The Week of Heating Up in Photos

As the weeks march on, summer is knocking ever louder at the door! The rising temperatures have made for a wonderfully active waterhole at Tanda Tula Safari Camp, with elephants remaining a daily attraction, along with a large group of buffalo bulls permanently stationed in the area. The always impressive Apollo also spent the weekend cooling off at the waterhole, giving our guests an incredible opportunity to enjoy his presence.

I was away for most of the week but managed a couple of nights out on drives. I’m happy to report that I caught up with the male cheetah again before he moved off to the east, back towards Kruger Park. If he is a creature of habit, I’m sure it won’t be long before he returns.

The leopards continued to offer good viewing throughout the week—no doubt the dry conditions have made life a great deal easier for us. Ntsongwaan male remained active around the central regions for the entire week and ended the week up in a large weeping boerbean tree, keeping N’weti away from her kill! He didn’t reach this age by not taking advantage of such situations! Another old boy also took advantage of the dead elephant to keep himself full. After the lions had moved off (and even while they were still in the area), the Xiwumbane male leopard helped himself to some leftovers! Leopards have an astonishing tolerance for rotting meat and are probably only kept out of the gold medal position by hyenas. The new, unnamed male leopard we saw last week was spotted a couple of times earlier this week near his impala kill.

Fortunately for us, the River Pride was more prominent this week, spoiling us with a few kills. They started the week being found with a Vuyela male feasting on a wildebeest kill, and later in the week, Jack and Scotch tracked them down with a zebra kill. Interestingly, the next day they had been replaced on the kill by the three skinny lions that were scavenging on the elephant last week. I’m not quite sure how the lionesses let them into the area, but I suspect they didn’t deem it worth the risk of injury to fight and confront them. It is only a matter of time before the Vuyela males tire of their presence and oust them from the area. The Sark Breakaways spent a few days in the area, but sadly, the slim hopes of the fourth cub showing up again are now all but extinguished, as they ended the week with only three cubs present.

There were a few wild dog sightings this week; the pack of 6-8 members (it varies depending on when they are seen) is still moving around the area, but interestingly, the alpha female is looking very pregnant! It would be a first for me if they have pups so far out of season. The single collared female continued to roam around the reserve, and it was haunting and sad to sit at dinner last night and hear her calling out for other wild dogs. It appears she has been on her own for a year now and, miraculously, is still going strong. We hold thumbs that she bumps into a splinter pack of males soon and can start a new pack.

On the general game front, giraffes continued to be very evident in the eastern sections as the knobthorns begin budding to life after their dormancy during winter. The kudu bulls—and kudus in general—were a common sight this week, and the elephant herds remained very active in areas with water.

That’s all for this week. Enjoy this little selection of images, and I’ll be sure to share more next week!

Until next time!

Cheers,

Chad