This week has been incredibly busy for the big cats, and all three species have put in
appearances. The sighting of the week though was a Waterbuck cow giving birth. We found
her at Main Dam, and she was acting a little odd. On closer inspection we saw two pairs of
hooves where we didn’t expect to see hooves. It was already quite late in the morning and
getting quite hot, and for most of the time she was lying in the grass, only standing up when
contractions were occurring. Even though we didn’t witness the full birthing process, it was
a beautiful moment in the savagery of a drying Manyeleti.
Lions
Matimba males
After having established their dominance and sending the Orpen pride packing, a relative
calm came over the Buffalo kill sighting. The big boys were quite gentle with the cub around
and didn’t even give the customary growl when feeding. A massive change of behaviour for
these highly aggressive lions! They spent a few days on the kill with the Koppies females and
their cub.
After being elusive for a few days we heard the distinctive sound of Lions feeding. After
following up for a short while we found the Mbri pride with one Koppies female on Beeeater with a Buffalo kill. We settled down to watch them and noticed one Matimba with
them, lying under a tree about 50 meters away. After about 30 minutes, our tracking team
found another two Matimba males making their way back to the kill after having a drink at
the Bee-eater quarry.
We made our way back to the kill in the afternoon and all was quiet. The three Matimba
males were all together under a Guarri bush. Within minutes one Matimba got up and his
intention was clear, the young Mbiri males must go! One youngster was lying about 30-40
meters way, and he was being stalked by the massive male. Then the inevitable attack
happened, and all three males turned from relaxed cats into fierce warriors in the blink of
an eye. All three Matimba males chasing after the one unfortunate young male, the other
young male just lay low. For about ten minutes they chased him, roaring as they went. The
message was clear- get out, its time! They then returned to the females and re-enforced
their bond with the girls.
A few days on we found one male at the site of the kill. He was contact calling, searching for
his brothers in arms. Eventually he lay down in the grass and started grooming himself and
eventually went to sleep.
Koppies pride
The Koppies females started out the week still taking advantage of their good fortune,
provided by the Matimba males and the Orpen pride. The cub started showing signs of a
very cute personality, and was interacting with the males and females. At one point the cub
started stalking the Buffalo kill while one Matimba was feeding, and every time the male
moved the carcass, the little hunter emerged in the tiny cub
One of the Koppies girls also joined the Mbiri pride and three Matimba males on a Buffalo
kill on Bee-eater drive. She was particularly interesting to the Matimba males, but lots of
smelling and no mating!
Mbiri pride
These lions also provided some interesting viewing this week at the Buffalo kill on Bee-eater
drive. The initial kill sighting was intense, and the young males were starting to throw their
weight around. Every time they did, they watched the big Matimba male, and one young
male even ran from the kill at one stage, only to return with a submissive low head posture.
The young males are now starting to be removed from the pride, as the Matimba attacks
are becoming more aggressive, more frequently, and it’s only a matter of time until they are
completely on their own. These interactions take a while and they will still be around for
some time to come, until the Matimba’s “persuade” them to eventually leave on their own
accord.
The young Mbiri males were seen a few nights later on Mveve link to the north of Main
Dam. They were on their own, and their usual confident demeanour was gone, and they
were just a little bit skittish. But their world is being turned upside down by the Matimba
males at the moment, and they have to adapt to life on their own.
Leopard
Rhulani male
The week started out with Rhulani taking it very easy on the sodic site just to the south of
Khoka moya Dam. He was obviously in a relaxed mood and didn’t really perform as we have
become accustomed to. The next few days were very different though!
Fritz found Rhulani on Red road with a freshly killed Impala. Within minutes a Hyena came
into the sighting and Rhulani had to hoist the kill very quickly, or he would have lost it to the
opportunistic Hyena. He positioned the kill perfectly in the fork of a leadwood tree. The next
morning Fritz moved into the area and noticed that the kill was gone, and him and Mpho
started tracking. The followed the drag marks for almost a kilometre and eventually found
the Kill and Rhulani, but with an extra kill as well. He had killed a Duiker and had that kill in
another tree at the same location to the west of Red road. He really is a character and is
providing us with amazing sightings at the moment.
Not long after his two kill sighting, he was found at Sangoma Bridge, to the south of
Lomfane pan. He was once again in a relaxed mood, and just slept in the thick grass. The
next morning I made my way into the area of Lomfane pan to follow up on a Cheetah kill
from the previous afternoon. We noticed the Leopard tracks and Rhulani had been about
300 meters away from the area the previous afternoon. So we followed the tracks to a false
Marula tree, but no kill. Then Eric, my tracker, saw the claw marks and then all the hair that
had been plucked, a sure sign that a Leopard had fed there. So we think that he stole the kill
from the Cheetah, hoisted the kill and fed. But he must have dropped it, and awaiting
Hyena’s to advantage of the mistake. The signs in the sand do not lie!
Unknown leopard
We had a sighting of a young male Leopard just to the south of Pod Mahogany. He was quite
relaxed and we managed to get a few images, but he was moving east towards the Kruger
National Park. So we couldn’t get into the position we wanted, but beggars I suppose, can’t
be choosers. If anyone has any information on the Leopard, please leave a comment, so we
can identify this Leopard.
Cheetah
The Cheetah activity continued as it has for several months now. This time we had the three
males again at Lomfane pan. Eric made his way to Lomfane pan to check the area for any
signs of Rhulani. He was watching some Elephant drinking, when the heard the
unmistakable sound of a kill taking place. Something was bleating to the east of Lomfane
pan, and he went to have a look. He found one male Cheetah with his jaws clamped around
the throat of a young Waterbuck. The other two joined shortly afterwards and the three
Cheetah started feeding in the afternoon sun. Then unfortunately Rhulani crashed the party
for the three brothers.
Other views from the Bush
Hope you all enjoyed the update.
Darren and the Tintswalo safari team.