Week in Pics: Creatures of the Kruger

The week in pics is always dominated by big cat sightings. This is because we enjoy prolific leopard, lion and cheetah sightings at our camps. It’s hard not to post photos of the big cats; but this week we want to mix it up and celebrate the smaller creatures of the Kruger.

However, we do need to mention our big cat sightings at both nThambo Tree Camp and Africa on Foot Both these camps enjoyed sightings of the Ross pride breakaway females who were seen relaxing at the dam after after a kill. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the kill but we did see the lionesses dragging their full bellies to the water’s edge. The Africa on Foot team witnessed a rather momentous moment between the Trilogy lions and the Hercules pride. They discoverd 4 healthy cubs belonging to the Hercules pride. There was speculation that the Trilogy males sired the cubs but we needed proof. A few days after the cub sighting we noticed the Trilogy males feasting on a giraffe kill with the Hercules pride!

The birdlife has been fantastic this week. We’ve shared an incredible photo of a crested barbet boasting a plumage full of colour. The impalas have been out in full force, making easy pickings for our predators! Then there have been a few rare sightings of white-tailed mongoose, a side-striped jackal scavenging for left-overs and herds of elephant going in search of water.

Umkumbe Safari Lodge
reported quite an intense incident between two leopards. White Dam and Nottens were caught fighting. We thought it would come to this at some stage. We’ve even had lion sightings. The 4 boys who were kicked out of the Sparta pride have been making their presence known. In terms of birdlife, Umkumbe had a “first time ever” moment. They discovered the presence of a black-winged stilt wading in the water.

Ezulwini enjoyed phenomenal elephant and buffalo sightings. And let’s not forget the elephants who always frequent the area around the skywalk at Billy’s Lodge.

Lilac-breasted Roller

Buffalo Herd

Oxpeckers on Buffalo

Zebra calf still covered in fluff.

African Spoonbill

Crested Barbet

Ross Pride Lioness

Zebra Sunset

Elephant Calf

Impala Herd

Wildebeest Fighting

Umkumbe Buffalo

Kruger Sunset

Elephant Drinking

Nottens Leopard

Impala

Southern white-crowned shrike

Hercules lion cubs

Side-striped jackal

White-tailed mongoose

Hercules lion cubs