Tintswalo Safari Rangers Blog | 6-7 November 2016

Lion - Mbiri pride

The Mbiri pride seems to be quite split at the moment, and we think its because the adult females are looking for denning sites in the core of their territory. We found 3 of the Lionesses in the drainage line on Tamboti road. It was difficult to see all 3 of them clearly, but we did manage to get a good view of one of them. The next morning, we found one of the young lionesses with both Thanda impi males at our pump house. She then moved north towards the lodge, with Skorro in hot pursuit. From what we can see, the 2 older Lionesses are looking very pregnant, so I'm sure we'll see the pride split for a while to come.

Thanda Impi male Lions

The Thanda impi's have been hanging around the western parts of their territory over these 2 days, catching up with the Mbiri pride. They were seen around the Windi Windi/Tamboti area quite a lot, as this is where the 2 older Lionesses have been looking for den sites. There is still a lot of competition between the males over the females, and it seems that Skorro has the edge over Sizanani in this aspect of coalition life. Skorrois definitely the dominant member of the 2.

Leopard

Rhulani male leopard

We found the rhulani male on the evening of the 6th, and he was a very lucky leopard. He was feeding on the remains of yet another buffalo that had died because of the drought. He must have thought the Christmas had come early! An entire Buffalo, and no competition, not even Vultures. We watched him feed for a little while, before scaling a Bushwillow, probably to get a vantage point to look for any incoming trouble. However the next morning, we tried to relocate him, but he'd moved off the carcass.

African Wild dog

We were lucky enough to have a sighting of a pack of African Wild dog as well. I say lucky, because they are the second most endangered carnivore in Africa, so any sighting is a privilege. They were in the south, close to South gate, and while they were very sleepy on a hot Lowveld afternoon, it was fantastic to see them.