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Lions of nDzuti : Beauty and the Beast

The River pride was the dominant pride of lions who traversed the nDzuti Safari Camp territory. Lead by a fearless warrior who fought to keep his pride alive, this king spent his time fighting off youngsters from neighbouring prides attempting to to oust him.

The lone warrior fathered 10 healthy cubs and the burgeoning River pride was 13 members strong, comprising sub-adults, lionesses and cubs. One fateful day the lone warrior was killed and sightings of the River pride dwindled. Over the past few weeks we have seen a beast of a lion attempting to mate with one of the River pride females. We speculate that this male is the one who killed the dominant male from the River pride. We have only seen these two a couple of times and have yet to establish what the future holds for them. Either way, the possibility of lion cubs is on the cards.

The lion antics were caught on camera, thanks to Kevin MacLaughlin. Apparantly the scene that unfolded was quite amusing. When the River pride female finished her part of the mating process, her suitor decided to continue. He kept biting her tail and continued to follow her around. It seems she was playing games with this beast of a boy ! She was walking in circles (we think to taunt him) and she eventually walked through the river. He does not look amused.

We’ll bring you further updates about this mating pair in the next few weeks.

nDzuti Giraffe court in the act

The team from nDzuti Safari Camp stumbled upon a flirtatious moment between a male and female giraffe. The male was in the process of courting his potential mate by displaying an elegant “neck” dance, which involves a rhythmic swaying of necks. The entire courting action between giraffes is quite spectacular to watch. Gentle by nature, it’s a rather slow and interesting behaviour to observe. However, the male’s way of determining if the female is a potential mate is quite hair-raising, if not alarming to our species. A male will approach the female and rub her backside until she urinates. The bull will then taste the urine to determine if she is in heat. The females that are ready will have more estrus in their urine. Not exactly one of the most romantic courting gestures in the animal kingdom; but such is nature!

The entire process of checking to see if a female is ready to mate is called the “flehman sequence”. The flehman response is performed by a variety of mammals and wide range of felids and ungulates. This response is a mortifying, lip-curling grimace which activates the vomeronasal organ located above the roof of the mouth. This organ detects pheromones. The male will do the “flehman grimace” and pursue the female.

If female is interested she will gently rub and intertwine her neck with her suitor. This behaviour is not to be confused with the more aggressive necking between two bulls. The courting dance is far more gentle. When the urine of the female presents an ideal mating partner, the courship begins. During courtship you might hear the males emit loud coughs.

Giraffes do not have a particular breeding season but they tend to favour the wetter weather. Being herbivores means there is more food around – the surrounding area is therefore covered with thick vegetation. More food means less anxiety around having to search for food.

Enjoy the pics of their strange and curious courting ritual.

The Return of the Ross Pride

You read right… The Ross Pride is back in old territory, deep in the Klaserie! It is with bated breath that we post this announcement, because we all know this is the wild and anything can happen. The 3 Trilogy lions that chased this pride away over a year ago are a formidable trio, but they could also be the males that will now attempt to mate with the 3 Ross Pride lionesses that have returned with their 4 ‘teenagers’.

We have waited for something more than a fleeting sighting, just to make sure that they are truly back and not just passing through. After one or 2 brief moments with the 7-strong Ross Pride last week, there was something that truly made us think they might be here to stay… Our guides and Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp found the Ross Pride on a nearby property hunting a family of warthogs! Full confidence, the 3 adult lionesses and 4 sub-adults managed to kill 2 warthogs and feasted on their prizes in full view of our cameras.

Courteney Blunden gave us some insight into lion pride dynamics, and it seems that the Ross Pride has returned to their old territory with the intention of having cubs. Lionesses often return to an area where they have previously given birth or where they themselves were born. Chuck and Larry – the adult sons of the lionesses – have been kicked out of the Ross Pride and are now on their own to find a new pride to dominate, leaving the 3 lionesses and 4 youngsters without a pride protector. This, according to Courteney, is why the Ross Pride is back; coming into oestrus in their old territory and making themselves available to mate with the dominant lions in this area… and those lions are The Trilogy.

