Another month has passed with some extraordinary sightings in the Timbavati, the temperature are increasing and the trees starting to blossom. With the sun rising earlier and the days being longer the opportunities for guests to photograph the magnificent animals have increased.
The month started out with access being allowed to the wild dog den and these puppies have provided many great sights. The litter started out with five puppies but unfortunately is only four at the moment. Wild dogs are known for a high mortality rate amongst the puppies. To every one’s surprise we saw a cheetah one morning around Impala dam, that’s the joy of working in an open system. We even get amazing surprises every now and again.
The leopards in the area have performed once again as the Marula female still has her two cubs and they are both in great condition. The Rockfig jr female and her cub are also doing well as you will see in the photos. All the new cubs are becoming very habituated to the vehicles. The Nthombi female as been seen mating all over the reserve well out of her territory. This means that the two boys are now on their own, but seem to both be doing well. The Ntsongwaan male was seen playing tag with a honey badger, not something you see every day.
The Machaton lioness has been seen along with the Mabande and Birmingham males and she is thought to be pregnant. She also proved how good a hunter she is by killing a buffalo calf right in front of two of our guides. Our guests were also treated one morning as part of the Giraffe pride was seen on a neighbour’s property and the sub-adult “white” lioness was with them.
As for the large herbivores they too are doing very well with many huge herds of buffalo and elephants making their way through our traversing area. We also seem to have a fairly resident herd of old “Dagga Boys” who seem to have made their home around the lodge.
Hopefully next month the sightings continue.
Report and photos by Head Ranger Dean Robinson
