balule Nature Reserve, is the Mohlabetsi Pride. In an area where lions are prowling in every nook and cranny, the Mohlabetsi Pride is the largest at 17 members, plus a coalition of 4 males that dominates that pride (among others). Guests at Ezulwini River Lodge and Ezulwini Billy’s Lodge are in the thick of this wild world and morning and afternoon game drives result in some lion sightings of epic proportions! Balule lion dynamics are exciting to say the least, and lately the Mohlabetsi Pride was seen tucking into a buffalo kill, giving our guests something to write home about.

There are 4 subadult male lions, 9 lionesses, and 4 youngsters in the Mohlabetsi Pride, and their dominant leaders are a coalition of 4 males. The pride is very large and is not often seen together as a whole (and, boy, is that a spectacular sight!), and this time we found the pride they were joined by 1 of the dominant males known for his particularly blonde mane with a reddish tint. The tension between lions is palpable when they are sharing a kill, and the expression captured on the faces of these males is no exception! Flattened ears, snarling faces, and wide, golden eyes show the aggression these two males harbour.

The coalition of 4 males patrols the territories of not only the Mohlabetsi Pride, but also the Impalabos Pride and the River Pride, increasing their ownership of the land by a long shot. More and more, Duma’s Pride (aka. Olifants West Pride) is staying in the western part of the reserve to avoid conflict with other prides controlled by these 4 males. Ezulwini Billy’s Lodge guests get frequent sightings of Duma’s pride of 10. One of the leading males in the coalition of 4 is known as the Mohlabetsi male, and he has done what is uncommon for lions to do, and accepted the blonde male (featured in this sighting) when he took over the Mohlabetsi Pride.

The 4 cubs in the pride are at least 6 months old and are seen most often with 3 adult females. Out of the total 9 lionesses in the large Mohlabetsi Pride, there is a mixture of adults and subadults, but when this pride fragments, the 4 youngest lions are seen with 3 adults, which we can assume are their mothers. The subadult males in this pride are all the Mohlabetsi male’s sons and they seem to be growing nicely! At some point, it is expected that these males will be forced out of their pride when they come of age, but sometimes – case and point, this ‘strawberry blonde’ male having been adopted by the Mohlabetsi male.

Week in Pictures: Spots, Stripes, and Scales on Safari

Umkumbe Safari Lodge, Sabi Sand, Greater Kruger Park

It’s been another week for the books with remarkable leopard activity, dust bathing elephants and impressive antelope to take our breath away. Take a look at the latest on the newcomers if you missed it this week:

Africa on Foot, Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger Park

New arrivals on the lion front and some out of this world leopard activity are the highlights of this week, and we are never short of adorable animal activity in the form of elephants and a host of other species.

Ezulwini Game Lodges, Balule Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger Park

nThambo Tree Camp, Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger Park

John Chase Safaris, Central Kalahari, Botswana

Klaserie Lion Fight: Mabande Grapples with the Trilogy Boys

We speculated that things would heat up in the Klaserie with the presence of Mabande, the rather brazen lion who is making his presence known on our turf. We questioned what the Trilogy would make of Mabande and how they’d react to their territory being invaded. Our speculation has now turned into cold, hard fact. Things heated up faster than a bush fire on Sunday night. The Mabande male fought with one of the Trilogy boys, leaving a wake of destruction and whirlwind of dust in his path. This Mabande male will do anything for a kingdom, including taking on of the legends of the Klaserie. I came, I saw, I conquered is the motto in the world of lions.

I arrived in the Klaserie and an excited Greg told me about his and Mike’s first hand account of the sighting. Needless to say, I missed the crescendo of the lion saga, but I have feeling this is not the end. In fact, this is just the beginning. The A-team rangers will be watching the dynamics closely in the next few weeks and we’ll all be waiting with baited breath.

Here’s the story.

Greg says, “So, Mabande male was doing his normal contact calling. Then, the Trilogy obviously heard the calls and, having had enough of Mabande, moved swiftly across to where Mabande was located. We only saw Mabande and hadn’t noticed one of the Trilogy lying low in the thickets. Then the madness started! Mabande hadn’t noticed the Trilogy. One of the Trilogy boys stood up, he glanced over and then Mabande saw him. That’s when the attack happened. Mabande approached with a look of death in his eyes. Dust was flying, there was slamming up of bodies against trees and then they disappeared behind the termite mound. At this stage, both lions were unscathed. The lions were actually parallel to each other, run alongside and creating a storm of dirt and atmosphere of sheer adrenalin. The bushes were thick so we did lose visual”

Mike says, “Out out of the blue, the second Trilogy came to defend his brother, just following closely behind. Almost like a back-up crew. Mabande knew his limits and fled the scene!”