Is the Ross Pride back for good? Will they continue to hunt in their old Klaserie territory and bring back their legendary name? Will the Trilogy lions find these lionesses and mate with them in order to sire their cubs and expand their gene pool? Courteney reckons this is almost a certainty. The danger is that the sub-adult males in the Ross Pride that are too young to head out on their own are at risk of being killed off by the Trilogy. It is in male lion DNA to want to dominate the bloodline, and any male lions that are not their own sons stand a chance of being killed.

Lastly, one can’t help but wonder if the breakaway Ross lionesses who have also been mating with the Trilogy will join up with the rest of their pride at long last. Will this be the start of the Ross Pride-Trilogy family we have all been dreaming of? Watch this space for the lion updates of the Century!

Week in Pics: Slithering Snakes and Breeding Beasts

This week we have seen an abundance of snakes, breeding herds of mammals and big cats mating. The season of activity is upon us ! The team at Africa on Foot had a rather close encounter with the deadly black mamba snake and Judy from nDzuti Safari Camp saw a potent boomslang casually wrapped around the branches of a tree on the camp’s property. Then we had Greg from Africa on Foot showing his guests a small but aggressive rock python.

In terms of breeding herds, the camps have reported large herds of buffalo and elephant. But what stands out the most is the presence of big cats , proving that the Sabi Sand Wildtuin and the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve are prime big cat viewing destinations. Lions appear to have made more of an appearance in the Klaserie, while cheetah and leopard are dominating the cat sightings at Umkumbe Safari Lodge.

nDzuti saw the same male lion and lioness twice in the space of a week. The male is thought to be the beast who took down the leader of the River Pride, the dominant pride of the area. The female is a lone lioness from the River Pride. We hope to see cubs in the near future. At Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp the two breakway Ross Pride lionesses attacked and killed yet another buffalo. One of the Trilogy males has his heart set on one of the females and is relentless in his quest to mate with her. We caught the action on camera – he did get rather defensive towards the nThambo vehicle. All that testosterone.

Even our gentle ungulates, the giraffe have been courting one another. Yet another incredible wildlife moment we were lucky enough to witness.

Umkumbe Safari Lodge discovered a majestic cheetah posing on top of a termite mound, surveying his land for potential prey. They also spotted two lions attempting to take down an older buffalo and shortly after stumbled upon two leopards. The female is called “White Dam” and the male is “Machlatine“. This is the male leopard, Maxabeni’s territory – let’s wait and see what happens here.

Enjoy the week in pics !

On Your Bucket List: Camp Linyanti

It could possibly be the original Secret Garden. Or perhaps, the Garden of Eden. Either way, Linyanti is alluring and unique, and feels quite magical, preserved, and untouched. Nestled beneath its enchanting trees, on the edge of the brimming floodplain, Camp Linyanti has claimed its position in the northernmost corner of Chobe National Park and is most certainly the next item on your bucket list!

Elephants interact in front of Camp Linyanti

Main guest area overlooking the water at Camp Linyanti

Camp Linyanti as seen from the water

In a space of just 3 days, Linyanti will captivate your soul and mould an irreplaceable spot in your safari heart. In the summer months, when visitors are few and far between, the undefined roads become overgrown with lush, green vegetation. Vines of dangling leaves drape over your vehicle, while tall grass rises right up to your window, and you smell the richness of this wild and thriving region. Tall jackalberry trees with huge canopies create shade, while the waters of the Linyanti swamps lap at the sandy edges creating small, private beaches littered with animal tracks and elephant dung.

