March through the Timbavati

Following an unusually dry February, March gave us a needed top up of rainfall with an additional 158mm falling to take the total rainfall for summer to a staggering 1171mm at Tanda Tula!

It also fell in the best way, soft penetrating rain that filled up the soils, and still allowed our riverbeds to continue to flow – they have been trickling for the majority of the year.

This rainfall led to a rejuvenation of the grass that was drying, and topped up the dams in a way that should make this winter a very pleasant one for the animals, and a productive one for us!

A herd of elephants walks through shallow water along the edge of a sandy waterhole, with lush green vegetation in the background. One large elephant leads while two others follow close behind. — Elephants drinking at a river in the Timbavati, South Africa

March was once again a month dominated by the lions of the Timbavati, but the show would not be complete without everything else making it the special place it is!

So lets look back and see what the month of March looked like for the guides and guests of Tanda Tula!

LIONS

Babies!!!

It was a bit of a wait, but after a couple of sightings some lucky guests had of the Sark Breakaway lionesses moving their cubs to a new den site, the little ones started popping out which was our cue from the mothers that we could get a bit closer and get our first proper view of them! Seven new cubs were introduced by the mothers – three 6-week old cubs, and four cubs born a few days later. My initial assessment was that there are two males and four females – a good number to help the pride should the females survive until adulthood.

A lioness carries a tiny cub by the scruff as she walks along sandy ground near a waterhole. The cub hangs limp in her mouth with its legs tucked up underneath. — Sark Breakaway lioness carrying a newborn cub in the Timbavati, South Africa

A lioness lies on sandy ground at the edge of bush vegetation while several cubs gather around her. One cub rests on her side, another is beside her head, and a third is partly hidden in the background. — Sark Breakaway lioness with newborn cubs at a den site in the Timbavati, South Africa

We were super spoilt the first week of viewing as the cubs were on our Nkhari property, with limited access which allowed us to spend some real quality time with the cubs as they got used to the vehicles. It did not take long for them to settle completely with our presence at the den, and we were treated to several magic moments with them as they explored their new world.

A young lion cub carefully steps through shallow water at the edge of a sandy waterhole. The cub is looking down as it walks across the muddy bank. — Sark Breakaway lion cub investigating a puddle on a sandy riverbed in the Timbavati, South Africa

Sadly, the youngest lioness which was the last to give birth lost her entire litter. We are not sure if it had something to do with the rainy period at the beginning of the month, or if the den was found by another sinister force, but she was seen spending time mating with the Nkombo males when she should have been tending to cubs; her clean teats also told us that she was no longer producing milk, as we realised that something had happened to her litter. A tough part of nature, but hopefully she will be able to have better luck with her next litter in the middle of the year.

A male lion stands over a reclining lioness in tall grass, both with open mouths as they spar playfully or aggressively. Dense green vegetation surrounds them in a natural bush setting. — Nkombo male lion mating with a Sark Breakaway lioness in the Timbavati, South Africa

Giraffe Pride

Although I was only on drive for less than half of the month, I was still disappointed to not catch up with the white cub this month. He was around for the first couple of weeks of March, but as the mother was keeping him alongside the very young litter of cubs from another female, we had to respect their space (they were still very small at the start of the month) and avoid the den site. When the two older cubs were moved, the moms chose a spot that was not easily accessible and the cubs had to be viewed at a distance, but they could still be seen. Some guests were treated to seeing the mother take the cubs to an impala kill to feed, but after that, they appear to have moved the cubs out of the concession, and we await their return.

The Giraffe pride itself regrouped a couple of times during the month, and we enjoyed one morning with all 11 females and a single Birmingham Breakaway male. The other males spent most of the month in the far western sections of the reserve where they were regularly reported mating with the pride females. We keep those fingers crossed that at least one or two more of these upcoming litters will also be white!

