The February sightings at Kings Camp have once again been phenomenal, with highlights from every species. We have even been treated to some amazing thunder and lightning storms, which for many of our guests is something new. Some of the rivers even flowed for a few days.
Lions
The lion sightings have been great, with the majority of our sightings being of the Jacaranda coalition. Surprisingly they have been venturing further and further south in an attempt to enlarge their territory. The Timbavati pride was also seen very close to this coalition on one occasion where the jacaranda males dominated and chased the Timbavati male back to the Klaserie Game Reserve.
Leopards
Kings Camp produced some superb leopard viewing in February, with Nthombi and her two young boys on a kill. After she had finished the kill she and the boys moved on, but were successfully tracked down by Albert and Elvis, to where she kept the cubs when they were much younger. She seems to like this hiding place for the boys while she goes hunting as they were seen numerous times in this area. The Rockfig Jr female was also spotted a few times this month. She was found on a duiker kill, with a clan of hyenas under the Marula in which she had stored her kill.
Elephants and Buffalo
For many of our guests, the first sight of the world’s largest land mammal is an unforgettable experience. The size and stealth of such a large creature is incredible. The herds that moved through our area had many new born calves with them which everyone enjoyed photographing. There is nothing more entertaining than watching a herd of elephants wallowing in one of the many natural waterholes. We even had an elephant bull join the wedding held near the lodge giving his blessing to the couple.
Some walks were made very interesting by the old “Dagga boys”, when Warren took the couple to the wedding spot her found an old male lying in the pool of water. That put a halt on proceedings for the day. They have also been seen wallowing regularly in different wallows. The herds seemed to be returning to the area towards the end of the month.
Special sightings
The large pack of wild dogs has once again spoilt many guests at Kings Camp with some stunning viewing. The pups are growing so fast and are nearly the same size as the adults. Some guides were fortunate enough to witness this predator hunting and since they are extremely successful, some actual kills were witnessed.
Report written by Moses and Dean
Photography by Dean