A big, male waterbuck stands camouflaged in Linyanti

Elephant herd approaches the water to drink

Birds of all sorts call from the treetops, perch on lookout branches, and paint streaks of colour in the air. A fish eagle settled only a few metres away and sent its iconic call across the swamp, allowing us to watch the whole performance before it swooped down to the water below and snatched up a fish. To our left, a herd of elephants lumbered towards the water, pausing when they noticed us and raising their trunks to gather our scent. With a heartfelt trumpet and the shake of her head, the matriarch decided we were worthy of watching them and led her family to drink. Drink, they did, but they also splashed, swam, and completely submerged themselves in the cooling depths of the swamp.

(Two rare and exceptional sightings at Camp Linyanti caught on video: Baby honey badger, and a rock python eating a mongoose)

A fish eagle perches and calls out over the Linyanti swamps

The fish eagle throws its head back 180 degrees when calling

Two bull elephants play fight in the Linyanti swamps

Elephants loving the water at Camp Linyanti

In the morning light that streamed through the trees in mottled shapes and sizes, young baboons played with enthusiasm. These troupes of chacma baboons can be heard during the night and throughout the day, barking warning calls into the silence. Agile climbers, the primates take to the tops of trees to escape danger, but when the coast is clear, the child-like performance between siblings provides endless entertainment to visitors.

Baboons playing at Camp Linyanti

Young baboons play energetically

A kudu cow beneath Linyanti’s tall trees

Those in tune with the signs of the bush will know how to read various behaviours, and in one instance, a panicked rush of activity alerted our attention to the road ahead of us. Screeching young baboons and the thunderous barks of the elders echoed through the trees and what followed was the unmistakable shape of a leopard shooting across our path. A successful hunt for this young male cat, but the unfortunate end for one of the bigger baboons in the troupe; we watched as our beautiful leopard took his prize into a hiding place through the impenetrable bush. (Read the full story and see the images here).

A young male leopard catches and kills a baboon

In the absolute quiet (a quiet not counting the chirping birds, grumbling elephants, and grunting hippos), a journey through Camp Linyanti’s private concession can surprise and amaze you. Not frequently visited, not well discovered, this is a paradise that remains a solace for wildlife. A small lodge with only 5 bedrooms, a balcony, bar, and dining area, Camp Linyanti takes a handful of passionate people and shows them an area of Botswana’s oldest National Park that is incomparable to anything else.

Spotting a hippo out of water in Linyanti

A hippo heads for the water in the morning sunlight

Portrait of a pied kingfisher

Karma Chameleon!

Everyone knows the song, and just about everybody can’t resist singing the chorus… what are the rest of the lyrics anyway? This (karma karma karma karma karma) chameleon was photographed by Shannon Benson (@shannon_wild), while on a photography assignment in the Klaserie. Being overly obsessed with reptiles, Shannon spent some time capturing this little beauty in some wonderful light at Africa on Foot, and we thought we had to share the pictures with you.

The flap-neck chameleon is the only species of its kind to be found in the Lowveld (Kruger Park region) and it is frequently spotted just in time while it is crossing the road. Just like this one, his life was spared when he was seen on the road just in front of the vehicle! When chameleons are seen on the ground, they are most likely seeking mates or looking for soft soil in which to lay their eggs. We most often see them on the ground because they are so difficult to spot in the trees!

Everything about the chameleon is designed for camouflage, from its cryptic coloration to its fused opposable toes and its staggered style of walking. The fact that chameleons change colour is not to enhance its camouflage, but rather it is to reflect its mood or temperature. When one picks up a chameleon and notices the change in its colours, it is usually because the creature is stressed, and its nerves are causing a flood of the pigment, melanin.

Crossing the road is risky for a chameleon because it could be run over by a vehicle, or it could be snatched up by one of its eager predators, which include cuckoo hawks, boomslangs, hornbills, vervet monkeys, shrikes, and starlings. Moving it out of the road may have been a favour to this little guy! The chameleon was placed in the safety of a tree in the direction it was going so as not to disturb its mission too much.

Living in an arboreal habitat, flap-neck chameleons are a brilliant green in colour to match the leaves, and they move in a jerky fashion, which is said to disguise its movement with the movement of leaves in a tree. Its ‘two toes’ and prehensile tail help it to keep stable, while its almost 360-degree individually rotating eyes can keep them aware of their surroundings. Chameleons eat insects, which they catch with their excessively long, sticky tongues, propelling them out of their mouths at 5 miles per second!