Two lions lie beside the edge of a shallow waterhole, with one lion in the foreground and another resting behind it. Tall green grass frames the scene in a soft, natural setting. — Giraffe Pride lionesses resting beside a river in the Timbavati, South Africa

A pride of lions lies resting on a sandy bank beside a waterhole in open grassland. Tall grasses, scattered trees, and a wide blue sky fill the background. — Giraffe Pride lionesses resting on a sandbank beside a dam in the Timbavati, South Africa

River Pride

This pride continued to show how they were developing as a pride and surprised all of us when they were found with a buffalo kill – something that was not possible for them only a few short months ago. The young males are playing their part, and the pride continues to feed well.

A lioness walks toward the camera through tall green grass. She is framed tightly against a soft, natural background. — River Pride lioness walking through long grass in the Timbavati, South Africa

Two lionesses rest in the shade of dense bush, one grooming the other while a third lion is faintly visible in the background. Tall grass partly obscures the foreground. — River Pride lionesses grooming in the shade in the Timbavati, South Africa

A slight concern for them would be the fact that the Mayambula pride are beginning to push deeper into River pride “territory”. I use quotation marks as, without a male to protect their space, the River pride are essentially homeless lions. They are lucky that they are not drawing any attention from other lions, and we hope that it stays that way, and that if they are sharing their space with the Mayambula pride, they do so at different times!

Two lions stand in tall green grass with woodland in the background. One lion is in sharp focus in the foreground while the other is softly blurred behind it. — Sark Breakaway lionesses in long grass in the Timbavati, South Africa

A lioness stands on the riverbank and looks toward the camera while a hippopotamus is partially visible and out of focus in the water below. Grass, bushes, and the water’s edge frame the wildlife scene. — Lioness standing on a riverbank above a hippo in the Timbavati, South Africa

Sark Breakaway….breakaway breakaways?

At some point, we are going to have to rename one portion of this pride! They continued to form splintered fragments of their once powerful pride to such a degree that I don’t even know how many lions are left? A fragment of five members was seen in the north for a period – even observed trying to hunt a young elephant! A herd of giraffes alerted us to a predator one morning, and on following up we found a young, well-fed male lion. We followed him back to two lionesses and a baby giraffe carcass – no wonder the giraffes were so concerned. Interestingly, this pride appeared to have stolen the remains of a baby giraffe from a skittish male leopard the day before. If only there wasn’t already a pride called the Giraffe pride, then we would have a new potential name for them! Reports from south of our area suggest that at least nine members have been seen together, so maybe they are slowly reuniting?

A lioness peers through dense green bush and branches, with another lion blurred in the foreground. The scene is tightly framed and naturalistic. — A lioness stands on the riverbank above a hippo in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger. With the rivers running well throughout March 2026 following an exceptional summer of rainfall, scenes like this became part of the daily rhythm of game drives at Tanda Tula.

Mayambula Pride

As mentioned, the pride continued to push deeper into the northern reaches of their territory, and even moved north of Machaton Dam for the first time in a very long time! Early in the month five females were found with a wildebeest kill in the middle of Tortillis Plains.

A lioness stands in tall grass beneath a tree, looking off to the side. A partial carcass or remains lie in the foreground near her. — Mayambula Pride lioness with a wildebeest kill on Tortillis Plains in the Timbavati, South Africa

Towards the end of March, whilst having a Magic Moment drink stop, our sundowners were interrupted by a large amount of roaring coming from Machaton Dam. On following up, we found seven lionesses together, and the roars to the north suggested that a Vuyela male had come up north for the first time in several months.

We also saw a Vuyela male mating with one of the lionesses during the month, showing that he still has control over this piece of the Timbavati!

Two lions rest in green grass, with one lion stretching forward in a deep arch while the other lies beside it. The scene is set against a soft, blurred natural background. — Vuyela male lion and Mayambula Pride lioness in the Timbavati, South Africa

LEOPARDS

I feel like this was another reasonably good month for leopards, and one that achieved good things even without our most regular gals playing along!

A leopard lies stretched out on a large tree branch, with its tail hanging down through the foliage. Soft sunlight filters through the leaves, creating a bright, hazy scene. — Young unnamed female leopard resting in a tree in the Timbavati, South Africa

Nkaya Dam female gave us a great surprise – we mentioned that Jack and I found her with what appeared to be two cubs last month, but when the other guides checked on the den site early in the month, they found out that she actually had three cubs!!! While she is still operating in the area, she has moved the den site and we are not too sure exactly where it is, but it won’t be long before we get a proper view of the cubs when she takes them to a nearby kill.

