Hello again! I’m back at work after a couple of weeks “away” (I spent time at Kruger and Nkhari Homestead, so I haven’t really left the bush!). It’s been a great period here at Tanda Tula! The weather has been quite indecisive, with some of the hottest days of the year so far, as well as the coldest winter weather when a couple of cold fronts hit us. The predators absolutely loved it, which led to some fantastic game viewing in my absence!
Naturally, with me off drive, the cheetah sightings were abundant—and unusually good! I believe there were five sightings while I was away, all of a single male in the east. The good news is that he stuck around upon my return, and just yesterday, we spent a day with him while he fed on a duiker and then spent the rest of the day resting off a full belly!
Leopard sightings were also excellent. I think I spotted a dozen different leopards over the past couple of weeks, including Nkaya Dam female and her cub, Marula Jnr and her cub, Dzindza female, Rihati female, Nyeleti female, Ntsongwaan male, Tawane female, Nkhari male, and an unknown male around Nkhari camp—not a bad couple of weeks! Nyeleti was trying to mate with the Nkhari male, but that didn’t seem to go anywhere. A couple of the other leopards were spotted with kills during the windy periods.
The lions remained very active. The Sark Breakaways had a great time with wildebeest and a buffalo kill, while the River Pride was seen with a couple of wildebeest kills. The unnamed pride of three took down a large male kudu during this period as well. The Mayambula females continue to mate with the Vuyela males in the southeast, but they haven’t settled in the area. One female had an altercation with the River Pride but soon retreated. The River Pride has maintained its activity east of Tanda Tula, especially around Machaton Dam. Sadly, the last report of the pride suggested there were only three cubs left—just the day before, all four were alive and well, so we hope the fourth one was simply hiding. We also saw the Giraffe Pride in the eastern part of their territory a few times over the past week.
The wild dogs weren’t particularly active, with only the pack of eight showing up early in the period, followed by sightings of a single individual the week after. We hope the large pack reappears soon!
Elephants have been abundant, especially in the hot weather, and the camp waterhole has become a real hotspot for them! Buffalo bulls have also been enjoying the area around camp.
With a few knobthorn trees starting to sprout new leaves, giraffes have begun moving into the area in greater numbers, and we’re looking forward to more of this in the coming weeks.
The first European bee-eaters arrived about a week ago, which is a sure sign that summer is approaching!
I’ll be back on drive for the next week, so I’ll bring you a fuller report next Monday. Until then, enjoy this selection of images from the past couple of weeks!
Until next time!
Cheers,
Chad