Often chameleons are seen at night when game drive turns into night drives and the tracker/ranger uses a spotlight to help see the nocturnal creatures. A trick of the trade (courtesy of ranger-turned-photographer Kevin MacLaughlin) as to why your incredible ranger can see something as small as a chameleon in a tree while driving at night, is that chameleons become pale at night when their blood is concentrated around their organs to help regulate their body temperatures. These little creatures appear so pale in the spotlights that they are almost difficult to miss!

nThambo Tree Camp was out of this world! Guest blog by Lenise Calleja

We always encourage our guests to share their safari experiences with us, and seeing as we are such fans of wildlife photography (mainly lions, just saying!) we look forward to seeing what you capture during your stay at our camps! Lenise Calleja was a recent guest at nThambo Tree Camp in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve for her honeymoon, and she has compared her experience to something out of Nat Geo or Animal Planet! Read about Lenise’s fantastic time on safari and take a look at the stunning images she captured during her stay.

Going on safari was surely the most life changing experience I ever had. When planning our honeymoon my husband and I immediately thought of going to Africa, as we wanted something unique and different from the trips we had done before.

We can both state that South Africa was the best choice we could have made. This country has plenty to offer, including, but not limited to safaris. Our stay at nThambo Tree Camp was out of this world! Apart from the expertise of the guides and the wonderful food, the thrill of going on the drives and not knowing what you’re going to see that day is absolutely fantastic. We both felt as if we were living in one of those documentaries that you see on National Geographic or Animal Planet.

Apart from travelling, my other passion is photography and I could not miss this fantastic opportunity to take some wildlife shots and I must say that I am quite happy with the results. The variety of wildlife in the area is incredible and I could not believe my eyes when I was seeing wild animals at such a close distance. When I look back at this experience, the only thing I can think of is that going on safari was the most incredible experience of my life and I hope that I will be lucky enough to do it again.

A giraffe chews on some of the highest branches

White-backed vulture perches on a look out point

Lilac-breasted roller adding a spot of colour

Check out links to Lenise’s Facebook page and her photography website here:

https://www.facebook.com/lenisecalleja.photography

http://www.lenisecalleja.photography/

Hungry Ross Pride Lionesses Make ANOTHER Kill

The Klaserie Private Nature reserve is alive with lion activity. From the Trilogy lions mating, to the hungry Ross lionesses and the possibility of lion cubs; it’s all systems go at Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp. The two breakaway Ross pride females are fearless hunters. This week they stalked and preyed on yet another buffalo. The atmosphere was electric and guests witnessed quite a feeding frenzy.

Lions gorge themselves and will never abandon a carcass. They rarely ever get that full feeling that humans suffer from, even if their bellies balloon to double the size. Witnessing the Ross pride females wolfing down the bloody meat makes for captivating entertainment. Relentless in their need to feed, they are oblivious to their obviously expanding bellies. If their kill is massive in size they may pause between feeding, but still guard their prey. Their’s is a clever strategy. Their reason for never abandoning a kill site? Because they do not want their competition to eat. By devouring an entire carcass in one sitting they eliminate any potential source of energy for their competition.

Lions actually fulfill most of their moisture requirements from the juicy meat they consume. However, there is still a need to quench their thirst after they have eaten. After leaving the kill site with nothing but bone remnants, lions will seek the nearest water source to replenish. At waterholes and dams you will often find full-bellied lions relaxing under the shade of a tree. They don’t tend to move for quite some time, making it easy to come back to the same lion sighting later on during the day. Lions need to relax after eating !

Lion cubs in the making! Trilogy and Ross Pride Unite.