Steven and his guests also got one of the first views of Nyeleti’s two new cubs – as this was the first viewing of them at a kill, they were still a little shy, but in time they too will grow with confidence.

A leopard which has really grown in confidence is the young female that was possibly our most viewed leopard this month – and we still haven’t got a name for her! I saw her several times during the couple of weeks that I was on drive, and she spent three days with a kudu kill on Nkhari, giving us some quality time with her, and building up her confidence even more.

A leopard rests among the branches of a tree, peering through the leaves with one paw draped over a thick limb. The blue sky and tangled branches frame the cat in a natural wildlife scene. — Khamba male leopard descending a tree at night in the Timbavati, South Africa

A leopard rests on a thick tree branch, framed by green leaves and branches. The cat looks directly at the camera from high in the tree. — N'weti leopard in a tree in the Timbavati, South Africa

N’weti spent a morning up a leadwood tree as the River Pride lazed 200m away completely unaware of her. My certainty that she was pregnant last month faded a bit upon seeing her at the end of March, but perhaps it was simply the way she was lying that made it difficult to assess?

A newish male leopard was seen a few times too – he has been named Khamba (which means thief, due to his habit of stealing kills from the females in the area), and at night he is fairly relaxed. He was also seen mating with Rihati at the end of the month.

A leopard stands in tall grass at night, lit by a spotlight. The animal is facing left with its body partially hidden by the vegetation. — Khamba male leopard in long grass on a night drive in the Timbavati, South Africa

Aside from these leopards, Dzindza was seen on a couple of occasions, but she remained annoyingly elusive; Xivati male was also seen in the eastern parts of his territory a number of times, and he appears to be pushing further east, which would be great for us if he begins venturing onto Nkhari more.

A leopard climbs down the trunk of a tree, with its head lowered and paws extended. The background is softly blurred greenery, keeping focus on the animal’s spotted coat. — Young unnamed female leopard descending a tree trunk in the Timbavati, South Africa

Chad’s Cheetah Curse

This month I managed to trick the cheetahs into showing up. Well, at least one cheetah. I was on leave, but a friend from the UK was spending time with me, and on our first drive we got to see a young female cheetah feeding on an impala kill.

A cheetah sits in tall green grass with its mouth open, showing its spotted coat and dark tear markings. The animal is partially obscured by the vegetation in a soft, natural scene. — Young female cheetah after a kill in long grass in the Timbavati, South Africa

While I like to claim that I tricked them, I think it is more likely that it is my friend’s good luck – he has seen cheetah on his last three visits to Tanda Tula, and it would have been four had we not been on foot when a cheetah was located a few hundred meters from us!

Mega Herbivores

After a slight downward turn in numbers in February, it was very pleasing to see the elephants return to Tanda Tula in good numbers, and we even began seeing them visiting the camp’s waterhole more regularly in spite of the abundance of water across the reserve. These gentle giants once again became a feature on every drive, and reminded me why it is always special to spend time in their presence!

An elephant walks down a sandy road while tossing dust over its back in the warm light. The scene is framed by soft, blurred vegetation on either side. — Young elephant dust bathing on a game road in the Timbavati, South Africa

A large elephant stands in open grassland beneath a deep blue sky. The animal is seen from the front, with its tusks, trunk, and wrinkled skin clearly visible. — Elephant bull grazing in the Timbavati, South Africa

Strangely, I noticed that very few herds had small babies born during the past summer – something we normally go on and on about at this time of year? Maybe it was just the groups we were seeing, or we could be in for a late season boom of babies…I am hoping for the latter!

An elephant stands partly hidden in tall green grass, facing the camera with its trunk raised. Dense woodland fills the background. — Baby elephant in long grass in the Timbavati, South Africa

Buffalos continued to make us work hard for sightings of them, but the signs were there that the herds are still in the area – at one point we had two large breeding herds in the central regions, and as the month ended we saw another large herd of around 300 moving in the western parts of the concession. Unlike the elephants, the buffalo herds are boasting loads of newborn calves!