All three lions came away unharmed from the battle, but one of the seemed a bit unsteady on his feet when we saw them last night. After their fight, the Trilogy decided to hang around for a bit and made a buffalo kill. Yesterday afternoon, the boys lay around next to the carcass while the feint call of one of the Ross Pride Breakaway lionesses could be heard in the distance.

That night we returned to the kill site only to see the Ross girls and the Trilogy hungrily gorging themselves on the meaty morsels surrounding the buffalo’s rib cage.

So, where are we in the tale of the Trilogy? Last night, while we were exchanging pleasantries around the campfire, we heard Mabande calling. The Trilogy were calling, but from a different direction. Let’s see what tonight brings.

* I’ve actually edited the words used by our A-team rangers. Let’s just say the excitement right now is huge. Mike and Greg will keep us posted in coming weeks.

Catch the previous “episodes” and Mabande vs Trilogy history here:

Part one: http://www.sundestinations.co.za/blog/klaserie-lion-catch-up-new-male-lion-in-klaserie/

Part two: http://www.sundestinations.co.za/blog/new-nomadic-lion-mabande-mates-with-the-ross-lionesses/

When Animals Walk Through the Klaserie Camps

Isn’t it fantastic when you’re in the right place at the right time? Photographer Em Gatland was on assignment at Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp when a lion pride took down a buffalo outside the wooden chalets at nThambo Tree Camp. The elephant herds, becoming somewhat jealous of the lions being in the spotlight, decided to enthral guests with an unusual sighting of them drinking at the splash pool at Africa on Foot.

Guests were about to embark on their evening game drive when they were treated to the elephant sighting. The Klaserie camps are no stranger to these kind of sightings and our photographer managed to capture the awe-inspiring moments on camera.

These are the highlights of staying in an unfenced camp – animals can roam freely throughout. The wooden chalets at nThambo Tree Camp are elevated wooden chalets resting on stilts. Guests often mention hyenas and other animal scuttling under their rooms.

Here’s a summary of what happened:

Elephants Drink from the Pool and Hang Around at Camp

The small splash pools at both nThambo Tree Camp and Africa on Foot provide a much needed source of easily accessible water, which our jumbo herds seem to love. Both camps are open, which makes the pools an easy target for thirsty elephants. Having a hardy digestive system, they’re not affected by any chemicals in the pool and actually only drink clean water.

Elephants eat for 12 – 18 hours a day, which means they digest plenty of vegetation on a daily basis. Because of this, they need to constantly replenish their thirst. When the landscape becomes arid and the droughts hit the desperate lands, elephants dig deep into the sand to access clean ground water. When they’re done with these small pits they create, the muddy holes are actually utilised by other animals. But if they’re close to camp, they’ll save themselves the effort and drink straight from the swimming pools.

When guests aren’t enjoying elephant sightings from the confines of camp, they’re indulging in close-up sightings of these jumbos while out on foot.

Ross Pride Breakaway Lionesses Kill a Buffalo at nThambo Tree Camp

The Ross Pride Breakaway lionesses took down a buffalo right in front of nThambo Tree Camp! The bond between these sisters is strong and they’re incredible hunters. Nomadic male, Mabande, has been making his presence known throughout the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve. He made a kill close to Jason’s Dam and the Ross girls approached the area in the hopes of sharing the kill. They were chased away and decided to make their own kill outside camp, giving guests a sighting of epic proportions.

Portraits of Umkumbe’s Leopardess Hlarulini

The ever graceful leopardess, Hlarulini, travelled from the south of Sabi Sand reserve and was spotted patrolling the traverse around Umkumbe Safari Lodge. The first sighting of Hlarulini was of her hoisting a stolen kill into a tree for safekeeping. The fresh kill was abandoned by White Dam and Hlarulini, being an opportunistic leopard, hoisted the meaty impala into the fork of a tree. A male leopard snuck up the tree, knocked Hlarulini 4m to the ground and kept the kill for himself! This happened during the course of last week and rangers Marius and Mauritz were there with their guests, watching the antics unfold.