Well this is exciting! Not only have we seen evidence of one of the Ross lionesses with suckle marks on her belly, we have also caught the second Ross lioness mating with one of the Trilogy boys. It is thrilling enough to know that there is potentially a couple of bundles of joy being well hidden somewhere in the Klaserie (Africa on Foot tracker, Enoch, has a sense about these things), but to catch this pair of lions mating means that there is double the possibility of Trilogy-Ross cubs in the near future!

Trilogy Lion stares intensely into camera

It is well known that this coalition of 3 big male lions arrived onto Ross Pride territory over a year ago and the Ross dominant males, The Good and The Bad, fled without looking back. The Ross Pride followed suit, except for these 2 ladies who we now refer to as the Ross Pride breakaway females. The Trilogy lions have now become known as the leading coalition in the area, and over time we have observed them becoming more accustomed to Africa on Foot and nThambo Tree Camp vehicles. In the past, these roughed up lions have backed away from the lime light, preferring to stay hidden, and their grumpy tempers have been duly noted.

Trilogy male profile

Trilogy lion looks more relaxed in his territory

In the last year, both the Ross Pride females have had cubs sired by the Trilogy, but neither litter has survived. Lion cubs can fall victim to many predators, like leopard, hyena, and other lions, as they are born underdeveloped with complete dependency on their mothers for protection and nourishment. They are kept hidden in a secret ‘den’ for the first 6 weeks of their lives where their mother will go to suckle and groom them. This time they spend alone is often when they might be sniffed out and killed by predators. When our Ross Pride lionesses are seen apart, we suspect that they are tending to cubs, and when we see evidence of lactation, our hopes are confirmed!

The Trilogy males will mate with the lioness in oestrus for short bursts every 20 minutes over 4 consecutive days, making it a very intense and exhausting affair for the couple. One can’t help but commend their efforts, given that the mortality rate for lion cubs is very high at 50 %! To put their effort into perspective; for every cub that reaches 1 year old, the parents would have copulated 3000 times. How’s that for determination?

Full bellied Trilogy male in between bouts of mating

Lion pursues lioness to mate

Trilogy male mating with Ross lioness

Ross lioness at dusk

Lion stares through the grass

Forget the Black Mamba, We Found an African Rock Python !

Last week we published a post about a close encounter with a black mamba, Africa’s largest venomous snake. With the mamba’s deadly mix of neurotoxic (specifically dendrotoxin ) venoms, it made for an adrenalin filled sighting. This experience was nothing short of enthralling and left herpetologists slithering with excitement and the office based team green with envy.

After our black mamba excitement died down, we received feedback from Greg (Africa on Foot) about an African rock python sighting. Not quite as lethal and toxic black mamba, it’s sheer size and strength was enough to create squeals of delight from guests at Africa on Foot. Greg found the rock python in the vicinty of twin pans dam on the Africa on Foot traverse.

The African rock python loves water and although not classed as an aquatic snake, it does hunt in the water. Like most reptiles, snakes are exothermic. This means they need to spend time in sun’s heat to thermoregulate their body temperature. Greg found the snake basking in the sun and guests were able to take photos of the python’s rather defensive behaviour. Greg found the perfect window of opportunity and managed to spend a few minutes with this cheeky African rock python.

So, why have we seen such prolific snake activity this week in the Klaserie? The seasons are beginning to change, bringing about cooler weather in the evenings. Snakes are active during the day and the hotter it is, the more active they are. They need to generate as much heat as possible to thermoregulate.

6 Facts About the African Rock Python:

They are ambush predators who rely on the cover of darkness to hunt.
Pythons can live up to 30 years of age.
These snakes kill prey via constriction. Each time the prey exhales, the python tightens its grip.
Parts of the pythons skeleton are used as charms in cultural rituals.
The female hugs her 30 – 50 eggs during the incubation period as a protective mechanism.
The African rock python may submerge itself in water to thermoregulate (control its body temperature).

The African rock python is a fascinating snake. We’ve included a few photos of a python kill that one of our rangers captured on camera – this did not happen at Greg’s sighting. We just thought you’d be curious as to how this snake attacks and kills its prey.