Two young buffalo stand on a sandy track while an adult buffalo grazes beside the road. The scene is framed by green bushveld vegetation, with a bird perched on the adult's back. — Buffalo cow with newborn calves on a game road in the Timbavati, South Africa

A young buffalo calf walks in front of a resting herd of buffalo on sandy ground. Several large buffalo with curved horns are visible close behind it. — Newborn buffalo calf amongst the herd in the Timbavati, South Africa

The Best of the Rest

One of the reasons I love summer is that there always appears to be good general game around – zebra numbers were high in the area, and we also enjoyed many giraffes around Tanda Tula, especially in the central and eastern sections. As always, game drives are always better due to their presence!

A giraffe stands in tall grass with a small bird perched on its back, set against a wide, hazy savanna landscape and blue sky. Sparse trees and shrubs frame the scene. — Giraffe standing in the misty summer bush in the Timbavati, South Africa

A black-and-white close-up of a zebra resting its head across the back of another zebra. The scene is tightly framed with a soft, blurred background. — Plains zebras resting together in black and white in the Timbavati, South Africa

Late summer is a good time for baby animals, and the waterbuck of the area began showing off their little ones. A sign that the rains have been particularly good is the presence of waterbucks in the central regions around the camp, and that is exactly what we saw this month.

A small wild cat sits upright on a dark log and looks upward with alert blue-green eyes. The animal is framed against a deep, shadowy forest background. — Nova the African wildcat at Tanda Tula Safari Camp, Timbavati, South Africa

It has been a while since I posted a Nova picture, but for once I actually had a camera out when he wasn’t simply lazing about. He continues to explore the Timbavati and regularly pitches up at other camps in the area, proving he is very capable of looking after himself. That being said, we are always happy when he chooses to come back to us at Tanda Tula!

A mother waterbuck and her calf walk side by side through lush green grass with dense bush behind them. — Waterbuck ewe and newborn calf in the Timbavati, South Africa

Beautiful Birds

March is the month when most of our migratory birds begin their return journeys to either central Africa, or southern Europe and western Asia. It is always a sad time to lose the spectacular colours of the woodland kingfishers, the carmine bee-eaters, the European bee-eaters, red-backed shrikes, and so many others.

A colorful European bee-eater with bright green, yellow, blue, and chestnut plumage sits on a rough branch against a soft green background. The bird faces left with its long black bill pointed forward.

Two colorful bee-eaters fly across a blurred green background, with one bird in sharp focus and the other slightly behind it. Their pink, blue, and orange feathers stand out against the soft natural setting.

A woodland kingfisher with a red bill is perched on a bare branch against a clear blue sky. Its pale body and blue wing markings are clearly visible.

That being said, as I type this in early April, many of those species are still present in good numbers. Interestingly, good rains should promote the earlier departure of birds back north (they fuel up quicker – more rain equals more insects), but this year feels like there are more birds around than usual? Disclaimer – this could also simply be my poor recollection of what “normally” happens!

Despite losing many species, we will still be blessed with many beautiful residents in the area, like the guineafowls that appear to have had a successful breeding season.

A helmeted guinea fowl stands in dark grass against a softly blurred green background. Its speckled plumage and bright bare facial skin are sharply lit in the foreground. — Helmeted guineafowl portrait in the Timbavati, South Africa

I also got to see a rarer owl for our particular area – a spotted eagle owl. I used to see many in the mopane woodlands of northern Timbavati, but they are not a common sight around Tanda Tula, so seeing this chap several times around camp was a welcome sight!

A small owl stands on the ground at night, facing the camera with bright yellow eyes. Grass and earth are dimly lit around it, with a dark background behind the bird. — Spotted eagle owl on a game road at night in the Timbavati, South Africa

Until next time!

March Through The Tanda Tula Lens

Following an unusually dry February, March gave us a needed top up of rainfall with an additional 158mm falling to take the total rainfall for summer to a staggering 1171mm at Tanda Tula!

It also fell in the best way, soft penetrating rain that filled up the soils, and still allowed our riverbeds to continue to flow – they have been trickling for the majority of the year.