If you recall, Marius gave a quick rundown about the recent happenings with the leopards of the Sabi Sand , but today it’s all about Mauritz Senekal and his moments in time with Hlarulini. These photos were taken at the same sighting. It’s great to gain a different ranger’s photography perspective!

Here are 3 facts about female leopards, which will help to understand Hlarulini’s recent behaviour.

Leopards drag their kill high up into trees to keep their “meal” away from thieving scavengers. In areas where there are low populations of scavengers, leopards will devour their meal on ground level. This is why Hlarulini swiftly headed up the tree – notorious hyena Toothfairy was hovering around.
Hlarulini wandered over from south of the reserve. Female leopards tend to favour territories that have potential den sites and plenty of access to food. The home ranges of male leopards are far wider and they tend to overlap with territories of multiple females.
Leopards have a rasping, coarse call which they use to advertise their territory. Another leopard will respond with a similar responding call, which lets the intruder know that they exist.

Week in Pictures : A Mixed Bag of Wildlife Delights

Welcome to this week’s instalment of week in pictures, which is a mixed bag of wildlife delights. Plains game, big herds and predators have been quite present this week throughout our reserves. Without further ado, here are our favourite pictures from the week.

Ezulwini Billy’s Lodge and Ezulwini River Lodge

Both lodges have had a slew of successful game drives and activity at the camps. A graceful nyala female decided to visit River lodge and the elephant herds have been hovering around camp. This week, the plains game have been out in full force, which makes a nice change from Ezulwini’s big cat sightings. That’s not say there haven’t been any big cats! As a matter of fact, golden-haired boy Duma and his pride were seen in the dead of night and put on quite a display during the LiveBushFeed session. The River Pride has also been spotted, just patrolling and sleeping in the thickets.

Umkumbe Safari Lodge

It’s been a central hub of leopard activity this week in the Sabi Sand. The leopards were heard contact calling throughout the reserve and once again, the Umkumbe team have spotted leopardess Hlarulini and the lesser-spotted male Inyathini. As per usual, the buffalo and elephant herds continue to delight everyone with their antics in the riverbed in front of the lodge.

Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp

It has certainly been a busy big cat week for the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve. A lone leopard was seen heading into the thickets last night, but there wasn’t enough time to identify the sleek beauty! The highlight of the week most certainly has been the sighting of nomadic male, Mabande, mating with the Ross Pride Breakaway lionesses!

Update: Male Lion Mabande Mates with the Ross Lionesses!

Welcome to part two in the Mabande male lion saga – this time, things have heated up and excitement is mounting. The Mabande male, who we’ve recently introduced to our guests, is certainly settling into the Klaserie way of life. His presence is having a trickle down effect on the resident lions on the Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp territory. This is big news for lion pride dynamics. Just like the changing seasons, the lion activity seems to be coinciding with the shift. New seasons, new lions.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been closely monitoring Mabande’s antics. It appears the Trilogy males were also watching Mabande’s every move and, feeling threatened, the old legends returned to their grounds for a fly-by-night visit. We suspect this was just to show all and sundry who dominates the area. However, this didn’t deter the scraggly maned Mabande male, who continued to test the waters of a potentially new turf. If you recall, last week we reported that he killed a buffalo, followed the Ross Pride Breakaway lionesses and made his presence known around nThambo Tree Camp and Africa On Foot.

During the time when the Trilogy returned to their old domicile, Mabande seemed to lie low for a while. When he deemed it safe, he re-appeared with a vengeance! Is this boy actually be here to stay? There was speculation that he might just be passing through, but since Thursday last week, there’s been an interesting twist in the saga. You could say he has upped his game and asserting his dominance.

The virile male decided that mating with the two Ross Pride Breakaway lionesses was the next step. Since Thursday last week, Mabande has been spotted with his pants down, taking turns to mate with BOTH lionesses! In conjunction with that, he has been calling during the dead of night. Calling is normally a form of communication to advertise their territory. Contact calling happens at night because the air is still and sound travels further. During this time, not one of the Trilogy have responded to his territorial roars!

