The Lions of Tintswalo – Mbiri pride

We had two sightings of the Mbiri’s in the three days. They were first found with the Thanda Impi males at Vulture pan, in the eastern part of their territory. Two days later we again found the Mbiri’s, but this time in the extreme western part of the territory, tho the west of Sable bridge.

They had killed an Adult bull Wildebeest, and had the cubs at the kill as well. The cubs naturally treated the dead Wildebeest both as food and as a toy. As the sun started to burn the Gabbro plains, one of the Lionesses decided to drag the carcass into the shade of a Magic Guarri.

Nharhu pride

We had separate sightings of the Nharhu pride in the three days. And they seem to be spending more and more time inter newly acquired, western part of their territory. They were found on the afternoon of the 1st, just to the west of the airstrip. The sighting on the afternoon of the 2nd was a lot more interesting! We found them close to foot road, being chased by an Elephant bull. They then settled down in the drainage line, but were stirred by an approaching Buffalo herd, that was moving towards Wild dog Dam. The adult females immediately started stalking, but the Buffalo closed ranks and in the daytime hours, the Lions never really stood a chance. The Nharhu pride then moved back to the drainage line, and did what Lions do best. Sleep!

Thanda Impi male Lions

We only had one sighting of the Thanda Impi’s over the three days. They were seen with the Mbiri pride close to Vulture pan. The Skorro male is looking in very good condition, but the Sizanani male has definitely seen better days, with a hip injury that has been suffering with for a while now.

Leopard

Ntsuntsu male

This was the only Leopard sighting we had in the three days. The Ntsuntsu male was found on Mala run, but during the afternoon he moved north onto Ingwe loop and then further north towards New pump. He continues to hold his own in what looks like is his new territory. It’s a small territory at the moment, but as he grows and becomes more confident, his piece of Africa will surely grow as well. So far he’s shown himself to be a confident young male, and I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of this young male in the years to come.

Other views from the bush

The bush has started drying out a little, after the wet season, and the small seasonal pan have completely dried up. This had forced the general game to drink at some of the larger water points. Buffalo plains has exploded with life, with a number of large Elephant bulls hanging around the area, as well as some Buffalo herds grazing their way through the sweet grasslands.

There’s been quite a bit of Hyena activity in the north, around Civet road. And one morning we found six Spotted Hyena’s on the sonic area on Civet road. One youngster was very curious, and came over to have a closer look.