Greg Moran, a ranger at Africa on Foot, says “Mabande has been calling almost every night since Thursday and the Trilogy boys haven’t responded. If Mabande continues to hang around the Ross girls, then the Hercules Pride will leave them alone. There is a chance that if Mabande comes face to face with the Hercules Pride that he might kill off the youngsters.”

Why would Mabande want to kill the youngsters from another pride? Unfortunately, this can happen when a male is attempting to take over a territory. He would, in theory, want his own bloodline to be continued and will kill off the young within a pride. This also eliminates the possible competition from youngsters who may grow-up wanting to take his spot as leader.

Being brave and full of testosterone, Mabande tried to take down another buffalo last night during our virtual LiveBushFeed session. He stalked his target, but it was a useless attempt. He has probably expended plenty of energy during the mating process! The Ross Pride Breakaway lionesses certainly have had their fair share of warfare and drama. The Hercules pride killed their cubs, they’ve mated with the Trilogy and now it’s new beginnings for them with the Mabande male.

The Klaserie is alive with lion activity !

Catch all the history, the timeline and the full story of the first Mabande male sighting from ranger Mike Beard here: Mabande Male Lion Enters the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve

Stay tuned for the next part of the saga. Things are heating up fast.

The Grim Reapers & the Safari Clean-up Crew

If the hyenas are the clean-up crew of the safari world, then vultures are the grim reapers. When you’re on safari and you see a wake of vultures hovering above an area, you have that foreboding sense of death in the air. Hyenas surround a kill site, waiting in the wings for meaty morsels and bone fragments to satisfy their hunger. Vultures avidly and clumsily descend upon a kill site in the hopes of finding carrion. Both species play a vital role in the ecology of an area and prevent the spread of disease, but they’re not the most sought after animals to spot while on safari. Yet without them, the more revered predators, such as lions, may face disease.

Both vultures and hyenas are the scavenging crew that clean-up after an area and occasionally work in unison to get the job done. Although other smaller scavengers (such as the marabou stork and the jackal) do pick up leftover morsels, they’re not nearly as proficient as the grim reapers and clean-up crew!

Last week, the white-backed vultures and hyena clans were surrounding the remains of a buffalo carcass which was recently killed by the Ross Pride Breakaway lionesses. The hyenas and vultures dined together and cleaned together. There wasn’t much fighting, but certainly plenty of scurrying around, cackling and flapping of wings.

Here are the top 5 ways vultures and hyenas play a part in the ecology of an area:

Hyenas are scavengers and rather successful hunters. They eliminate the old and sick animals from populations. Hyenas hunt by chasing until exhaustion, so they’ll target they weak.
The more lions there are in an area, the more prone a hyena is to scavenging. Scavenging is access to “free” food. Through scavenging, they play an active role in the control of natural diseases by disposing of carcasses.
Each animal in the wild has a different immune system. It appears the spotted hyena has the ability to survive deadly pathogens and even anthrax.
If a vulture eats the carrion from a diseased animal, the spread of the disease will end there. Their stomachs are so hardy and immune system so strong that they feel no effects from eating flesh riddled with cholera, botulism and even rabies. They don’t act as a host for these diseases because their body will neutralise the deadly pathogens.
It has been noted, when the decline of vultures goes down in an area, then the spread of disease increases. Vultures are actually killed illegally for their bones, which certain traditions believe hold powers of premonition.

Hyenas and vultures certainly enjoy a somewhat cohesive relationship, vital for the ecology of a reserves. They love to clean-up the remnants of decaying carcasses, discarded meat and innards from predator kills. And they keep our reserves disease free!

Week in Pictures: Big Cats and Scavengers

We seem to have plenty of scavenger sightings in conjunction with our big cat sightings. I guess that’s just the nature of the beast! Cats are always on the hunt for food and scavengers are always waiting in the wings to pick up available scraps and dine out on carrion. Scavengers serve a vital role in the ecology of an area. They clean up the debris and remains from a carcass, which prevents the spread of disease. When a kill is conducted, you can guarantee that the scavengers will be awaiting their take-out meal. Here are a few highlights from the camps:

Umkumbe Safari Lodge

The appearance of two new female leopards, Hlarulini female from the south and the Ndzanzeni female form the north.
A rare sighting of the Inyathini male who wandered over from the Kruger Park in 2014.
A moment with White Dam and her cub, who is old enough to fend for himself, but was seen on a kill with his mother.
The thieving hyena called Toothfairy who, yet again, stole another leopard kill!
The bush is very dry at the moment, so there are plenty of sightings of large mammals and plains game, which are on the move in search of fresh vegetation. When the food moves, the big cats are seen patrolling and hunting to their heart’s content.

Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp

New rogue male, Mabende, has been spotted on numerous occassions and even made a kill next to one of the waterholes.
The Ross Pride Breakaway lionesses are still living happily on their turf. Mabende seemed interested in following their scent and tracks.
The Trilogy males have been lying low for quite sometime. They decided to make a guest appearance last night, just to show the Mabende male who’s boss of the turf.
The vultures and hyenas descended upon the carcasses left by the Mabende male and the Ross Pride Breakaway lionesses.

Ezulwini Billy’s Lodge and Ezulwini River Lodge

Two halves of the Mohlabetsi lion pride have been spotted lazing around in the thickets. The 3 lionesses are off raising their 4 cubs together, while the sub-adults and older female tend to congregate together.
Duma, the strong and dominant male form the Olifants West Pride was seen patrolling his turf.
Rangers had a brief sighting of handsome blue-eyed leopard, Chavalathu.

Marius Zeilinga’s Phenomenal Umkumbe Leopard Update

The rangers from Umkumbe Safari Lodge have sent in numerous reports of leopard sightings. The reports are coming in thick and fast, and we’re battling to keep up with them! Umkumbe is located in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, which offers visitors premier game viewing opportunities. In conjunction with being a lighthouse for conservation in South Africa, the reserve has a dense population of leopards.

Recently, game drives with Umkumbe rangers have produced a variety of leopard sightings, delighting both guests and rangers. Sightings have included the shy leopardess White Dam, White Dam’s sub-adult cub, Maxabene the stoic male, the Bicycle Crossing male and Tatowa, the brave young leopardess.

Imagine our surprise when avid rangers Marius, Nicki and Mauritz witnessed two new female leopards on patrol in the Umkumbe traverse. Coupled with the wide-eyed wonderment of two new leopards, there was also another unusual sighting of lesser spotted Inyathini male.

The new leopards are the Hlarulini female and the Ndzanzeni female. Hlarulini comes from the south and Ndzanzeni from the north (born in 2012). The Inyathini male remains a mysterious enigma. Not much is known about him because he wasn’t born in the Sabi Sand and its speculated he wandered over from the Kruger National Park early to mid 2014.

Having enjoyed sightings of firm favourite leopards and the protagonists of Umkumbe, it was nice to see fresh faces taking centre stage in our leopard soap opera.

Here’s Marius’ interesting and hilarious sequence of events surrounding the recent leopard sightings (You just can’t make this stuff up!):

“White Dam and her cub were seen on an impala kill. They abandoned the kill while it was still fresh and barely eaten. We have no idea why they did this! The next morning newcomer Hlarulini came across the fresh kill, which she hoisted into a tree. Later that morning the Inyathini male boldly made his way up the tree and took the kill for himself. He actually smacked Hlarulini out of the tree – she fell 4 metres to the ground! Quite a brazen and brave leopard this Inyathini.

Later on that day, the Ndzanzeni female was found on a kill of her own. But she made the fatal mistake of not hoisting the kill up into a tree. Leopards stash their kill in the safety of a tree to avoid the thieving scavengers. Guess what happened? Toothfairy, the rather notorious hyena, stole her kill!”

We chatted to Marius who provided valuable nsight into why there are new leopards on the scene. Leopards are territorial, so why do newcomers slowly make their way into another leopard’s turf?

Here are Marius’s thoughts on the subject:

Leopards do have territories but over the years, those territories can shift due to a number of reasons.
Males have a wide range. They seek out females.
Females are often on the move in search of new den sites.
As dominant leopards in an area get older, they become more nomadic.
The bush is very dry at the moment and antelope are on the move in search of new grazing ground. Follow the food source!
When older leopards die, the younger leopards move in to try expand their own territory.

A curious string of events, new leopards and a wealth of sightings. All in a day’s work for the Umkumbe rangers! Thanks to Marius Zeilinga for his incredible knowledge and first-hand information about the leopards of Sabi Sand.